Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee. (AP photo)
(CNSNews.com) – Senate Republicans have begun to fire back at Democrats, who increasingly portray the GOP as caring only about protecting the wealthy in budget and fiscal negotiations.
During a Feb. 12 hearing of the Senate Budget Committee, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) said Republicans “reject the narrative” that the Democrats have been spreading that the GOP is only interested in “protecting the wealthy” in budget negotiations.
Sessions, the ranking Republican on the committee, blasted the committee chairman, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), saying she was wrong to accuse congressional Republicans of “protecting the rich above all else” and “starving programs that protect middle-class families and the most vulnerable Americans.”
“That hurts my feelings,” Sessions said.
“That’s not what I believe in. I believe we have to have an economy that’s growing, creating prosperity. That we need to help poor people get jobs and move forward in their lives and not dependent -- ever dependent on more and more government checks, handouts and programs. That would be the way to save this country in my opinion. That’s the way to help poor people.
“And I resent the fact that those who suggest that people who have a different view of how to help poor people somehow don’t care about them,” he said. “Compassion and help for the poor and struggling amounts to more than borrowing more money and sending out more checks.”
In a July 16 speech last year, Murray had said: “Unless Republicans end their commitment to protecting the rich above all else, our country is going to have to face the consequences of Republican intransigence.”