mr. speaker , i yield myself 4 minutes .  mr. speaker , one of the previous speakers on the majority side of the aisle said that we have limited resources , we have to make priority choices .  that is absolutely right .  the problem is with the priority choices that the majority has made .  they are fond of pointing to the fact that we have had extraneous expenses such as katrina , and they say that is why we have to squeeze bills like this .  but , in fact , under actions already taken by the majority party in this congress , over the next decade they will provide $ 1.2 trillion in tax cuts for persons who make more than $ 400 , 000 a year , the top 1 percent of earners ; and they have done virtually all of it by borrowing money to provide those tax cuts .  i would point out that that $ 1.2 trillion is more than five times as much as the federal government will spend by anybody 's estimate on repairing katrina .  i would say that also the actions of the last week , when they added $ 70 billion to the tax breaks that they are providing , again with 50 percent going to the top 1 percent , demonstrate what the values and what the priorities of the majority party would be .  if we ask the average family in this country what they need in order to be able to deal with their own problems , i think what they would say is they need help to see to it that they have adequate access to education for their children .  i think they would say that if somebody loses a job , they need help to get decent retraining .  i think they would ask for fair treatment in the workplace .  i think they would ask that their family have decent health care .  and i think seniors would ask that they be provided a secure retirement with adequate medical care and help to pay their drug costs .  the fact is that this bill fails on virtually all tests .  i would say also , as the gentleman from maryland indicated , we did try to do one additional thing for senior citizens .  because of the incredibly confusing prescription drug program which seniors are being asked to sign up for , because that program is so incredibly confusing , we tried to get the majority to consider a 6-month delay in the deadline that seniors have to meet in signing up for that program .  that motion failed on a party-line vote , unfortunately , on a 7-7 vote .  i would hope that before this congress ends , the congress will recognize that that program is so incredibly convoluted that there must be a delay in the sign-up deadline so that seniors have more time to make what could be a very confusing and devastating choice if they make the wrong choice .  having said that , mr. speaker , i want to thank the staff on both sides of the aisle for the work that they have done on this bill .  it has taken a good number of good people to produce what i think is a bad product because of the allocation ; but , nonetheless , i appreciate the hard work and i appreciate the enduring friendships that we have across the aisle .  mr. speaker , i assume this is the last time i will speak on the floor before christmas , so i want to wish everyone merry christmas and a happy new year , and enough blessings so that you will reconsider some of the mistakes in this bill .  