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REPUBLICAN BUDGET CUTS

February 11, 2011
Floor Statements

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia: Madam Speaker, last year we passed a 2-year $850 billion tax cut bill with the benefits skewed toward millionaires; $24 billion of that was a bonus reduction in taxes on estates of multimillionaires over and above the generous reduction that most had expected. When the bill passed, many of us asked how we were going to pay for it. Well, now we know.

This week, the Republican majority released a list of spending cuts, and look how we are going to pay for it: cuts in heating assistance for low income families, job training programs, National Institute for Health, NASA research, community health centers, and women, infant and children's nutrition programs.

Madam Speaker, the worst part is that the savings from the 70 programs slated to be cut only total $23 billion, less than the cost of the bonus estate tax changes for dead multimillionaires, a long way from the $100 billion demanded by the tea party, nowhere close to paying the $850 billion tax cut bill, and it doesn't fix the long-term structural imbalance in the Federal budget. Madam Speaker, that's not right.

Issues:Federal Budget