mr. speaker , i thank the gentlewoman for yielding me this time . 
what the majority is seeking to accomplish here is another transfer of wealth from the great mass of americans to a privileged few . 
this bill would raise taxes on 17 million american middle-class families by as much as $ 640 . 
millionaires get tax cuts as much as $ 32 , 000 . 
people who bet on the market are going to see their taxes cut or reduced , while workers are not going to see that kind of relief because this bill is about a transfer of wealth upwards , a transfer of wealth from the poor and the middle class to the wealthy . 
more than half of the american taxpayers will get less than $ 30 out of this so-called tax cut ; yet that is what this administration 's strategy has been all about . 
there has been no trickle-down benefits from their previous tax cuts of over a trillion dollars . 
americans ' savings have disappeared , credit cards are maxed out , home equity is exhausted , foreclosures have increased , pension funds are disappearing , health care benefits for many have been cut or eliminated . 
there are 45 million americans without health insurance . 
the wealth in this country is being transferred upward , and as wealth accelerates upward , the quality of our democracy is deteriorating . 
this bill continues that trend with spending cuts suffered by college students , suffered by senior citizens and children and family farmers . 
my colleague congressman lewis asked what would jesus do . 
we know his teachings . 
he said whatever you do for the least of the brethren , you do for the lord . 
this bill does not do for the least . 
it does for those who have the most . 
there is a transfer of wealth to the great mass of americans to a few as a matter of policy here . 
it is tax cuts , it is the war , it is all of the spending that is accomplished by our majority brothers and sisters goes to help those who are wealthy become wealthier . 
that is not how you can maintain a democracy . 
the tax system is central to making sure that we stay a democracy , and yet what we see here is the beginning of a plutocracy by continuing the acceleration of wealth upwards . 
we need to take stock and assessment of what these tax policies are doing to undermine people in this country , of what these tax policies are doing to make it impossible for a middle class to survive , of what these tax policies are ignoring in terms of trying to protect america 's manufacturers . 
there are auto workers and steel workers who are looking for a way for businesses , their industries , to survive ; and instead we are worrying about accelerating the wealth upward . 
we need to take stock of this . 
this is not only a fiscal question . 
it is a moral question , and the arc of our moral fiber here is going to be determined on whether or not we can stand up to this challenge about accelerating the wealth upwards . 
