Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2007

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2007 -- (House of Representatives - May 17, 2006)

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Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of the American people, and the Congressional Black Caucus' Alternative U.S. Budget (CBC Budget).

Mr. Chairman, budgets are moral documents. They reflect in a very real sense, our deep beliefs, our priorities, and define us as a community and as a Nation. So it is with deep regret that, as people of conscience, we must rise against this attack on seniors, children, families, workers, and small business--against the Majority's budget which levies an enormous cost on the backs of the majority of Americans, in order to benefit the wealthiest few among us.

Make no mistake about it--the majority's budget is a reckless and unfair attack on most Americans. It exacerbates our national debt in an age when we have already squandered a $5.6 trillion budget surplus and added $3 trillion in debt. It freezes important domestic programs--reducing veterans' health care by $6 billion, education by $45.3 billion, public health by $18.1 billion, and environmental protection by $25.0 billion--while also adding $6.8 billion in reconciliation cuts to mandatory programs. It is outrageous, Mr. Chairman, and it's simply un-American.

The CBC budget, which my office helped to draft, restores fiscal responsibility, balancing the budget in 5 years and creating a surplus of $2.3 billion in FY 2011. It reduces the deficit by $313 billion and saves $10.5 billion in interest payments compared to the Majority's budget. And it adopts PAYGO rules, so that Congress balances our checkbook just like most Americans do.

The CBC Budget adds $32 billion in Education, Training, Employment and Social Services, $1 billion in Natural Resources and Environment; and $5.4 billion in Health programs. It increases security and critical investments for our homeland, for our troops, for rail and port security grants, cargo and air cargo screening equipment, first responders, federal air marshals, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It funds juvenile justice and local law enforcement programs, while restoring cuts in veterans' health care, enhances benefits to our veterans in survivor benefits, medical and prosthetic research, long-term care, and mental health care. It provides $80 billion more for education and job training programs than the Republic budget over 5 years, including funding for No Child Left Behind and school construction. It funds the minority health initiative, child nutrition programs, job creation programs, community and regional development, Gulf Coast reconstruction, scientific research, transportation, Medicare, and a variety of greatly-needed housing initiatives.

Mr. Chairman, we have a historic opportunity before us, to help millions of Americans, and to turn back the clock on fiscal policies, the effect of which this Nation will endure for decades. I urge my colleagues to join in conscience, and adopt this CBC Budget.

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Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of the Democratic Substitute Budget for fiscal year 2007. As a member of the Blue Dog Coalition I have fought for a balanced budget that represents our Nation's ideals. I believe that this Democratic amendment is the appropriate path for us to reach that goal.

This amendment promises to provide the fiscal discipline that is lacking in the Majority's proposed budget, which will allow us to achieve balance in less than 10 years. By 2012 our Nation's fiscal health will be restored, while providing for $150 billion in future middle-class tax cuts and matching or exceeding the Majority's proposed spending for national defense and domestic programs.

The current budget threatens the programs that our people depend on--Medicare, veterans' benefits, pension programs, and human services are in jeopardy yet again. The Spratt Substitute protects these crucial programs and the millions of Americans who have earned access to them.

This Democratic proposal matches the Republic budget dollar-for-dollar on National Defense and Homeland Security, while increasing funds for our troops and their families, preventing terrorists from accessing weapons of mass destruction, and fully adopting the recommendations of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission.

Mr. Chairman, this Congress's irresponsible spending must be stopped and the Democratic proposal will do just that. With pay-as-you-go rules, unwavering support for national security, and moral allocations of money to those who need it most, this Democratic proposal is a rock-solid budget with American values and I ask for your support.

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