Appointment of Conferees on S. 1932, Deficit Reduction Act of 2005
APPOINTMENT OF CONFEREES ON S. 1932, DEFICIT REDUCTION ACT OF 2005 -- (House of Representatives - December 16, 2005)
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Mr. WICKER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.
Mr. Speaker, my friend from California asked just a few moments ago, what is it that Republican budgets do? I will tell you what Republican budgets do, and I will tell you what this Republican budget does. It provides a plan to give savings to the American people. It provides a plan to slow the growth rate of some of the most important programs that we have in the United States of America so that we can save those programs, programs mentioned in the motion to instruct conferees, such as food stamps, funding for child support enforcement, Medicaid benefits, and student loans.
Republicans acknowledge, as most Americans acknowledge, that these are important and valuable programs. But, Mr. Speaker, we must slow the growth rate of these programs; not cut them, but slow the growth rate in order to preserve those programs.
What do Republican budgets do? Republican budgets also keep intact those tax policies that have grown this economy for 10 straight quarters, a growth rate of 4.1 percent in our GDP currently.
Now, what do Democrat budgets do? They consistently advocate increased spending, increases in discretionary spending, that done by the Appropriations Committee; and higher spending on the entitlement programs that we are talking about in this motion to instruct conferees. Also, Democrat budgets consistently call for higher taxes on the American people.
It is just a difference of philosophy. But that is what Democrat budgets do, and that is contrasted to what our responsible and reasonable Republican budget does today.
Now, I will mention one program, if I have the time, and that is Medicaid. Democrat Governors from around the country, Republican Governors from around the country have come to Congress and said, please, implement Medicaid reforms so that we can protect our budgets, so that Medicaid will not completely eat up State budgets in the 50 States, so that we can continue to provide this valuable service for our citizens.
The Democrat motion would allow Medicaid to grow. The Republican budget, our budget plan, would allow Medicaid to grow just a little slower, at just a little less of a growth rate than the Democratic plan.
Slowing the growth rate of Federal entitlement programs, which is what our Republican plan does, is not a cut in these programs. It is a way to acknowledge the value of these programs, it is a way to say we should preserve them, and it is a way to provide an additional means to protect the tax cuts and the tax policy that have been so successful in having our economy grow the way it has. I urge my colleagues to vote against the motion to instruct.
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