Date: 2014-04-08
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank the gentleman from Oregon. and I thank all of the Members for a thoughtful and important debate. Mr. Chairman. that is what this is all about. It is about grippingtaking holdof the heart and soul of America. As I said in the Rules Committee. the budget is actually a moral document. a moral compass. of where we want to take this country. I think what needs to be explained to the American public is that. in actuality. we have been making progress. The deficit has gone down from $1 trillion from the past administration. from the Bush administration. to now $680 billion. We are making progress. from losing 800.000 jobs a month to gaining close to 200.000. yet the document that is on the floor today. the Ryan budgetthe Republican budgetchooses not to have the morality and the affection for the American people that is desired. When you look at their budget. you will see that $3.3 trillion of their budget69 percentis cut from programs for people with low or moderate incomes. from the very people who need a stairstep of opportunity. and they give $200.000 in tax cuts to the top 1 percent. None of us have any challenge to prosperity and opportunity. but how can you have a budget that hits lowincome programs or programs that give opportunity? How many have gone to school because of Pell grants? $175 million in cuts. How many people have gotten their health care from Medicaid and still do. like children? How many people have needed to have the SNAP program? I believe that we should have budgets that work for all people. I intend to vote for the CBC budget and for the Democratic budget and "no" on this underlying Republican budget. We need to have a standard that respects all people in this country. and this budget does not. Mr. Chair. I rise in strong opposition to H. Con. Res. 96. the House Republicans "Budget Resolution for Fiscal Year 2015." I oppose this irresponsible budget resolution because it continues the reckless approach to fiscal policy that the House majority has championed for years. with disastrous results. Mr. Chair. the budgeteers on the majority side have a very poor track record when it comes to economic forecasts and projections. For years. they have based their entire legislative agenda and strategy on their belief that the Affordable Care Act or "Obamacare" would be a failure. The wish was father to the thought. But they were wrong. Because of Obamacare more than 10 million Americans now know the peace of mind that comes from affordable. quality health insurance that is there when you need it. (7 million through the exchange and 3 million through Medicaid). House Republicans oppose increasing the minimum wage. claiming that it costs jobs. Wrong again. Every increase in the minimum wage has been accompanied by an expanding economy. especially during the Clinton Administration. House Republicans opposing comprehensive immigration reform claim that it will lead to lower incomes and lost jobs. Wrong again. Studies conducted by groups as far apart as the Chamber of Commerce and the AFLCIO consistently show that comprehensive immigration reform will grow the Gross Domestic Product by $1.5 trillion over 10 years. Given this sorry track record of economic forecasting. I strongly oppose the Republican budget because it favors the wealthy over middle class families and those struggling to enter or remain in the middle class. I oppose this Republican budget because it asks major sacrifices of seniors who can barely make ends meet. and fundamentally alters the social contract by turning Medicaid and SNAP programs into a block grant and Medicare into a voucher. I cannot and will not support a resolution that attempts to balance the budget on the backs of working families. seniors. children. the poor. or mortgages the future by failing to make the investments needed to sustain economic growth and opportunity for all Americans. Mr. Chair. we Democrats have a better way. We understand that we are all in this together and that our current economic situation calls for a balanced approach between increased revenues and responsible reduction in expenditures. Our plan will protect and strengthen our recovering economy. reduce the deficit in a responsible way. while continuing to invest in the things that make our country strong like education. health care. innovation. and clean energy. Mr. Chair. this Republican budget is bad for America but it is disastrous for the people from my home state of Texas who sent me here to advocate for their interests. Let me highlight a few examples. 1. If the Republican budget resolution were to become the basis of federal fiscal policy. 3.435.336 Texas seniors would be forced out of traditional Medicare and into a voucher program. Under the Republican plan to end Medicare as we know it. Texas seniors will receive a voucher instead of guaranteed benefits under traditional Medicare. 2. For the 3.435.336 Texans aged 4554. the value of their vouchers would be capped at growth levels that are lower than the projected increases in health care costs. Previous analyses showed that this type of plan would cut future spending by $5.900 per senior. forcing them to spend more out of pocket and diminishing their access to quality care. 3. Additionally. private insurance plans will aggressively pursue the healthiest. least expensive enrollees. thereby allowing Medicarecurrently the lifeline for 3.187.332 Texas seniorsto "wither on the vine." 4. If the Republican budget resolution were to be adopted by Congress. 