H166 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE January 13, 2009 

this country, and I urge the Presidentelect to bring in his economic advisers 

for a little chat and, perhaps, to reorient their thinking. 

f 

THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION SUPPORTS COOPER-WOLF SAFE COMMISSION IN STIMULUS LEGISLATION 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The 

Chair recognizes the gentleman from 

Virginia (Mr. WOLF) for 5 minutes. 

Mr. WOLF. Madam Speaker, I come 

to the floor today to raise the issue of 

the dire financial situation facing our 

country. 

We must come together to face the 

reality that America is living on borrowed dollars to the tune of $11 trillion 

in debt and $54 trillion, soon to go 

higher, in unfunded liabilities with entitlements. We must offer a bipartisan 

solution to these long-term financial 

challenges. 

In recent days, there have been calls 

to consider the long-term budget controls in tandem with any economic 

stimulus package offered. The respected Heritage Foundation released a 

report last Friday, entitled ‘‘Stimulus 

Legislation Must Include Budget Reforms to Address Long-term Challenges.’’ 

The report offered support for budget 

control mechanisms that would be set 

up through the Cooper-Wolf SAFE 

Commission legislation in the House 

and the Bipartisan Task Force for Responsible Fiscal Action effort proposed 

by Budget Chairman KENT CONRAD and 

Ranking Member, Senator JUDD

GREGG, in the Senate. 

The Heritage publication, which I 

submit for the record, notes that SAFE 

‘‘would have the advantage of a twostep process. Its first phase would be a 

series of nationwide public hearings to 

talk frankly about the long-term fiscal 

problems and the tough options for fixing it and build public support for congressional action on a broad plan of action.’’ 

As our colleagues may recall, the 

SAFE process would culminate in legislative recommendations to Congress, 

and like the BRAC process for closing 

bases, Congress would be required to 

vote up or down on the plan. 

I know there have been questions 

raised about incorporating long-term 

budget controls in a short-term stimulus aimed primarily at job creation, 

but I would argue—and many would 

argue—that the time is now here to 

begin to confront the underlying problem of autopilot spending. I don’t know 

about other Members, but my constituents continue to share their frustration 

with Congress’ seeming to know only 

how to spend money with no regard for 

the future. 

We need to listen to the American 

people and show them that we can lead 

and that we can make the difficult 

choices. The longer we wait and the 

more consuming entitlement program 

spending becomes, the more draconian 

our choices will be. We are mortgaging 

the future for our children and grandchildren. The bottom line is we cannot 

deal with the short-term financial 

problems without thinking about and 

dealing with the long-term solutions. 

The SAFE Commission is not a new 

idea. Over 110 Members of Congress cosponsored the legislation in the last 

year. The Heritage Foundation, the 

Brookings Institution and the Concord 

Coalition all helped draft the bill. 

Jim Cooper and I joined bipartisan 

forces in the last Congress, and SAFE 

has continued to garner support from 

other leading voices, including the 

business community—the Virginia and 

Tennessee Chambers of Commerce, the 

Business Roundtable and the National 

Federation of Independent Business. 

We all know that it will take all of 

the political courage that we can muster to reject the partisan and special 

interest demands and to do what is 

best for the country. If other Members 

have a better bipartisan idea that can 

pass the House, they should be introducing it, and it should be included in 

the stimulus package. 

Not acting on this issue is effectively 

supporting either the ‘‘do nothing 

plan’’ or the ‘‘maybe this problem will 

fix itself plan’’ or the ‘‘let’s just bury 

our heads in the sand plan,’’ but the 

numbers don’t lie. The Nation’s future 

outlook is sobering. Just in the short 

term, CBO projects that the Federal 

budget deficit for this fiscal year alone, 

which started in October, will balloon 

to $1.2 trillion and perhaps higher. 

We offered this SAFE idea as an 

amendment to the FY09 Financial 

Services spending bill last June. Unfortunately, we came up one vote short of 

passage. Congressman ALLEN BOYD, the 

founding member of the Blue Dog Coalition, spoke eloquently from his heart 

in support of the amendment, asking 

us to envision ourselves 20 years from 

now, sitting on the front porch and 

telling our grandchildren about the 

days we served in Congress. 

What will we tell our grandchildren— 

that we looked the other way, knowing 

that out-of-control entitlement spending would threaten the living standards 

of future generations? 

