mr. chairman , i thank the gentleman from south carolina ( mr. spratt ) xz4003860 for presenting a budget that has a better vision for the american people , and for the gentleman 's hard work that he does for the american people . 
mr. chairman , this is the third year that i have been in the congress . 
there has been a similar routine every year i have been here . 
we debate the budget and our side says it is a statement of our values , and we say it is a statement of who we are . 
i would add one observation to that . 
this is a process that tells us a great deal about whether we are who we say we are , because there is an irony that i see with my friends from the other side of the aisle . 
as we move into the year and move into the holiday season , we spend a lot of time talking about shared benevolence , but they will pass a budget tomorrow that will cut $ 5 billion from food stamps , and only 2 percent of people who are eligible receive food stamps . 
it is not a program filled with waste and fraud . 
a lot of our friends on the other side of the aisle will talk about benevolence and their belief in families and families having strong values , and yet they will vote tomorrow night to cut child care assistance . 
a lot of our friends on the other side of the aisle will talk about cutting taxes , and yet they will vote tomorrow night to raise taxes on people receiving the earned income tax credit . 
and the other side of the aisle will talk about their belief in social security and their faith in that program and their refusal to touch it , and then they will cut ssi payments which are a major part of social security . 
a lot of our friends on the other side of the aisle will talk about their commitment to housing , and then they will vote to eliminate one of the most effective housing programs in this country . 
and finally , a lot of our friends on the other side of the aisle will talk about their commitment to children and helping families raise their children with the right values , and then they will vote to freeze or leave virtually frozen child care services and day care services . 
i am not one who likes to call names , but the word `` hypocrisy '' means you say one thing and you blatantly endorse another set of practices . 
this is a debate about exactly who we will ask to sacrifice in this country . 
there is no question we have asked our veterans to sacrifice an enormous amount , and they belong in a category of their own ; but there is another class of americans who we also ask to sacrifice in this budget . 
we ask the most vulnerable people , the people in our society who are working and living by the sweat of their brow every day . 
we ask them to give up so much in this budget , and there is an irony because we have heard it said by the chairman and various other members on the other side of the aisle , we have heard it said that people want these tax cuts and they will trade these programs off for the prevalence and the prevailing of these tax cuts . 
but here is the problem . 
the average people that will receive the cuts that i described got a tax cut of $ 28 to $ 35 a month . 
that is not an equitable trade-off ; that is not a fair trade-off . 
i simply end by saying the spratt budget presents a better vision for the american people and introduces a six-letter word into this debate that we have not heard all day , a word called `` equity. '' that is what separates our approach from theirs . 
