[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 22993]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   REPUBLICANS CUT IMPORTANT PROGRAMS

  (Mr. PALLONE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, this week House Republicans plan to move 
ahead with drastic cuts to domestic programs. Republicans say the cuts 
are necessary to help fund the reconstruction of the gulf coast after 
Hurricane Katrina.
  Mr. Speaker, the programs House Republicans plan to cut this week are 
the very ones that have helped Americans in the gulf coast begin to 
pick up the pieces after losing their homes and their jobs. Imagine 
being injured during the hurricane and not having any access to health 
coverage because your job simply no longer exists.
  The Federal Medicaid program has helped thousands of gulf coast 
residents with their health care bills over the last month. Now House 
Republicans are demanding that we cut Medicaid services. I know 
Republicans will say we need to make these cuts to address the deficit 
they created; but if Republicans really wanted to address the budget 
deficit, they would revisit their giant tax breaks for America's 
millionaires.
  We are really helping the wealthiest elite in our Nation when there 
are so many people struggling from Hurricane Katrina. I cannot believe 
that the Republican answer to Hurricane Katrina is to cut the programs 
for the poor.

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