The stakes for the country’s future 

may have never been so high. This is 

clearly an economic issue, but it is also 

a moral and a generational issue. Abraham Lincoln once said, ‘‘You cannot 

escape the responsibility of tomorrow 

by evading it today.’’ I believe the 

moral component of this issue goes to 

the heart of who we are as Americans. 

This is not a Republican issue or a 

Democrat issue. It is an American 

issue. If we can’t find a way to come 

together on this fundamental issue, I 

will have serious questions about our 

ability to find bipartisan solutions that 

will work for the good of the country. 

I am asking our colleagues today to 

come together, to know that while we 

served in Congress we did everything 

we could in our power to provide the 

kind of security and way of life for our 

children and for our grandchildren that 

our parents and grandparents worked 

so hard to provide for us. 

This challenge, too, goes out to the 

leadership in Congress and to the soonto-be Obama administration to make 

this a truly bipartisan effort. Put the 

SAFE Commission process in the stimulus package and on the fast track to 

enactment. 

I have never been more committed to 

an issue and to helping to find bipartisan solutions to address our longterm financial sustainability of this 

country. The American people expect 

nothing less. 

[From the Heritage Foundation, Jan. 9, 2009] 

STIMULUS LEGISLATION MUST INCLUDE BUDGET REFORMS TO ADDRESS LONG-TERM CHALLENGES

(By Alison Acosta Fraser) 

Congress and President-elect Barack 

Obama have set their sights on a massive 

economic stimulus bill crammed full of 

spending projects intended to ‘‘jolt’’ the 

economy into recovery. By some counts this 

package may reach $1 trillion, or nearly 85 

percent of the total of all budget bills passed 

last year.1

This is not the way to spur economic recovery. But even if it were, Obama already 

recognizes he faces a difficult challenge: how 

to keep the stimulus focused on short-term 

deficit spending and avoid a huge, long-term 

expansion of the federal government—and 

with it a dramatic increase in the staggeringly large unfunded obligations due mainly 

to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. 

To deal with that challenge, Obama should 

work with fiscally responsible Members of 

Congress to include four key budget reforms 

in any stimulus legislation: 

1. Put long-term obligations from Social 

Security, Medicare, and Medicaid front and 

center in the budget process; 

2. Establish a bipartisan congressional 

commission to develop a package of longterm reforms for entitlements; 

3. Establish equitable policies for assessing 

and enforcing spending and revenues changes 

in the budget; and 

4. Create a long-term budget for entitlement spending. 

Spending and Deficits Hit New Records. 

Federal spending is projected to top 25 percent of GDP in 2009, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBE), the highest 

it has been since World War II, and that is 

before any stimulus legislation. The deficit 

is projected to reach $1.2 trillion by the end 

of this year, and any stimulus would likely 

push the deficit to more than $1.6 trillion. 

Similar large deficits are projected to continue into the future.2 Such deficits are a 

loud alarm to which policymakers must listen: Federal spending is out of control. But 

even they ignore the deeper fiscal problems 

of Social Security and Medicare. These programs together, not even counting Medicaid, 

have an unfunded obligation that is equivalent to a mortgage of $43 trillion.3 Future 

generations will be forced to pay for those 

obligations through higher taxes unless the 

programs are modernized. 

Budget Restraint. While making the case 

for his massive short-term stimulus proposal. President-elect Obama acknowledged 

the threat entitlements pose to the economy, noting, ‘‘If we do nothing, then we will 

continue to see red ink as far as the eye can 

see.’’ He called budget reform ‘‘an absolute 

necessity,’’ and he has pledged to confront 

the problems from Social Security and Medicare in his budget. 

Budget writers in Congress are also 

alarmed. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D–ND), called the deficit 


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January 13, 2009 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H167 

‘‘jaw dropping,’’ and House Budget Committee Chairman Jack Spratt (D–SC) was 

suffering ‘‘sticker shock.’’ 4 They and their 

ranking member counterparts have encouraged lawmakers to tackle the long-term 

budget problems posed by these entitlement 

programs. Conrad and Senator Judd Gregg 

(R–NH) have urged Congress to link the 

stimulus with action to address the longterm budget crisis.5

If President-elect Ohama is serious about 

fiscal responsibility, he and responsible 

Members of Congress must insist on budget 

reforms to prevent further deterioration of 

an already alarming long-term budget problem and require action to tackle these challenges directly. To that end, he and responsible lawmakers should insist on these four 

key budget reform measures being included 

in any stimulus package: 

