[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 14581]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        THE MIDDLE-CLASS SQUEEZE

  (Mr. LAMPSON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, middle-class families are feeling the 
pinch. They feel it as they try to afford health care, try to keep 
their jobs, and try to provide a rewarding education for their 
children.
  When I am in southeast Texas, I talk to folks every day who tell me 
they cannot afford tuition for their children, health care for their 
parents, or even to provide for themselves. These folks are getting the 
middle-class squeeze at literally every level. They work harder and 
harder every day, work more and more hours every day, and make less and 
less. The middle class is paying more in taxes, and the tax breaks that 
the rich get are not there for the folks who really need it.
  I hope that my colleagues will use the remainder of our time in 
session to support these families so that our hardest-working Americans 
do not get left behind.

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