[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 68-69]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       THE PRIORITIES OF AMERICA

  (Mr. BELL asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. BELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today because I am deeply concerned 
with the state of our Union. I share the concern of many that we are 
heading in the wrong direction in this country.
  We need to focus on creating jobs, but tonight we will hear about 
extending tax cuts for the rich in a mythical economic recovery that 
has created no new jobs. We need to focus on protecting Social Security 
and Medicare for a new generation, but tonight we will only hear about 
a thinly disguised plan to dismantle those vital programs and place our 
sacred covenant with America into the hands of corporations and 
pharmaceutical companies seeking profit at the expense of working men 
and women.
  Tonight, we will hear more empty promises on education and literacy 
when we should focus on the President's own No Child Left Behind 
program which he and the Republican Congress continue to refuse to 
fully fund. As a result, we are leaving millions of children behind 
every day.
  It is all about priorities, Mr. Speaker. Creating more jobs, access 
to affordable health care and better education for our children, those 
are the priorities of America, and they should be our priorities here 
in Congress.

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