[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3951]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1210
                              THE ECONOMY

  (Mr. WELCH asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WELCH. Mr. Speaker, to my Republican colleagues, when you say 
that we have a fiscal house to get in order, you're right; but when 
your plan is to focus 100 percent of your firepower on 12 percent of 
the budget, I say you are designing a plan that will fail.
  Why is it that we have added $700 billion to the deficit by extending 
tax cuts for the top 2 percent?
  Why is it that we will cut low-income heating assistance by $2.5 
billion and continue $55 billion in tax breaks for oil companies when 
they're selling oil at $100 a barrel and when they've made $1 trillion 
in the past 10 years?
  Why is it that we are now having a threat by the Republican majority 
to say ``no'' on extending the debt limit, having America default on 
paying its bills for past obligations incurred under Republican and 
Democratic administrations, and playing with fire as to the reputation 
of the American people, despite the clear damage that it will do to the 
economy, rather than acknowledging that we have an obligation to meet 
our obligations?

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