Congresswoman Barbara Lee Blasts Ryan Budget on House Floor
Washington, DC -- Today, Congresswoman Barbara Lee spoke on the House Floor in strong support of the Democratic Alternative Budget for Fiscal Year 2015 and in opposition to the Ryan Budget, which passed the House 219 to 205. Her remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below. A video of her floor statement can be found here. Earlier this week, she spoke in support of both the Congressional Black Caucus and Congressional Progressive Caucus Budgets.
[[{"fid":"242","view_mode":"full","fields":{"format":"full"},"type":"media","attributes":{"alt":"Congresswoman Lee Speaks in Support of Democratic Alternative to Destructive Ryan Budget","height":"380","width":"640","class":"media-element file-full"}}]]
“I rise in very strong support of the Democratic Alternative to the disastrous Republican Budget.
“Our Democratic alternative closes tax loopholes and makes smart investments in policies and programs to create jobs, cut poverty, and grow the economy for all.
“The Democratic Alternative Budget raises the minimum wage to $10.10, which would lift nearly 1 million Americans out of poverty.
“It also expands the Earned Income Tax Credit, and for the millions of Americans still struggling to find a job, it extends the critical lifeline of Emergency Unemployment Compensation, which House Republicans have refused to consider. Our alternative protects Medicare, eliminates the sequester, and includes comprehensive immigration reform, which the Congressional Budget Office says will lower our deficit by $900 billion.
“Finally Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that some of my Republican colleagues have shown interest in cutting poverty in this country; however, we have starkly different opinions on how we achieve that goal.
“Gutting programs is not a path out of poverty! The American people deserve a fighting chance for a middle class life. They deserve better than this Republican budget.”