Statement on the House floor in opposition to
H.Res. 287, the Rule providing for consideration of H.R. 2017 - The Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act
“I rise in opposition to this Republican attempt to deem their budget passed. To just deem it passed simply so that they can begin this process.
“It’s just wrong. It’s not the way we should be conducting business, but it is the way Republicans have been operating all year.
“Recently, radio evangelist Harold Camping calculated that the world would end at precisely 6 p.m. on May 21st. He was wrong.
“Much like Harold Camping’s wildly inaccurate predictions, House Republicans have come up with their own apocalyptic vision – the ‘Republican Rapture.’
“It decides who gets lifted up into the economic stratosphere, and who gets left behind.
“Under this scheme, if you are a millionaire or a billionaire, you get raptured into heaven with all of your tax breaks intact!
“But if you’re Grandma and Grandpa depending on Medicare to pay your healthcare bills, you get moved to Political Purgatory! That is the Republican plan.
“If you’re one of the big 5 oil companies recording record profits, you get raptured with all of your tax breaks left intact!
“But if you’re a college kid trying to get a Pell grant, you are back in Political Purgatory and your future is in question.
“If you’re an insurance company executive and you are rapturously happy about the privatization of Medicare and the incredibly increased profits for the insurance industry, you get raptured!
“Such good news for all these wealthy people!
“But if you’ve got cancer or Alzheimer’s and you’re hoping to find medical breakthroughs - Republicans are cutting the NIH budget to find a cure for these diseases – your hopes and dreams go to Political Purgatory.
“And if you have any hopes at all of having Medicare be saved, the Republican budget guarantees Medicare is privatized and ends as we know it.
“So this is the debate here today. Are you with billionaires and big insurance and Big Oil?
“Or are you with Grandma and Grandpa, making sure that Medicare remains intact for the years ahead, honoring the promise we made to them for giving us this great country that we live in today.
“Let’s defeat the Republican plan to end Medicare!