206.304 Texas seniors would pay more for prescription drugs next year. 5. The Republican plan would reopen the "donut hole." forcing seniors to pay the full cost of their prescription drugs if their yearly drug expenses are more than $2.970 for the year. 6. Seniors reaching the prescription drug "donut hole" would pay an average of $828 more in prescription drug costs in 2014 and approximately $13.000 more from now through 7. Under the Republican budget. the 2.445.462 Texas seniors who utilized free preventive services currently covered by Medicare in 2012 will face increased costs in the form of higher deductibles. coinsurance. and copayments for certain services. including even cancer screenings and annual wellness visits. 8. The Republican budget slashes $31.71 billion in nursing home care and other health care services for 754.500 Texas seniors and disabled who currently rely on Medicaid for their longterm care needs. 9. The draconian cuts included in the Republican budget would have a devastating impact on the 1.191 certified nursing homes in Texas that serve 91.717 seniors. with more than half relying on Medicaid as their primary payer. As a result. nursing homes would be forced to slash services. turn away seniors. or close their doors. Mr. Chair. this budget could have invested in programs that help strengthen the middle class. reduce poverty. and strengthen our economic recovery. Instead. the Republican budget makes deep cuts to the area of the budget helping lowincome families put food on the table and make ends meet. These are families who are already struggling with unemployment. lower wages. and just simply trying to make ends meet. The House Republican budget will push millions more Americans into poverty and put a large number of lowincome children. seniors. and people with disabilities at risk. It guts Medicare and Medicaid and calls for massive cuts to food assistance. all in order to protect tax breaks for special interests and for multimillionaires who are not even asking for them. The Republican budget may be characterized in many wayscruel. irresponsible. shortsighted. recklessbut "fair and balanced" is not one of them. In contrast. the alternative budgets proposed by the Democratic Caucus. Congressional Black Caucus. and Congressional Progressive Caucus. which were made in order by the Rules Committee. are each worthy of support because they fairly balance the need for increased revenues and responsible reductions in expenditures with the imperative of making the necessary investments in human capital required to move our country forward. Specifically. the Alternative Budgets proposed by the Democratic Caucus. CBC. and CPC: help create more jobs now. replace the sequester. make key education investments. invest in research and development and clean energy. invest in longterm infrastructure. preserve Medicare as we know it. protect health reforms benefits for seniors. protect Medicaid for seniors in nursing homes. preserve Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP). reduce the deficit through a smart. targeted. and steady approach provides tax relief for working families and ends tax breaks for the wealthy. take a balanced approach to reducing the longterm deficits and debt. and put the budget on a sustainable path Mr. Chair. under the Democratic budget. the deficit would fall from 7 percent of GDP in 2014 to 2.3 percent of GDP in 2024. The Democratic Budget Alternative will generate at least a million more jobs this year compared to the Republicans "austerity first" plan by making the investments needed to create jobs. strengthen the middle class. create greater upward mobility. and ensure opportunity for our children and future generations. The Democratic alternative budgets extend Emergency Unemployment Compensation for the longterm unemployed. which provides a lifeline to the 2.37 million jobless workers who have already lost their benefits and the 72.000 persons who stand to lose there benefits each week if Congress does not act. Additionally. the Democratic budget immediately ends the Sequester. which would otherwise cost the economy 750.000 jobs by the end of the year. and replaces it with deficit reduction resulting from a balanced approach combining responsible spending cuts with increased revenues by cutting tax breaks for special interests and wealthy individuals without increasing the tax burden on middleincome Americans. Mr. Chair. the Democratic alternative budget maintains our commitment to Medicare. Medicaid. and Social Security. expands the EITC for childless workers. extends the tax credits from the American Taxpayer Relief Act due to expire at the end of 2017. and provides $7.6 billion annually for early childhood education. It is said often. Mr. Chair. but is no less true. that the federal budget is more than a financial document. it is an expression of the nations most cherished values. As the late and great former senator and VicePresident Hubert Humphrey said: "The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life. the children. those who are in the twilight of life. the elderly. and those who are in shadows of life. the sick. the needy. and the handicapped." For that reason that in evaluating the merits of a budget resolution. it is not enough to subject it only to the test of fiscal responsibility. To keep faith with the nations past. to be fair to the nations present. and to safeguard the nations future. the budget must also pass a "moral test." The Republican budget resolution fails both of these standards. The Democratic alternatives do not. For these compelling reasons. I stand in strong opposition to H. Con. Res. 96 and urge my colleagues to join me in voting against this illconceived and unwise measure.