[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12330]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 AMERICAN DREAM SHATTERED BY NIGHTMARE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Rangel) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. RANGEL. My colleagues, yesterday I was talking about the American 
Dream. But then again, I was thinking about how many people woke up 
this morning concerned about our national debt.
  When you represent the type of district that I do, and many other 
Members, they're concerned about can they get a job or can they keep 
the job they have. They're concerned about the bills and obligations 
that they have. They're concerned about whether they can keep their 
kids in school and whether they can keep food on the table, whether 
they can keep the dignity and pride and not have their dream shattered 
by this nightmare that their country owes $14.3 trillion.
  We're making a special appeal to Americans, Republicans and 
Democrats, not to allow our country to get caught in a position that we 
don't pay our bills. I suspect that a lot of my constituents would say: 
Well, how the heck did I get that bill? How do we owe $14.3 trillion, 
and what did I have to do with it?
  And I guess we have to say honestly: You didn't have much to do with 
it. You did not go into countries and get involved in three wars. You 
were not responsible for saying that the richest of Americans and 
corporations that are receiving large profits should have and continue 
to have preferential tax treatment.
  Well, why are you telling me then that I have to pay the debt? If we 
all have to pitch in on this, what about the guys who will not be 
making a sacrifice?
  Well, that's kind of difficult to explain to these people. But you 
tell them that there are people in the Congress who truly believe that 
they can address their problem by having a constitutional amendment.

                              {time}  1110

  I know it's a stretch, but that's what some of us have to deal with 
in the Congress. But you've heard some of them this morning say the 
only answer to our problem is to have a vote in the House of 
Representatives and persuade two-thirds of our Members that in the 
United States Constitution we will require a balanced budget.
  Now, after we get two-thirds here--and we can't get two-thirds to 
agree to anything but, hey--then we have to get two-thirds from the 
Senate. And we only hold the Senate by one vote, but it's a commentary 
because after we do that, then we have to go out to the States and ask 
the State legislators to approve what we have done, at least two-thirds 
of the States. That's their answer to those people who had an American 
Dream.
  It would seem to me that along the line they may ask: Who received 
the benefits of all of this debt? And I would suspect that a lot of the 
people that manufacture military equipment had a windfall. I would 
suspect that those people that were able to take jobs overseas, the 
profit-and-loss books look like they did pretty well. And the financial 
section, our committee voted for and it was approved by the President, 
$789 billion to be given to the financial community. And God knows they 
say these are the people that can create the jobs.
  Well, I don't know whether any economist agrees with that, but they 
have enjoyed these tax cuts for decades, and we now are at the highest 
unemployment that we've ever been. And it would seem to me that those 
who have, through the benefits of all of our taxpayers, received this 
windfall, that it's not asking too much to ask them to invest in their 
country, to invest in jobs, to not look at how much profit they can 
make overseas but how many lives can they have to get a decent salary, 
to be able to join the union, to be able to pay their bills, and at the 
same time be able to go back to work.
  This answer that everyone makes a sacrifice, it's not talking about 
the private sector that made the money. I don't even know why 
``sacrifice'' is even used in any dialogue. What we're basically saying 
is that we have to cut spending. Well, everyone would agree to that. 
But these people that are receiving benefits from their government are 
the ones that will be making the sacrifice. And as we cut the 
benefits--whether we're talking about education benefits, health care 
benefits, supplements to pensions, or sometimes the only funds that 
they have in retirement, Social Security; whether we're talking about 
checks for the disabled who cannot work--now they want to cut those 
programs and the people that provide the service. So that means that 
they will be increasing the number of people that are unemployed.
  It just doesn't make sense that we have unemployment compensation and 
other things for people to have disposable income, but we cut $4 
trillion from those people that are trying to survive.
  Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for allowing me to address the House.

                          ____________________