[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 108 (Tuesday, July 19, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H5170]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      REJECT CUT, CAP, AND BALANCE

  (Mr. BRALEY of Iowa asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. Wake up, America. We are going to be voting today 
on a bill that has never seen a committee hearing. It has never been 
the subject of a markup in any committee, and there are going to be no 
amendments to this bill. The Republicans are calling this their Cut, 
Cap, and Balance bill. But in reality, it is gut, gap, and handcuff.
  Gut: There is no way to get to their numbers of deficit reduction 
without seriously gutting Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid. No 
way.
  Gap: Their policies are going to further widen the income gap between 
middle class Americans and the richest Americans by perpetuating a 
policy that has allowed that to exist for the last 10 years.
  And handcuff: You would be speaking German, Japanese, or Russian if 
this balanced budget amendment was in effect during World War II and 
during the Cold War, because during World War II we had debt in this 
country that was 120 percent of our GDP, and in the dawn of the Cold 
War, it was 100 percent of our GDP.
  That is why this bill doesn't make sense for America. I urge my 
colleagues to reject it.

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