1. Put long-term obligations from Social 

Security, Medicare, and Medicaid front and 

center in the budget process, with an up-ordown vote on any budget that will increase 

debts on future generations. Such a measure 

could easily be incorporated into the annual 

budget resolution. This would provide a more 

accurate and transparent assessment of the 

federal government’s commitments and provide all Americans with a vivid picture of 

the problem. All major policy changes 

should be scored over the long term to indicate what impact they would have on the 

total unfunded obligations of the government. That would provide lawmakers and 

the public with a better understanding of the 

true long-term costs of new legislation. And 

to put Members on record on their attitude 

to burdening our children and grandchildren, 

they should have to vote during the annual 

budget process if the proposed budget will increase long-term obligations.6

2. Enact a bipartisan congressional commission to develop a package of long-term 

reforms that will make these programs affordable. Bipartisan legislation to implement this type of commission was introduced in the previous Congress: the SAFE 

Act (H.R. 3654), co-sponsored by Representatives Jim Cooper (D–TN) and Frank Wolf (R– 

VA), and the Bipartisan Task Force for Responsible Fiscal Action Act (S. 2063), cosponsored by Conrad and Gregg. Under both 

bills, a commission would craft detailed recommendations for a fast-track vote in Congress. The SAFE Act would have the added 

advantage of a two-step process. Its first 

phase would be a series of nationwide public 

hearings to talk frankly about the long-term 

fiscal problem and the tough options for fixing it and to build public support for congressional action on a broad plan of action.7

3. Establish equitable policies for assessing 

and enforcing spending and revenues changes 

in the budget. Any budget enforcement 

mechanism is based on changes in projected 

spending and revenues. The CBO projects a 

spending baseline by assuming that all the 

laws authorizing spending—such as the highway or farm programs, or even appropriations—will be extended year after year and 

spending levels will continue even if they expire regularly under existing law. But when 

it comes to taxes, the CBO’s baseline is current statute, and any rates reductions, deductions, credits. etc., that arc scheduled to 

expire are assumed to do so. The lopsided result is that spending is given a free ride 

under the baseline while any reduction in 

the growth of taxes is assumed to be temporary 

This skewed baseline means current 

‘‘PAYGO’’ rules are biased toward tax increases. Thus, for any enforcement mechanism to be considered fair and to be effective, it must be based on the same baseline 

treatment for both spending and revenues. 

Indeed, Obama’s own advisors have already 

criticized this lopsided policy treatment, 

which stacks the deck in favor of higher 

spending and higher taxes.8

4. Create a long-term budget for entitlement spending. Unlike ‘‘discretionary’’ programs such as defense and education, ‘‘mandatory’’ entitlement programs like Medicare 

and Social Security are not budgeted annually. Entitlement spending grows on autopilot, in conjunction with the programs’ regulatory framework, so there is not an open 

or transparent consideration of priorities or 

budgetary trade-offs. And since spending levels are simply the product of individuals 

using their entitlement, there is in a sense 

no budget just a projection of likely total 

costs. And as they grow unchecked, these entitlements crowd out other programs and 

priorities. 

This must change, by constraining entitlement programs with a real budget. To be 

sure, retirement programs require longer 

time horizons and planning than typical discretionary programs so that beneficiaries 

will not face unexpected annual changes in 

benefits. Therefore, Congress should create a 

long-term framework for a constrained entitlement budget that would be periodically 

evaluated to ensure that these programs are 

sustainable and affordable over the long 

term. This could be done by creating a longterm budget window—for example, 30 years. 

All spending would be reviewed every five 

years, and the commission could recommend 

measures for Congress to ensure that the 

programs live within this budget framework.9

There are many reasons to be concerned 

over the unprecedented stimulus spending 

now being proposed, including the ineffectiveness of Keynesian pump priming, the perils of such an immense hike in government 

spending, and the creation of new permanent 

government programs. With the first baby 

boomers recently retiring, America is experiencing the first waves of the entitlement 

tsunami. The stimulus legislation could set 

the stage for a permanent sea of red ink and 

an even larger tsunami of debt. Substantive 

budget reforms are needed to prevent such a 

scenario from occurring. 

