Date: 2015-03-24
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

As I close. let me thank the gentleman for his courtesy. Mr. VAN HOLLEN is right. I have served on the Judiciary Committee. It is there that we deal with the problems. particularly on the Crime Subcommittee. at the end of someones detour in life. Do you know what. Mr. Chairman? Those detours in life that wind up with 75.000 persons in the Federal prison system on mandatory minimums has been because people cannot read. do not have opportunities. and do not have jobs. I want to invest in a budget that lifts the boats of all people. if you work hard. you get a home. if you work hard. you can send your kids to school. if you work hard. you can retire. That is the budget I want to support. not this nosuccess budget that is being proposed by our Republican friends. I ask my colleagues to support the alternative budget along with the CPC and the CBC budget. Mr. Chair. I rise in strong opposition to H. Con. Res. 27. the House Republicans "Budget Resolution for Fiscal Year 2016" because it continues the reckless and irresponsible 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 16.4 million Americans now know the peace of mind that comes from affordable. quality health insurance that is there when you need it. 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. the GOP "Work Harder. Get Less" Budget squeezes hardworking Americans by making it: 1. Harder to buy a home by keeping their paychecks stagnant. 2. harder to send your kids to college by cutting student loans. and 3. harder to enjoy a secure retirement by privatizing Medicare. If the House Republicans "Work Harder to Get Less" budget were adopted. here is a sample of the pain and misery that will be visited on middleclass and working families: 1. An end to higher education tax credits. 2. an end to needed increases in the child tax credit. 3. the loss of access to tax credits for affordable health care for millions of Americans. and 4. a reduction in tax rates for the wealthy yielding an average tax cut of $200.000 for millionaires financed by a $2.000 tax increase on the typical middle class family. Mr. Chair. this "Price is not Right" budget will make it harder to middle and working class parents to send their kids to college by: 1. Ending higher education tax credits. and 2. cutting student loan programs and Pell Grants. making college less affordable and adding to the already huge levels of student debt. The damage caused by the Republican budget is not limited to working families and students. there are also lumps of coal for seniors who have earned and deserve a secure retirement: 1. The Medicare guarantee is turned into a voucher program with increased costs for seniors. 2. Seniors who have worked hard for a financially secure retirement will immediately have to pay new copays for preventive care and much higher costs for prescription drugs. The Republican budget also disinvests in Americas future: 1. Slashes the part of the budget we use to invest in our childrens education. and 2. devastates our investments in scientific research and innovation. Mr. Chair. the Republican budget exacerbates the drag on the economy resulting from a crumbling infrastructure by cutting $187 billion. or more than 19 percent. from transportation funding over the coming decade and provides no solution to address the current shortfall in the federal transportation fund. which means we can expect construction slowdowns beginning this summer. Mr. Chair. compared to the Presidents budget. the Republican budget would result this fiscal year in 35.000 fewer children in Head Start and up to 6.000 fewer special education teachers. paraprofessionals. and other related staff. The Republican budget also shortchanges Americas future by cutting investments in scientific research and innovation in real terms by failing to lift the draconian sequester on domestic priorities. As a result. under the Republican budget. there would be 1.300 fewer medical research grants at National Institutes H and 950 fewer competitive science research awards at the NSF. affecting 11.600 researchers. technicians. and students. Finally. Mr. Chair. the Republican Budget mistreats the poorest and most vulnerable persons in our country. The Republican "Work Harder. Get Less" budget takes aim at millions of families with children struggling to make ends meet and put food on the table by converting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) into a block grant beginning in 2021 and cutting funding steeplyby $125 billion (34 percent) between 2021 and by 2025. These dramatic cuts could mean in 2021 through 2025 either cutting off assistance to 11 to 12 million eligible people each year. or cutting benefits by almost $55 per person per month. In contrast. the Democratic Budget works FOR American families by giving them the tools to buy a home. send their kids to college and enjoy a secure retirement. Mr. Chair. the Democratic Budget represents a better way. We Democrats 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.