[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11147]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     BUDGET FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

  (Ms. JACKSON LEE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, many of us are engaged in the budget 
process today.
  A budget for Americans should be the playbook for improving the 
quality of lives for all Americans. Yet this draconian budget, which is 
worse than the Trump budget, cuts $250 billion-plus out of quality of 
life issues for Americans. It cuts education, healthcare, Medicaid, 
Medicare, and the environment, undermining the fight against climate 
change.
  Where is the relief for the American people?
  We have the fact that wages are slow in growing. Mr. Speaker, 
corporate America is doing well, and all that is needed, as some 
corporations have already done, is to raise the salaries of Americans.
  We also need to make sure the government does what the American 
people need, to shore up the Affordable Care Act, but not cut billions 
from it. Shore up national defense, but not cut from diplomacy and 
engagement in peacekeeping activities, as well as USAID. Shore up 
America's national security. Give a quality of life to our young people 
so that jobs are created.
  How do you do that?
  You do that, Mr. Speaker, by ensuring that the climate and quality of 
life issues are there for corporations to grow. Growth is important for 
the American people, not draconian cuts to leave Americans without 
healthcare, without good climate, and without education. We want a 
budget for the American people.

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