Date: 2011-04-14
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I want to thank my colleague from New York for allowing me to speak. The gentleman before me was correct: we have lots of options today. and thats great. We have the Republican budget. we have a Democratic budget. we have a Black Caucus budget and we have a Progressive Caucus budget. We have lots of options. Im going to talk about the Republican budget. The Republican proposal were debating today is reckless and misguided. It slashes taxes for the wealthy and pays for them by gutting Medicare. Let me explain that. It cuts over $30 billion in the first 10 years and will end Medicare by forcing seniors into private health insurance plans after 2022. Theyre right. if youre 54 years old now and you have high blood pressure and youre diabetic or prediabetic. you wont get Medicare. Youll get a voucher. And insurance companies dont want to cover those of us that may be diabetic or prediabetic or have high blood pressure. Theyre waiting to get on Medicare. Theyre not waiting to get a voucher. It gradually excludes seniors and eventually raises the age to 67 for Medicare. The CBO says that in 2022. the Republicans proposal will more than double the cost paid by Medicare enrollees. We are throwing seniors out of Medicare and into the uncertainty of the private insurance market while providing tax breaks to the wealthy. And it doesnt make sense. I also represent the Port of Houston. the 10th busiest port in the world. The port is facing a dredging crisis. Ensuring dredging means ensuring jobs. But the Republican budget contains deep cuts in programs like the Army Corps of Engineers. Dredging cannot be funded privately. It has to come from the Corps and the Federal Government. Hundreds of thousands of jobs not only in our Port of Houston but also across the country under this plan will be put at risk. Theres one high point in the budget. and I commend Chairman RYAN for including language to put NASA on track with the authorization bill Congress passed last year and provide for an immediate transition for our next generation of human space flight program once the shuttle missions are concluded. Despite that. Im unable to support the plan that allows massive cuts for the wealthiest Americans and pays for them by ending Medicare while neglecting our ports. This budget proposal makes over $30 billion in cuts to Medicare over 10 years. seeks to eliminate Medicare. and shifts all seniors over to private insurance plans after 2022. Beginning in 2022. Congressman RYANs budget proposal would convert the current Medicare system to a system of premium support payments. Individuals. when they turn 65 and Disability Insurance beneficiaries who become eligible for Medicare in 2022 or later. would not enroll in the current Medicare program but would receive vouchers to purchase private insurance plans. In addition. the proposal would increase the age of eligibility for Medicare for 2 months per year until it reaches 67 in 2033. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). the Ryan budget proposal would more than double Medicare beneficiary costs in 2022. from $5.538 to $12.513. which is an increase of nearly $7.000 per year in beneficiary premiums and coinsurance. Not one dollar of that increase in beneficiary costs goes to reducing the deficitit all goes to cover the higher costs of private plans that the Republicans would force seniors to join. Additionally. the average 65yearold in 2030 would have to pay about 68 percent of their health care costs (through premiums and copayments). compared with 25 percent under current rules. This is not the type of system we want for our seniors. Shifting individuals from a program like Medicare that works to private insurance plans that are only interested in making a profit is no way to reduce government spending and our deficit. In fact. the Ryan proposal once again shifts the burden of reducing the deficit onto the taxpayer and our seniors. I represent the Port of Houston. the busiest port in the United States in terms of foreign tonnage. secondbusiest in the United States in terms of overall tonnage. and tenthbusiest in the world. Unfortunately. the Port of Houston. like many Ports in this country. is facing a dredging crisis. In my district. ensuring dredging means ensuring jobs. By maintaining our shipping channel we lower the cost of importing and exporting. We move more commerce through our city and into communities across the country. Workers at distribution centers. longshoremen. truck drivers. tug boat operators. and many other professions rely on a functional port. The Port has identified over $80 million in dredging needs and they were only receiving $20 million of that in the Presidents budget request. The Republican Budget contains deep cuts. beyond the Presidents Budget. to programs like the Army Corps of Engineers. No other entity can fund these dredging projects but the Corps. Hundreds of thousands of jobs rely on the Port of Houston being one of the busiest in the world. Our oil and gas industry relies on a wellmaintained. functioning port. It is critical to our economy and our Nations strategic interests to maintain this port in the best condition possible. but under this plan. the budget will be cut. We have heard a lot from the Republican side about freeing our private sector to create jobs. but now we see their budget. and we find out this just isnt the case. While I am disappointed with nearly the Republicans entire budget. I am pleased with one portion of it. I commend Chairman RYAN for including language that would put NASA on track to follow the Authorization bill Congress passed last year. The plan in the authorization. and reaffirmed in this budget. would provide for an immediate transition to our next generation human space flight program. If NASA follows its own plan. human space flight will be put into limbo once the Space Shuttle missions conclude. By incorporating the compromise of the NASA authorization bill. we can use the valuable work accomplished during the Constellation program for the next generation of human space flight. We can maximize costsavings and offer the best value by leveraging tax payer dollars that have already been spent for the biggest benefit. These are goals that we must pursue during such difficult fiscal times. If we do not effectively guide NASA back toward a plan that is within the confines of the law. it will result in significant duplicative costs and unnecessary job losses. Local economies. like my own in Houston. home of Johnson Space Center. will be hit hard when we have just begun to recover. It is estimated by the Human Space Flight industry that at least 10.000 employees will be laid off under the more expensive. less effective. NASA budget proposal. A failure to maintain preeminence in human space flight will have ripple effects that damage our education system. our technology industrys ability to innovate. and could handicap our global competitiveness for years to come. We spend so much time talking about the importance of inspiring our students to pursue science. technology. engineering. and math disciplines. NASA serves as the single biggest catalyst for this inspiration. Under the NASA budget proposal. there will be no new jobs for our STEM students. We must change the trajectory at NASA. The plan in the authorization bill costs less. does more. and will allow our Nation to maintain its role as the leader in space. Despite this. I am unable to support any plan that allows massive tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and pays for them by ending Medicare while also neglecting maintaining our Ports. which are critical national interests.