[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10870]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     WARPED LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to discuss this administration's and 
this Republican leadership's warped and dangerous legislative 
priorities. Let us start with Social Security, which is dead last on 
their priority list. This House leadership has simply refused to bring 
up Social Security. Not only are they refusing to debate. They are 
completely dodging the issue.
  The situation is so bad that this week, Democrats were forced to 
launch a discharge petition wherein we have to get 218 signatures in 
order to try to bring a bill to the floor to provide the American 
public with the debate on Social Security that our people deserve. All 
the while, the Republicans are on a course to raid and are raiding the 
Social Security trust fund to the tune of $1.8 trillion.
  This debt clock tells the story of this week. Every week since they 
have started to do this, because we were in surplus a year and a half 
ago, finally, after years of budget regimen during the Clinton years 
and this Congress, we were able to bring revenues and expenditures into 
balance, even though we have an accumulated debt we are paying off. 
Nonetheless, they have begun to try to raid the Social Security trust 
fund to pay for ongoing expenses; and every week while they are doing 
this, I am going to come down here and let the American people know how 
much they borrowed this week.
  So as of today, they have now taken $218,095,890,410, which amounts 
to, for each citizen in our country, they dipped into your pocket $775. 
You could say it is akin to a tax imposed on each senior and their 
family in this country.
  Now, what do Republicans propose to do about it? Nothing. In fact, if 
they had their way, they would sneak through a debt ceiling increase 
and go on about the business of pushing their number one priority, one 
which lies at the very heart of the Republican Party, and that is 
cashing out the revenues of the people of the United States to the 
wealthiest people and corporations in this country, even those that 
locate their headquarters offshore, as the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Armey), the Republican leader, endorsed yesterday.

                              {time}  1545

  Members know the companies I am talking about, the energy giants like 
Enron Corporation, which is going to take 350 million more dollars of 
our seniors' money for tax breaks that are given to them, and the 
pharmaceutical companies that lined up for the big dinner that the 
Republicans held last night over here at the convention center, where 
they raised over $30 million for this fall's election.
  Let us look at veterans. That is another low priority on the 
Republican list. This administration has proposed a 250 percent 
increase on copay for pharmaceuticals that our veterans must buy when 
they go into the veterans' clinics or veterans' hospitals.
  If one is a heart patient or somebody that needs 10 prescriptions a 
month, figure out, if one is charged an additional $7 per prescription, 
that is over $70 to $100 additional per month. That is a tax on our 
veterans.
  Republicans who profess to be the party of tax cuts would impose new 
taxes on our veterans in the form of higher pharmaceutical costs, while 
pushing for more tax breaks for the superwealthy and our Nation's most 
profitable corporations.
  What about a prescription drug benefit for Medicare, an issue they 
are finally getting around to after ramming through over $2 trillion in 
tax breaks over the next 10 years for their campaign sugar daddies? 
Their plan would put Medicare on the road to privatization, and leaves 
a $3,600 gaping hole in coverage between the initial benefit limits 
that people would qualify for and the kick-in of a stop-loss protection 
at $4,500 in out-of-pocket spending.
  Their plan is so defective it is no surprise that even some leading 
Republican experts are skeptical that it would work. Is it any surprise 
that the pharmaceutical industry, whose inflated prices are the root 
cause of the problem, has endorsed the bill and actually is hugging it, 
as I watched them walk across the streets of Washington?
  Republicans are fond of the phrase ``Leave no child behind,'' even 
though the education bill they sent to this floor through the budget is 
$2 billion under last year's spending. Then how are we going to leave 
no child behind?
  But what about America's seniors? How many of them are going to be 
left behind? Every day how many of our veterans are being left behind? 
That is what Republican policies do, they will leave the American 
people behind the eight ball for generations to come.
  America needs to put Social Security first. Our mothers, fathers, 
grandmothers, grandfathers who built this great country and put their 
lives on the line for it, they should not have to worry. We ought to 
take care of the problem here. We owe it to them.
  We need to repair the broken lock on the Social Security lockbox that 
was not supposed to be invaded, but it has been invaded seven times 
now. We need to provide prescription drug coverage for our seniors. We 
need to create good jobs for our people here at home, and not give tax 
breaks for them to invest offshore. We need to start creating wealth 
and good-paying jobs in this country again.
  We need the Republican Party to get its priorities straight for a 
change.

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