mr. speaker , i rise in strong support of the legislation precisely because of the challenges outlined by my friend from mississippi . 
as my friend from michigan just pointed out , yesterday this house took steps to reignite the engines of economic opportunity , to deal with job creation and getting help to the people of the gulf coast . 
i would assure this house , mr. speaker , this is not some sort of abstraction . 
as my friend from mississippi knows , brother rex yancey , the pastor of first baptist church in pascagoula , is my wife 's uncle . 
this is not some sort of statistic or abstraction . 
just as brother rex and everyone in mississippi and on the gulf coast are facing challenges , we need to work together to make sure the climate of economic opportunity exists for all . 
just as heartfelt as his concern is for his constituents , mr. speaker , i must correct the record . 
it does this house no service to come to this well , no matter the challenges confronted , and try to claim either class warfare or crass political opportunism in a quid pro quo . 
it is beneath the dignity of every member of this house to suggest that somehow this has to do with contributions . 
as my friend from mississippi knows , the most philanthropic state in the union where people step up to help neighbors in need , that example does not fall on deaf ears . 
i will say economic opportunity is important , not only for wall street , not only for main street but for your street , mr. speaker , for every street because we understand economic opportunity is not exclusive . 
there may be some who believe that this modern economy is some sort of caste system . 
there may be some who always want to fill in the blank as follows : tax breaks for the blank , tax breaks for the rich . 
that is their story and they are sticking to it . 
no hope , no opportunity when the facts are otherwise . 
we have had solid economic growth . 
revenues to the government have actually increased . 
and not only has there been some $ 69 billion in immediate hurricane relief given by this congress and this government to the storm victims , but the promise of future help and economic prosperity as the people of the gulf coast get back on their feet . 
stand up for growth and opportunity . 
pass this legislation . 
