Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2009

Floor Speech

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I'm always interested to listen to some of the representations made on this floor. I have been here some time, as all of you know.

Ronald Reagan said ``trust but verify.'' For 27 years, all but 8 of those with Republican Presidents, I have heard representations from the floor by Republicans about what their deficits were going to do.

For every one of those 27 years that Republicans were President of the United States, every one without exception, we ran huge deficits. And this year will be no different. The Republicans have had monopoly on policy-making in this town for essentially 7 years. This past year, we had some authority because the American people wanted change. But clearly, the President of the United States would not agree with us, and we had to do what the President would agree to so that, essentially, without restraint, the Republicans have had, for the last 7 years, the authority to do whatever they wanted to do.

The first 8 years I was here, Ronald Reagan was President. He ran $1 trillion in deficits. Then George Bush became President, a little over $1 trillion. This President, a little over $1.6
trillion. President Clinton was President for 8 years, only 8 years that we have had the Presidency, and America ran a net surplus.

So when you hear the protestations of the distinguished ranking member of the Budget Committee and the gentleman who just spoke from Texas, listen to them, but verify. Look at the record of Republican fiscal irresponsibility undiminished in the 27 years I have been here.

Mr. Ryan, for whom I have a great deal of respect, and I have very substantial differences on how you get from here to there, is he correct that we need to look at our entitlement system? He is absolutely correct. As a matter of fact, as he knows, I went to the Senate and testified on behalf of a resolution that does that. There is a resolution here that does that, as well. We have to do that. There is no alternative.

Have they done that over the last 7 years of this Presidency? They did not. Did we do it in 1983 with Ronald Reagan as President, Tip O'Neill as Speaker of the House? We did. And we made Social Security secure for the next 60 years. But when we were running up those deficits that Ronald Reagan said we were not going to run up, the Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid crisis that confronts us was decades away.

Today, the gentleman from Wisconsin is correct. It is years away. However, the solution is not to cut medical services for senior citizens and to cut education for our college students. The solution is not to put the car in reverse. The solution, as Ross Perot said, is to lift up the hood and fix it. And that is what the Spratt budget is doing. The Spratt budget is saying to all the Members of this House and to this Congress, we must act responsibly. Responsibly is not only acting fiscally responsibly, but also investing responsibly in the future of our country.

I would urge my colleagues to reject this tired, tired, tired shibboleth about ``the biggest tax increase in history.'' Frankly, the biggest per capita real tax increase in my tenure was under Bob Dole and Ronald Reagan in 1982. And then, of course, George Bush was defeated, presumably because he tried to help balance the budget. And in fact, George Bush made a significant contribution because it was the George Bush agreement on pay-as-you-go, the 1997 Newt Gingrich-Bill Clinton agreement on pay-as-you-go that got us those 4 years of surplus of which I have spoken.

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Mr. HOYER. I am always pleased to yield to a friendly point. Do I get to make the judgment as to how friendly it is?

Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. The gentleman is right. Earmarks proliferated under Republican watch. You're right about that. Both parties are guilty. That is why we should have a moratorium and clean the system up.

Mr. HOYER. I am reclaiming my time.

The tears, the crocodile tears that flow from the eyes of the ranking member of the Budget Committee about this awful thing that we called ``congressional investments.'' It is so sad that for 6 years they were unable to discipline themselves. And by the way, last year, they were unable to discipline themselves. And guess what? This year they wanted a moratorium for 6 months.

Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. Will the gentleman yield on that point? This budget is a 1-year, for-the-rest-of-the-Congress moratorium.

Mr. HOYER. You have gone much longer than your caucus wanted to go. I understand that. But the conference wanted to go for 6 months.

I thought it was such an interesting proposal because it meant ``we will go just long enough until we really do appropriations and when it really means something.'' Too often, ``hypocrisy, thy name is ourselves.'' I say it on both sides of the aisle.

Now, I'm for, as everybody knows, congressional initiatives. But I am for paying for them. When we quadrupled them, we borrowed for them from the Chinese, from the Germans, and from the Saudis. As a matter of fact, this President, as my friend knows, has borrowed more money from foreign governments than all of the other Presidents combined. Trust but verify.

