Providing for the Adoption of S. Con. Res. Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2021
Floor Speech
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Mr. MORELLE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, today, the Rules Committee met and reported a rule, House Resolution 101, providing for adoption of S. Con. Res. 5, setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2021 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2022 through 2030.
Madam Speaker, I am, once again, on the floor today to urge my colleagues to adopt the rule and to support passage of this budget resolution.
Across our Nation, Americans are facing a dire crisis. Many have lost loved ones. Even more have lost livelihoods. Small businesses are shuttering their doors, hospitals are being pushed to their limits, and students are falling behind.
In the past year alone, Congress has taken steps to respond to the needs of struggling Americans, but I know that each and every one of my colleagues can agree that we have a long road yet to travel.
Passing this budget resolution is a necessary step to fast-track essential COVID relief, the American Rescue Plan.
I know the gentleman from Texas and many of his colleagues on the other side of the aisle have aired complaints about the process begun earlier this week. If these were normal times and if we were dealing with more mundane issues, I would share their concerns. I am a strong believer in bipartisanship, in compromise, and in regular order in the House and Senate. But these are certainly not normal times, and we are not dealing with mundane issues. We face the greatest crisis in our lifetime. Americans are counting on us, relying on us, and we have a moral imperative to save lives and families from destitution.
As of yesterday afternoon, 454,272 Americans have died from this tragic disease, a disease which has ripped a hole in millions of hearts that can never be repaired.
The victims of this disease have left spouses, children, grandchildren, parents, friends, neighbors, and people who needed them, who relied on them, and who loved them. Nothing we can do now will fix that. But we face the prospect of losing thousands more, and we can and must fix that.
This isn't just appropriate, this isn't just wise; this is a moral imperative.
Even families who have not lost a loved one have faced the disastrous consequences of the pandemic. Nearly 11 million Americans are unemployed, more than double the number before the spread of COVID-19. As a result, one in three American families have faced difficulty covering their regular household expenses, an estimated one in five adults are behind on rent, and 10.3 million homeowners are behind on their mortgages.
This isn't just desirable, this isn't just sensible; this is a moral imperative.
Parents in my district and in so many communities are struggling to put food on the table for their family. Nearly 24 million people, or nearly 11 percent of all adults in this country, have reported that their households sometimes, or often, didn't have enough to eat in the past 7 days. Before the pandemic, the Department of Agriculture found that number was fewer than 3.5 percent over the full 12 months of 2019.
This isn't just advisable, this isn't just constructive; this is a moral imperative.
So let's talk about what we are going to do to rise to this challenge. We are moving forward with the budget reconciliation process to ensure that Congress can pass meaningful coronavirus relief without delay or partisan gridlock. The budget resolution before us provides a framework for reconciliation with a target of up to $1.9 trillion. It is designed solely to respond to the ongoing crisis and to deliver critical relief as quickly as possible.
This will enable us to finally beat this virus and continue on the path of a national economic recovery. We will mount a national vaccination program, setting up vaccination sites in communities across the country. We will invest in reopening schools and provide direct housing and nutrition assistance to families in need.
The American Rescue Plan will also provide direct assistance to Americans, stimulus payments, including assistance for dependents. We will also provide crucial support for the hardest hit small businesses, as well as first responders and frontline workers, who have done so much to turn back the tide of this virus.
But without the reconciliation directives in this resolution, any bold action could languish indefinitely in the Senate, putting the health and well-being of millions of American families at risk.
For those concerned about the national debt or possibility of future inflation, I urge them to heed the advice from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, a Republican appointed by President Trump to the Federal Reserve chairmanship, when he warned us to be more worried about falling short of a complete recovery and losing people's careers and lives and the damage that will do to our economic future.
Moving forward with budget reconciliation does not preclude a strong bipartisan agreement on a relief package that can gain wide support in both the House and the Senate. In fact, there is no need for partisanship on this issue.
While it seems we may be divided today in this Chamber, the American people clearly are not. The overwhelming majority, including a majority of Republicans across this country, support passage of emergency legislation, including stimulus payments, vaccine funding, and other pandemic responses in this plan.
This is not a partisan issue because it is not only red or blue families, but families of all political persuasions that are struggling, and I am certain my colleagues in the minority know that all too well.
I urge Members of this House to support this budget resolution so we can immediately get to work on this desperately needed American Rescue Plan. It is our moral imperative.
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Mr. MORELLE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Just a couple of brief points. First, as it relates to the amount of discussion about this, we debated this resolution with few changes earlier this week on Wednesday. We had a lengthy conversation. We are discussing it again now.
If we are successful in passing this resolution, it will go to the appropriate standing committees for their markup on the various allocations in this resolution, and then it will come back here for passage again.
So I think it is fair to say from a process point of view that we will have plenty of opportunities to make our arguments in front of the American public and let them decide on the appropriateness of our actions.
But I would hardly say that there isn't going to be ample time to have these conversations and make these distinctions if that is what we choose to do.
Just a brief word on the minimum wage. I hope we come back to it. I had the privilege of leading the debate on the rule when we increased the minimum wage in this House last year. If you make the minimum wage in the United States--the Federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. So if you work an entire 40-hour week you will make $290 gross. If you work 52 weeks out of the year at that level, you will make $15,080 for a year gross income.
