Date: 2012-05-09
Speaker: JOHN BOEHNER (republican)
Chamber: S

said: I didnt get elected to do small things. I want to do big things. And President Obama. to his detriment with his base. said: I will do something to change Social Security and Medicare. And all these things he agreed to do publicly. But the RepublicansJOHN BOEHNERcould never go against Grover Norquist. The Republicans shake in their boots. They will not do anything. even though the American people by a more than 70 percent majority say people making more than $1 million a year should contribute to what the problems are in this country. So that fell apart. Then we had the Gang of 6 Senatorsthree Republicans. three Democratswho had been on the BowlesSimpson Commission. who said we should do something about this. They were in the press. they had press conferences. and this was going down the road and doing all kinds of great things. While that was going on. there was a decision made. and a law was passed to create a supercommittee. to which I appointed Senator PATTY MURRAY of Washington to run. No one in the Senate. Democrat or Republican. has more respect than PATTY MURRAY. She worked so hard with the other 11 Members of Congress to come up with something. A few days before they were to arrive at a decisionand the Gang of 6 members are out here doing all this stuff all the timeI get a letter signed by virtually every Republican Senator saying: We are not going to raise revenue for anything. The supercommittee didnt work there. The Gang of 6 is gone. So we passed this last August to fund government for 2 years and to say if we dont arrive at another $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction during this year. it automatically kicks in at the end of this year or the beginning of next year. So that is where we are. and the Republicans in the House are trying to change that. So that is what this little history lesson has been all about. I dont like to sequester. I wish we didnt have to do it. It was a hard pill to swallow. but it was the right thing to do. If we are ever going to reduce the staggering deficit. we are going to have to make some hard decisions. So that is what this is all about. But that is the point: It is hard to do. therefore. we have to do it. to sequesterwhich. in effect. would take almost $500 billion from domestic programs and almost $500 billion from defense programs. They were designed to be tough enough to force two sides to reach a balanced deal. It hasnt happened yet. As I said earlier with General Eisenhowers statement. I didnt make that up. That is what he said. My complaint about the Republicans being so unreasonable about everything is something where I am not a lone wolf crying in the wilderness. We have two longtime nonpartisan watchers of Congress. one from the American Enterprise Institute. which is a conservative think tank. another from Brookings Institute that wrote an article saying: It is the Republicans. Cant you see what they are doing? Here is one thing they said: We have been studying Washington politics in Congress for more than 40 years. and never have we seen them this dysfunctional. In our past writings. we have criticized both parties when we believed it was warranted. Today. however. we have no choice but to acknowledge that the core of the problem lies with the Republican party. They further said: The GOP has become an insurgent outlier in American politics. It is ideologically extreme. of scornful compromise. unmoved by conventional understanding of facts. evidence and science. and dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition. What brave men to do that. to write these commentswhich are true. I have been saying that I dont want to fight about everything. Republicans insist on balancing the budget on the backs of the middle class. seniors. students. single mothers. and those who could least afford it. That is what they are doing over there today. It is their refusal to compromise that leaves us facing the threat of sequester. and it is difficult but it is balanced. Going back to the August budget agreement now in order to protect wealthy special interests is no solution. Neither is refighting the battles of last year. Democrats agree we must reduce our deficits and make hard choices. but we believe in a balanced approach that shares the pain as well as the responsibility. Is the sequester the best way to achieve that balance? No. But Republicans refuse to consider a more reasonable approachone. for example. that asks every American to pay his fair share while making difficult choices to reduce spending. Democrats will not agree to a onesided solution that lets the superwealthy off the hook while forcing the middle class and those in greatest need to bear all the hardship. Democrats believe we can protect Americans access to health care. create jobs while investing in the future. and protect the poor and elderly. But we cant do it alone. It will take work and compromise. and so far Republicans have been unwilling to make a serious effort to achieve that result. Republicans have rejected our balanced approach. Their onesided solution to acrosstheboard cuts would take away from the many to give to the few. Here is what the plan would donot all of it. but here is what their plan would do. Remember. they are taking it up over there in the House today. It would cut Medicaid benefits. increasing the number of uninsured children. parents. seniorsand that is in addition to people with disabilitiesby hundreds of thousands. just eliminate them. It would also put seniors in nursing homes at risk. Some of them would have to move out of the nursing home. I guess. It would punish Americans who receive tax credits to purchase health insurance when their financial circumstances change. causing 350.000 Americans to have no coverage. This would add to the tens of millions who already exist that way. It would weaken Wall Street reforms. protecting big banks at the expense of consumers. Their legislation would once again target middleclass workers. food inspectors. air traffic controllers. Border Patrol agents. drug enforcement. and FBI agents. They would have to be laid off. It would cut funding for preventive health care programs that fight chronic illnessessuch as heart disease. cancer. strokes. and diabetesthat cause 70 percent of the deaths in America. Preventive care would be reined in. It would slash block grant funding in the United States to help 23 million children. seniors. and disabled Americans live independently and out of poverty. No segment of the population is immune from this painful. absurd Republican planexcept maybe millionaires. billionaires. and wealthy corporations. The Republican proposal cuts Meals on Wheels and reduces food assistance for almost 2 million needy people. One of the Republican candidates running for President said President Obama is the Food Stamp President. There are more poor people. Our economy has been in bad shape. People are struggling. The millionaires are doing fine. And in addition to what I have already mentioned. this thing that they are taking up in the House today cuts off almost 300.000 children from free school lunches at a time when one in five children lives in poverty. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said the Republican plan fails "a basic moral test." This budget sets very clear priorities. The problem is what they are taking up in the House sets up the wrong priorities. President Franklin Roosevelt said: Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough. So Republicans would do well to remember our Nation is judged not only by the strength of its military. but also by the strength of its values. so says General Eisenhower and President Roosevelt.