Every year that I have been here, ranking members have risen, one of whom is now the chairman of the OMB, and told me what a bright future it would be if their budgets were adopted. Now, the problem is that sometimes they can't get agreement between Senate Republicans and House Republicans on what that beautiful budget ought to be. We passed a budget last year. We lived within that budget last year. We need to do so this year. And we are trying to pay for things. We had a stimulus we didn't pay for. Some of us were concerned about that, but you can't stimulate and depress at the same time.

So my colleagues in the House, Republicans and Democrats, vote for our children and future generations today. Vote for the John Spratt Democratic budget. Reject this budget that pretends it's going to bring you balance but has never done so once, not once in the 27 years that I have been here. Vote for the Spratt budget. It is good for our country. It is good for our people. It is good for our future.

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Let me first thank the chairman of the Budget Committee, John Spratt of South Carolina, for all of his hard work, patience and intelligence in producing this Democratic budget resolution--which is nothing less than a blueprint of our values and priorities.

Let me also thank my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus and Progressive Caucus for offering their important budget alternatives--alternatives that reflect our shared commitment to the American people and a stronger America.

Now, before I discuss what I believe to be the vastly superior and realistic Democratic budget, let me briefly address the Republican budget substitute that we are now debating.

I both like and respect the gentleman from Wisconsin, the ranking member on the Budget Committee, Mr. Ryan. He is a thoughtful, diligent Member.

And, I believe that were it up to him, he might actually try to implement the provisions in the Republican budget substitute.

But the problem, of course, is that he would be fighting a lonely, losing, untenable battle.

This we know: many, many Republicans would not support the deep, draconian cuts to domestic programs called for in their own budget.

The fact is, this Republican budget only reaches balance in 2012 by slashing funding for mandatory programs by $412 billion.

This Republican budget would cut Medicare and safety-net programs; cut Medicaid, thereby jeopardizing health care for more than 50 million children, parents, seniors and disabled Americans; cut--and possibly eliminate--the recently enacted increase in Pell Grants; and cut funding for military retirement and health care.

Furthermore, the Republican budget implies very deep cuts in discretionary programs, devastating public health, education, safety net and infrastructure programs.

This Republican budget fails to reflect the values and priorities of the American people.

In contrast, the Democratic budget continues to move our Nation in a new direction and to clean up the fiscal train wreck caused by failed Republican economic policies over the last 7 years.

Remember, in just 86 months, Republicans have turned projected budget surpluses into
record deficits--including a projected $386 billion this year and another $340 billion next year--and added more than $3 trillion to the national debt, which today stands at $9 trillion.

Our Democratic budget restores fiscal responsibility, adhering to pay-as-you-go budget rules and bringing the Federal budget back to balance by 2012.

It rejects the drastic funding cuts in the Republican substitute and the President's budget, which includes cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, State and local law enforcement programs, and environmental protection.

It strengthens our economy, providing crucial funding for our innovation agenda, efficient and renewable energy programs, education, and infrastructure.

It provides tax relief for hard-working Americans, including a reconciliation instruction that provides offsets for a new one-year patch of the alternative minimum tax.

And, our Democratic budget makes America safer, providing for a robust defense, boosting homeland security funding, and rejecting the President's cuts to first responder programs.

This is a budget that we can be proud of. And, it stands in stark contrast to the irresponsible fiscal policies of the current administration and former Republican majorities in Congress.

I urge all of my colleagues:

Vote for fiscal responsibility, and a bright future for our children.

Vote for the budget that reflects our values--and meets the needs of the American people.

Vote for this Democratic budget.

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Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. Mr. Chairman, at this time, I yield myself 1 minute simply to praise the majority leader before he leaves because he has been a man who has sincerely discussed and talked about the need to reform entitlements most of his career. And we need to talk to each other more often. I want to praise him for his leadership on entitlements.

I also want to say that this budget proposes to borrow more in one year from foreign governments than any has in history. Also, Mr. Chairman, let's take a look at the 2003 taxes.

Mr. HOYER. Will my friend yield on his last point?

Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. I yield to the gentleman from Maryland.

Mr. HOYER. I agree with him, and the reason for that, of course, is while you cut revenues, you didn't cut spending when you were in charge.

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