Truly Serious? If President-elect Obama 

insists on a massive spending bill, he must 

ensure it does not result in huge permanent 

new government programs and thus potentially trillions of dollars in new burdens on 

our children and grandchildren. He must 

demonstrate his commitment to tackle the 

long-term entitlement challenges by working with Members of Congress to build sound 

budget process reform measures into the 

stimulus legislation. If he does not do so, the 

young Americans who voted for him should 

question how serious he is about protecting 

their financial future. 

ENDNOTES

1. Estimated FY 2008 appropriations $1.154 

trillion, prior to all enacted supplementals. 

Office of Management and Budget, ‘‘Budget 

of the United States Government Fiscal Year 

2009: Historical Tables,’’ Table 5.4, at 

www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2009/hist 

.html (January 9, 2009). 

2. See Brian M. Riedl, ‘‘CBO Budget Baseline Shows Historic Surge in Spending and 

Debt,’’ Heritage Foundation WebMemo No. 

2193, January 7, 2009, at http://www 

.heritage.org/research/budget,wm2193 (January 9, 2009). 

3. Department of the Treasury, ‘‘2008 Financial Report of the United States Government,’’ December 15, 2008, p. 41, at http:// 

fms.treas.gov/fr/index.html (January 9, 2009). 

4. Lori Montgomery, ‘‘Congress Urges 

Spending Restraint,’’ The Washington Post, 

January 8, 2009, at http://www. 

washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/ 

2009/01/07/AR2009010701156.html?hpid=topnew 

(January 9, 2009.) 

5. Senators Kent Conrad and Judd Gregg. 

‘‘A Fiscal Battle on Two Fronts,’’ The Washington Post, January 5, 2009, at http:// 

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/04/AR2009010401436_pf.html (January 9, 2009). 

6. Alison Acosta Fraser, ‘‘Federal Budget 

Should Include Long-Term Obligations from 

Entitlement Programs,’’ Heritage Foundation Executive Memorandum No. 1004, June 

22, 2006, at http://ww.heritage.org/Research/ 

Budget/em1004.cfm. 

7. Alison Acosta Fraser, ‘‘The SAFE Commission Act (H.R. 3654) and the Long-Term 

Fiscal Challenge,’’ testimony before the 

Committee on the Budget, U.S. House of 

Representatives, June 25, 2008, at http://www 

.heritage.org/Research/Budget/tst062508b.cfm. 

8. J.D. Foster, Ph.D., ‘‘Obama to CBO Revenue Baseline: Nuts—and He’s Right!,’’ Heritage Foundation WebMemo No. 2019, August 

11, 2008, at http://www.heritage.org/Research/ 

Budget/wm2019.cfm. 

9. Stuart M. Butler, Ph.D., Alison Acosta 

Fraser and Other Authors, ‘‘Taking Back our 

Fiscal Future,’’ Heritage Foundation White 

Paper, March 31, 2008, at http://www 

.heritage.org/Research/Budget/wp0408.cfm. 

f 

THE NEW FRONTIER OF THE 21ST 

CENTURY 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The 

Chair recognizes the gentleman from 

Tennessee (Mr. COHEN) for 5 minutes. 

Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, last 

week, the 111th Congress was convened, 

and we started by electing our Speaker, the Honorable NANCY PELOSI, for a 

second term of Speaker of the House. 

The 111th Congress has much potential, much of it because the 107th, 108th 

and 109th Congresses failed as a Republican majority, and a Republican President let the free market dictate how 

our economy responded to economic 

pressures, and as a result, we have had 

the greatest economic catastrophe 

since the Great Depression. 

Those Congresses—the 107th, 108th 

and 109th—allowed the Republican 

President, on faith, to take us into a 

war that has cost us 4,000 American 

lives, over 30,000 casualties and over a 

half trillion dollars that has robbed our 

citizens and our cities, Madam Speaker, of monies needed for health care, 

education and infrastructure. 

The 110th Congress saw a Democratic 

majority come here, and it had an opportunity to pass legislation, some of 

which was approved by the President, 

was signed by the President or his veto 

was overridden. However, the President 

did veto several of our bills, including 

a children’s health care plan, which 

we’ll work on this week. We were unable to stop the hemorrhaging of our 

economy and of our young people’s 

lives in the Middle East. 

In both the election of a new President and in the 111th Congress’s opportunity to work with President-elect 

Obama, I believe this Congress will be 

viewed as one of the most historic Congresses in the history of our country. 


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