Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2010

Floor Speech

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2010 -- (House of Representatives - April 02, 2009)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Madam Chair, I want to say a few words in support of the Fiscal Year 2010 House Budget Resolution. This important legislation builds on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to create jobs and strengthen the American economy for the long-term. It also restores honesty and transparency to the congressional budget process and puts our nation on a clear path to recovery.

I want to especially commend House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt, Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag, and the leadership of the Blue Dog Coalition for their outstanding work in crafting this budget. As a Blue Dog, I am pleased that the budget incorporates many of the Coalition's principles--namely, commitments to statutory Pay-As-You-Go budget discipline, deficit neutral health care reform, eliminating $50 billion in waste and abuse in government spending, and cutting the deficit in half by Fiscal Year 2013.

Concerning the deficit, it is important to recall that America's fiscal house was in order when the Bush Administration took office eight years ago. There was a projected ten-year budget surplus of $5.6 trillion. The nation would have had the resources then to pay down the national debt, protect Social Security for future generations, and accommodate tax relief for hardworking American families.

In a few short years, the surplus disappeared and the national debt mushroomed. Rather than a $5.6 trillion surplus, Congress is now confronting a record $1 trillion deficit in 2009 alone. In fact, the nation is facing deficits in 2009 and 2010 that would be greater as a share of the economy than in any year since World War II.

According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, the current recession ``is compounding the underlying long-term fiscal pressures resulting from rapidly rising health care costs, the aging of the population, past tax cuts, and war costs. If we continue current policies ..... the nation is on a path to amass $10 trillion in cumulative deficits over the next decade, during which time the deficit will not fall below 5 percent of GDP.'' Both as a member of the Blue Dog Coalition and, more importantly, as an American citizen, it was troubling to see that our nation's commitment to fiscal discipline was being so recklessly squandered during these eight years.

This budget resolution finally puts America's budget house in order. In addition to ensuring budget discipline, it makes vital investments in a number of areas. The House Budget Resolution strengthens education by providing additional funding for new initiatives in early childhood education and raising the Pell Grant award. It includes provisions to reduce health care costs while improving access to quality medical care.

The House Budget Resolution also supports veterans by increasing Veterans' Affairs funding by 11%. Finally, it increases our investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency by 18% in 2010 to promote clean energy technologies, industries, and jobs.

The House budget makes many of these investments at a lower level of nondefense discretionary funding than President Obama's original request. I also am pleased that it includes tax relief for middle-income taxpayers and small businesses, as well as an accurate accounting of the costs of our military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This budget is good for Georgia and good for America. I am pleased to support it and I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of its adoption.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source