mr. pallone. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. pallone: i thank my colleague. madam speaker, throughout this debate, republicans have been claiming that they are championing of working people but that's not the case here. this is not the saving american workers act, it's the sabotaging america's workers act. the affordable care act is based on the premise that the large businesses can afford to offer health coverage to their workers and they should do the responsible thing and offer coverage. that's only fair. 96% of all businesses don't have to offer any of their workers coverage under the a.c.a. but for the 4% of business this is a have the means, the law says that they need to do the right thing by their full-time workers and offer them health coverage. and the republicans don't think businesses owe their employees anything at all. the family and medical leave act, republicans say, oh, that's not important. equal pay for equal work, republicans say, oh, women don't deserve that. a fair minimum wage, republicans say, absolutely n

mr. pallone. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. pallone: thank you, mr. chairman. the progressive caucus' better off budget is optimistic. it's about investing in america, in job growth, by investing in infrastructure, public works and education. by repealing sequestration cuts, restoring funding for snap benefits and unemployment insurance and investing in programs to hire police, firefighters and health care workers, the better off budget will create 8. million good jobs by 2017 and embody ours american values by including comprehensive immigration reform and it protects our environment by addressing climate change. we support veterans, protecting medicare and social security, and implementing a fair tax system. i urge my colleagues, be optimistic about america. make america better off by voting for the progressive caucus budget. the chair: the time of the gentleman has expire. the gentleman from georgia. the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from arizona. r. grijalva: let me yield to the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. pocan, member of the caucus and bud