Kane County Reporter

Washington, DC - On May 25, Congressman Bill Foster (D-IL) took to the House floor to call out Republican hypocrisy for refusing to engage in truly bipartisan negotiations over their manufactured debt ceiling crisis. 

“As long as Republicans insist that the only thing they will consider is to solve this problem one hundred percent on the backs of the middle class and zero percent on the backs of the billionaires who fund their political campaigns, then they are not negotiating,” said Foster. “And, that refusal is putting our economy at risk.”

Click on the photo to watch the full speech or click here.

Foster’s full remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below: 

Thank you, Madame Speaker.

The obvious solution to this threat to our economy is for the US to join the rest of the world and simply repeal the debt limit. For years, I have been introducing legislation to do just that.

But House Republicans now insist that they want to drag budget negotiations into this discussion.

Fine.

Both parties agree that default is unacceptable. Both parties agree that our national debt must be dealt with. And, there are two basic ways to do this:

First, by cutting tax breaks that allow billionaires to pay far lower tax rates than middle-class Americans; 

Or, by cutting programs that help ordinary Americans, like retirees, veterans, students, or just families who are trying to put their kids through school.

But, as long as Republicans insist that the only thing they will consider is to solve this problem one hundred percent on the backs of the middle class, and zero percent on the backs of the billionaires who fund their political campaigns, then they are not negotiating. And, that refusal is putting our economy at risk.

I yield back.

Original source can be found here.