mr. speaker , i welcome the opportunity to join with the republicans to send this holiday message to millions of americans that will be affected by this bill , especially to the fraction of 1 percent that would be the beneficiaries of a substantial reduction in capital gains and corporate dividends . 
it is true , while this only represents 20 to 25 percent of the bill , it should be made abundantly clear that these benefits would not be effective until sometime in 2009 and 2010 . 
now , i am here on the floor to try to get people to understand that this tax cut for the rich is really to grow the economy , and i want to make it clear to those people who have lost their jobs and not counted among the unemployed , those that are looking at automobile plants closing and airlines going bankrupt , that basically the economy is good , and it is good because the president told us so . 
and if they do not think that we are moving forward fast enough , then they ought to really listen to the president as he shares with us the great economic recovery that has happened in iraq , and if they are just a little patient , things will get better here in the united states . 
now , we all know that whenever we give this type of tax cut that there is going to be a tremendous revenue loss , and in the last few days , that revenue loss has been something like $ 100 billion . 
but fear not , because we are not charging all of this to the deficit . 
it is true that as the deficit increases more than history ever expected under this administration , that soon 40 percent of the tax revenues that we get will be going just to pay the interest on this outstanding debt , and that is why our republican friends believe that we just can not expand the deficit , that we have to cut spending . 
now , they have looked all over to the to decide where to do the cutting . 
and in this holiday season , i just want to join them in letting people know where these cuts are going to take place . 
but i do not want people to worry about it because the president says that the economy is booming and the republicans here say that the tax cuts for the rich is for economic growth . 
so how can one be against that formula ? 
first of all , if one is a mother trying to raise her children and she got support from the local and state government to go after the father , or whatever the case may be , to get that money to take care of her and her family , not to worry , that this is going to be cut and she will not be able to get the money because under this bill , whether people know it or not , it is for economic growth . 
say you are considering using food stamps for your christmas meal . 
you find out that the food stamps are going to be cut . 
not to worry , because soon there will be economic growth . 
maybe you are just a student trying to get a student loan , and you really think that you should get some help from your government because , after all , we want you to be productive and make a contribution to society . 
not to worry , these tax cuts are for economic growth . 
what i do not understand , with all of the opportunity that we have had to take care of economic growth , why do we wait until this time of the season and target the least among us in order to do the budget cuts ? 
it is not as though we do not have $ 2 or $ 3 billion in terms of expenses in iraq , which if you did not know lately , you should know that victory is in sight and we are winning that too . 
so we do not want you to lose confidence in all of government . 
if you find out that this bill rewards the richest of the people in the united states whose income is not going to be adversely affected , or their tax is adversely affected for 3 or 4 years , but we have to do something to target the poor today , then you have to have some trust in the republicans , because they say we have got to have victory in war , we have got to grow the economy , and this is the best thing that ever happened to you . 
now , the democrats are not just saying vote `` no. '' we will have an opportunity for members to vote `` yes. '' and unlike the republicans , we thought enough of the alternative minimum tax to include it in reconciliation . 
what does that mean ? 
it means it is protected when it gets over to the other side , so we did not have to depend on 100 senators sitting down and not objecting . 
it is in our bill . 
all of the good things that can come out of a bill , we have included , including relief for those people that have state taxes . 
and so , my friends in this holiday season , you may find it very difficult if you are unemployed , if you are concerned about the economy , or the cuts that we have , including medicaid , which is only a $ 10 billion cut , but you must trust the majority and the republicans in this house , because they , like the president of the united states , say the economy is booming . 
we are going to have victory in the middle east , and this is going to make it easier for you , if not today , if not tomorrow , then sometime in the future . 
mr. speaker , i reserve the balance of my time . 
