[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 121 (Friday, August 5, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1503]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                       BUDGET CONTROL ACT OF 2011

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, August 1, 2011

  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, if this had been a clean vote to raise the 
debt ceiling, I would have supported it--as I have in the past, and as 
our nation has done 78 times since 1960.
  But this was far from a clean vote. The cuts were too large, there 
were no revenues, no plan for job creation, and thus it was an 
unbalanced approach to the deficit problem.
  Although cuts to Medicare and Medicaid were averted in the first 
round of cuts, the `sequestration trigger' included cuts to Medicare 
providers which would hurt my district, and ultimately Medicare 
recipients as well.
  What's more, making such large budget cuts now, in the midst of a 
struggling recovery would lead to a further loss of jobs--at a time 
when there are already five Americans out of work for every one job 
opening. This deal makes things worse; it would slow economic growth.
  The process by which this deal was reached was no less ugly. This 
issue was taken hostage by the most extreme parts of the Republican 
Party, who put forward non-negotiable demands, which is not how 
democracy works.
  By refusing to even consider closing tax loopholes and ending 
special-interest subsidies, the Republicans made clear who should pay 
for their extreme agenda: those who can least afford it.
  I will not be a party to a plan which is likely to hurt the interests 
of my district, my city and my country as it struggles to emerge from 
the worst economic crisis since the Depression.

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