Republican Credibility Drowning in Sea of Red Ink

REPUBLICAN CREDIBILITY DROWNING IN SEA OF RED INK -- (House of Representatives - November 15, 2005)

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) is recognized for 5 minutes.

Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, today House Republicans had the audacity to claim that they are getting tough on spending, that they are restoring fiscal discipline. But I say to my friends on the other side of the aisle, who do you think you are kidding? Do you not think the American public is watching what you have done?

Just this morning, USA Today reported on our Nation's dire fiscal conditions, quoting experts on both sides of the aisle.

For example, the newspaper said: ``To hear Comptroller General David Walker tell it, the United States can be likened to Rome before the fall of the empire. Its financial condition is `worse than advertised.' It has a `broken business model.' It faces deficits in its budgets, its balance-of-payments, its savings, and its leadership.''

The leadership, of course, of this city and this country is a Republican President, a Republican-led Senate, and a Republican-led House.

Mr. Speaker, I have been a proud Member of this body for 25 years. For 17 of those years, a Republican has occupied the White House. I would suggest to my colleagues, there is one person and only one person in America that can stop spending in its tracks, and that is the President of the United States. No single Member of Congress, no single member of the Senate, but a President can say ``no'' to spending. So when Presidents lament spending, they lament what they have done.

Here is the reality, Mr. Speaker: in every single one of those 17 years, this country has had substantial deficits. Let me repeat that: 17 years of Republican leadership and 17 straight years of deficits.

The Republican budget reconciliation bill would only perpetuate that record of irresponsibility and recklessness. Why? Because the net effect of their reconciliation package would add $20 billion additional deficits in this country. Five years ago, the Bush administration and this Republican Congress inherited from a Democratic President a 10-year budget surplus of $5.6 trillion and four consecutive budget surpluses from the Clinton administration.

I call your attention to this chart: budget deficits, fiscal year 1982, the first fiscal year for which Ronald Reagan was responsible, to fiscal year 2006, which is the current year we are budgeting for. Look at that, 17 straight years of Republican deficits, with no exception.

Now the Republicans come to the floor and they say, oh, my goodness, we have had Iraq. We have, but when Ronald Reagan said it was good morning in America, when he said the economy was doing extraordinarily well and that America was back and had an overwhelming reelection based upon that premise, guess what? We had a deficit of $212 billion. The next year we had a deficit of $221 billion. So the deficit picture you see on this chart is unblemished straight deficits until Bill Clinton is elected President of the United States.

Then Bill Clinton, as you can see on this chart, introduced an economic plan on this floor, and I will get to that.

President Bush had promised the American people that he would proceed with tax relief without fear of budget deficits, even if the economy softens. You will see he was dead flat wrong. So when you hear these Republicans make representations about what they are going to do, look at the 17 years Ronald Reagan said he was going to balance the budget. He did not do it. George Bush the First said he was going to balance the budget. He did not do it. The present President of the United States said we can adopt his economic program and we would pay off the national debt, we would not spend a nickel of Social Security, and we would not spend a nickel of Medicare. He was wrong, or I might say, he misrepresented politely every one of those points, and has run up deficits of 157, 377, 412, 319 and $323 billion.

That record is one that ought to be rejected. Democrats have been united in rejecting those proposals. We will continue to take that posture.

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At the same time, Republicans have raised the debt limit not once, but twice, not three times--but four times in four years; $450 billion in 2002, $984 billion in 2003, $800 billion in 2004, and $781 billion this year.

The interest payments on the national debt are now the fastest growing category of spending in our budget.

So today, when Republicans say that they want to restore fiscal discipline, we must respond: You have lost all credibility on this issue.

President Bush has not vetoed one--not one--spending bill.

Republicans rammed a prescription drug bill through this Congress that they insisted would cost $395 billion. But they suppressed a more accurate estimate, and now that legislation is expected to cost $1 trillion.

The budget reconciliation bills are the Republican Party's latest charade.

They say that they are cutting spending by some $54 billion--including cuts of $12 billion to Medicaid, $14 billion to student loans, $1 billion to food stamps and $5 billion to child support programs.

But they also plan to cut taxes on the wealthiest people in America by $70 billion.

Anyway you cut it, this Republican majority intends to increase the deficit, not reduce it.

Even Alan Greenspan, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, is sounding the alarm. Recently, he said: ``You should not be cutting taxes by borrowing.''

Fortunately, not all Republicans are willing to participate in this irresponsible fraud.

Last Thursday, for example, Senator VOINOVICH told the Washington Post: ``I do not know how anyone can say with a straight face that when we voted to cut spending last week to help achieve deficit reductions, we can now then turn around two weeks later to provide tax cuts that exceed the reduction in spending. That is beyond me, and I am sure the American people.''

So I implore my colleagues on the other side of the aisle: Demonstrate the courage of your convictions.

Put the interests of the American people ahead of the interests of your political party.

Oppose these irresponsible reconciliation bills.

Join Democrats in fighting to restore fiscal discipline to our budget.

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