“The budget that the president put out that we just are reviewing now is one that is really a shame,” Pelosi said, taking a verbal potshot at President Donald Trump.
“A budget should be a statement of our national values. What is important to us as a nation should be reflected in that budget. It should be a budget of investing in our future for our children and the rest. And if you review the budget that the President put forth, he cuts education. Nothing brings more money to the Treasury than the education of the American people. Early childhood, K-12, higher education, post-grad, lifetime learning for our workers,” Pelosi continued.
“The best dollar you can spend in the federal budget, I do believe, is basic biomedical research. The biblical power to cure, to save lives, to save funds for families who are confronted with illness and the rest. The list goes on and on. And why? Because he says he has to cut so that he can be fiscally sound—at the same time as he’s giving enormous tax cuts to the wealthiest people in our country,” she added.
Trump and Republicans are working to make permanent tax cuts that were passed early in his first term. They don’t go to “the wealthiest,” but affect more than 87 percent of all U.S. workers. In addition, the current tax cut plan includes a Trump pledge not to require income taxes on tips and some government benefits, among others.
Advertisement
Also, Republicans have been seeking to cut Education Department spending for decades, especially as public education was taken over by left-wing teachers’ unions and as scores and performance among students nationwide cratered.
Pelosi then discussed party leadership and when Democrats should confront Republicans and the Trump administration.
“You have to prioritize carefully and make the distinction so the American people can see what impact this has on their lives—carefully prioritizing and at the same time show the narrative, again, with some specific issues, show the narrative thematically of what he is doing to our country,” she said. “So again, we always have this debate: whether we go for opportunity, security, all of those things, or specific pieces of legislation—we do both.
“But this isn’t about me. This is about our new leadership. It’s about our courageous members of the House. We would have never had those bills without their courage. And too bad that the public — when somebody doesn’t get a message, it’s not—it’s not because of them,” she added.
