[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18607]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                  ADDRESSING REAL AMERICAN PRIORITIES

  (Mr. GREEN of Texas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, this summer we stood on this floor 
and pleaded with our Republican leaders not to enact reckless tax bills 
without securing the future of Medicare, Social Security, education, 
and to focus on paying down our debt.
  During the recess I am sure that they, like I, talked to lots of 
people in our own districts who said that, yes, we would all like to 
have a tax cut, but we want to make sure we take care of business 
first.
  Last week the leadership changed their stand and joined the 
Democratic concern to pay down the debt.
  But time is running out.
  Now we need to look at other Democratic priorities like affordable 
prescription drug benefits for our seniors who cannot buy the 
medication they need to maintain their health, investing in education 
to fix our crumbling schools and overcrowded schools so our children 
have a healthy environment to learn in, building our national defense, 
and taking care of our veterans who risked their lives to protect our 
country, and real managed care reform like we passed on this House 
floor, and most importantly, making sure Social Security is there not 
just for my dad's generation and my generation but our children's 
generation.
  I have been listening to my constituents, and these are issues they 
want us to address, and I hope we will these last few weeks in session.

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