So do we think Americans who work 40 hours a week for 52 weeks a year should make more than $15,000 a year? Yes, we do. Guilty as charged. And we can have that conversation either in reconciliation, should that be the desire of the committees and the Senate, but we will certainly have it again on this floor because it is part of what we believe and the values that we hold dear as the majority in this House.
As it relates to the bipartisanship, we have said before, I said it earlier, Chairman Yarmuth said it repeatedly, we are happy and want to have a conversation about a bipartisan agreement. But whether we have a bipartisan agreement or not, we are going to move forward.
President Biden met with the 10 members of the United States Senate just earlier this week to talk about compromise. He has signaled repeatedly his willingness to do it. But we are going to do it with or without a bipartisan agreement because leadership is what this moment requires.
I dare say, I imagine there are not many families in America who really at the end of the day care more about how we put this deal together than they care about getting a stimulus check to pay their rent; that they care about their children being safe when they go back to school; that they care about unemployment benefits, if they happen to be one of the nearly 11 million Americans who was out of work through no fault of their own but because of a deadly virus which doesn't care whether you are a Democrat or a Republican.
So we are going to provide leadership and, frankly, I think it is probably surprising to some to see a President engaged in the daily activities in the life of his government and the life of our country, someone who cares deeply about the future of America, who cares about the families who are in need, who cares about those who are sick, those who are dying.
So that may be surprising. It is a little out of the norm in recent years, but we have a President who is fully engaged. Bipartisanship is what he has asked for. Bipartisanship is what he has talked about. It is what we seek here. But absent it, we will lead because too many Americans are suffering and in crisis.
With that, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).
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Mr. MORELLE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I first welcome the gentlewoman from Florida to the House, and I look forward to many opportunities to work together in a bipartisan fashion. I would note that one of the very first things we did in this House was the bipartisan passage of Public Law 117-1, which was paving the way for an historic appointment of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. So we have worked together, and I think we will find common purpose on so many things facing the American public. And I certainly hope we find commonality and purpose in this work that we will do over the next several days to work on support, in the most difficult of times, for American families.
Because I have heard this now said so many times in the last few days about a trillion dollars that the Biden administration has not spent, I would say, first of all, if anyone in a period of 2 weeks could spend a trillion dollars, I would find that remarkable.
The second is, this is in the pipeline. And we don't wait for every dollar to be spent and then think about having another debate about further support.
There is nothing about this that I find extraordinary. What I do find extraordinary is that you point out that money that has been appropriated, is earmarked, and is moving out the door in appropriate ways and going through the proper channels, and that would be a point of debate and argument.
This is necessary. We have heard it from so many leading economists around this country. We have heard it from the American public. So I think the case is clear, and I look forward to further discussion on this.
Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from the great State of New Mexico (Ms. Leger Fernandez).
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Mr. MORELLE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. To the new Member, I also welcome her to the Chambers and I look forward to working with her on important issues, such as education.
It should not need to be said, but I will say it: This package has billions of dollars that will support education and schools. So pass this resolution. There is no need to substitute it.
I would look just to my home State of New York, which has lost $15 billion in revenue as a result of this pandemic. And I know a little bit about this. I served in that State legislature for many years. The State of New York provides the highest level of support per capita of a State to its local school districts of any State in the Union. So not helping local school districts, not helping our States provide lost revenue in support, damages, irreparably, the children in our K-12 across our country.
So pass this resolution. Work with us to make sure that we can provide support for our local school districts.
Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from the State of California (Mr. Bera).
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Mr. MORELLE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I would note, and I am sure the gentleman knows this, he mentioned appropriations in this bill. Obviously, there are no appropriations in this bill.
This sets up a reconciliation process, and we would certainly welcome his input and welcome the support and partnership of Members on his side of the aisle.
But I do want to make clear this is a process resolution. It begins the process. We will come back and have conversations in the standing committees and, certainly, again on the floor as we move forward.
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Mr. MORELLE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas. Though from time to time we may disagree on questions before the House, I always find him very thoughtful, committed American. I am pleased to serve with him on the Rules Committee and pleased that we have had an opportunity to have this conversation this morning.
Madam Speaker, budgets are not exclusively about numbers or process. They are, most importantly, a statement of our priorities and our values.
Our priorities are clear. Stop this virus. Help our families. Our values are to respond to the critical needs of the American people, and that is what we do today.
We will continue to work through this over the next several weeks, and I very much appreciate all of my colleagues for their words in support of the rule before us today.
Madam Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on the rule and a ``yes'' vote on the previous question.
The material previously referred to by Mr. Burgess is as follows: Amendment to House Resolution 101
At the end of the resolution, add the following:
Sec. 2. Immediately upon adoption of this resolution, the House shall resolve into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of the bill (H.R. 682) to encourage local educational agencies to resume in- person instruction at elementary and secondary schools, and for other purposes. The first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. General debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Education and Labor. After general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. All points of order against provisions in the bill are waived. When the committee rises and reports the bill back to the House with a recommendation that the bill do pass, the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit. If the Committee of the Whole rises and reports that it has come to no resolution on the bill, then on the next legislative day the House shall, immediately after the third daily order of business under clause 1 of rule XIV, resolve into the Committee of the Whole for further consideration of the bill.
Sec. 3. Clause l(c) of rule XIX shall not apply to the consideration of H.R. 682.
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