Date: 2016-03-16
Speaker: WATSON COLEMAN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. on Monday night. we got word of a decision that may be the death knell for the budget proposal made by the majority of this body. The members of the selfstyled Freedom Caucus have announced their refusal to support the plan that their own leadership has put forward. I am truly afraid of what they would offer as an alternative. because the budget being considered in committee this week is a far cry from what American families need. Mr. Speaker. at its most fundamental level. a budget is two things: a guiding document and a statement of values. The budget that the House Republicans have put forwardthe budget that is not enough for the Freedom Caucusmakes it clear that they value special interests more than working families. It is a guiding document to an America that is bereft of opportunity for those who have worked or have studied or have fought for it. My colleagues and I are here on the floor tonight to support a very different plana budget that seeks to give everyday Americans the only opportunity they have ever asked forthe opportunity to work hard. to play by the rules. and to get ahead. It is a budget for the people. so it shouldnt come as a surprise that we call it The Peoples Budget. Mr. Speaker. the Congressional Progressive Caucus budget would invest in our schools. our roads. our bridges. our workers. and our environment to put us back on the path to prosperity in a way that austerity never will. because the cuts of the past few years should have made one thing clear: trimming our spending does little to impact the longterm deficit. but it destroys working families. hinders the most vulnerable Americans. and threatens the future of our Nation. The Peoples Budget would invest $1 trillion in our bridges. roads. railways. and other infrastructure facilities to prevent the kind of devastating failures we have witnessed in Flint. Michigan. The Peoples Budget would fully fund Head Start. capitalizing on one of the best opportunities to give our young people a leg up in an increasingly global economy. The Peoples Budget would take steps to make debtfree college a reality for students. keeping higher education as a ladder into economic prosperity rather than making it a privilege for top earners. The Peoples Budget would fully fund affordable housing programs. and it would end persistent family homelessness with an investment of $11 billion. The Peoples Budget would take a stand on protecting our environment from further damage by investing in clean and renewable energy resources and ending subsidies for oil. gas. and coal once and for all. And that is just the beginning. Our economy may be rebounding from the Great Recession. but there are plenty of Americans who have been left behindstuck in roles with low wages. in longterm unemployment. in the gender and racial pay gaps that persist in this Nation. or in debt that keeps them from progressing in their lives. We cant afford to let this stand. We need a budget for the people. and we need it now. Mr. Speaker. the budget that was announced by the majority yesterday is truly a roadmap to ruin. It would leave seniors out in the cold by ending the Medicare guarantee. It would gut domestic programming with $6.5 trillion in cutsthe most outrageous and threatening action ever proposed by the majority on the Budget Committee. It would make the gap between average Americans and the wealthy few too great to bridge. taking away any chance at restoring the vibrant middle class our economy relies on. It would do the same thing that my colleagues have tried to do for some time. which would be to stack the deck for top earners and the wellconnected at the expense of everyone else. The people need change. The people need a plan that levels the playing field. that gives them opportunities to succeed. and that puts their interests above the interests of corporations and the wealthy. The people need salaries to let them do more than just make ends meet. The people need a way to pay for affordable child care while they are at their jobs. The people need education for their children and teachers who are trained to give students the tools to succeed. They need roads that arent crumbling and trains that stay on the tracks. they need bridges and tunnels that connect them with their jobs without their having to spend hours in traffic. and they need job training to find employment in a changing economy. The people. Mr. Speaker. need The Peoples Budget. I yield to the gentleman from Minnesota . my colleague and the chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.