Hearing of the House Budget Committee- The President's Fiscal Year 2012 Budget

Statement

Today Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen, Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, made opening remarks at the House Budget Committee Hearing on "The President's Fiscal Year 2012 Budget" with Office of Management and Budget Director Jacob Lew. Below are his remarks as prepared for delivery, and you can watch a live stream of the hearing here:

"Thank you very much, Chairman Ryan.

"Welcome, Director Lew. I know that President Obama, like President Clinton, will be well-served by having you at the helm of the Office of Management and Budget.

"Thank you for being here today to discuss the President's budget. While we are still reviewing some of the details, I want to commend the President for submitting a budget that reduces our deficit, while also investing in our future. This is a tough love budget. It cuts non-security discretionary spending by $400 billion over the next decade -- taking that category of spending to the lowest share of GDP since the Eisenhower Administration. And, starting this year, it steadily decreases the deficit and brings the budget to primary balance by 2017.

"But the President's budget cuts the deficit while making critical investments in areas like education, clean energy, infrastructure, and scientific innovation. Last week Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testified before this committee about the importance of targeted national investments to help grow the economy and keep America competitive. He highlighted the need to pursue policies to foster economic growth "by encouraging investment in the skills of our workforce as well as new machinery and equipment, by promoting research and development, and by providing necessary public infrastructure.' This budget does that.

"As we debate the best way forward, our conversation must include a comprehensive review of our national balance sheet. It is simply short-sighted to think we can try to balance our budget through cuts in domestic discretionary spending alone -- a category that represents only 12 percent of the overall budget. We must also look to other areas, including comprehensive tax reform and eliminating special interest breaks in the tax code. The President's budget moves in the right direction by putting an end to taxpayer dollars going to subsidies for big oil companies. At a time when gas is costing American families more than $3 a gallon and oil companies are making huge profits, there is no reason to subsidize big oil companies and short-change funding for Head Start and education, as our Republican colleagues are proposing to do today on the House floor. President Obama's budget also extends tax cuts for middle class families, but rejects tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans. At a time of huge deficits, we cannot afford to ask our children to pay for tax breaks for the folks at the very top.

"The President's budget takes a balanced approach, much like the budgets under President Clinton. Under the Clinton Administration, the country enjoyed real economic growth of 3.9 percent per year and the economy added 20.8 million private-sector jobs. That balanced approach allowed us to not only stop running deficits, but actually achieve surpluses and begin to reduce our nation's debt. Unfortunately, those surpluses were squandered under the Bush Administration. The Bush Administration cut taxes for the wealthy and turned a $5.6 trillion surplus into a sea of deficits and lost 653,000 private-sector jobs over eight years. In January 2009 the Obama Administration was handed an economy in free fall that was losing over 700,000 jobs a month and a record $1.3 trillion deficit.

"Having spent its first two years working to rescue the economy, the President's budget is now focused on strengthening the economy with a plan of targeted investments and deficit reduction. The President's approach stands in stark contrast to the House Republicans' plan being debated on the House floor today. That plan would recklessly slash important programs immediately -- disregarding the impact to American workers and our fragile recovery. The President's Bipartisan Commission charged with reducing our national debt and deficit stated that "in order to avoid shocking the fragile economy, the Commission recommends waiting until 2012 to begin enacting programmatic spending cuts.' The Rivlin-Domenici Commission rendered the same advice. Deep cuts now will not create a single job; in fact, Mark Zandi and other economists have warned against deep spending cuts that would put thousands of American jobs at risk. President Obama, on the other hand, has laid out a long-term, responsible path to fiscal sustainability. He has proposed significant but targeted cuts that stand in contrast to the House Republicans' hatchet job on the budget that will cost many Americans their jobs.

"It is critical that our nation's budget strikes the right balance with both spending and revenue, and I believe the President's budget makes an important effort to hit the right note. It is an important starting point. That being said, in order to tackle our longer-term fiscal challenges -- beyond the 10 year period of this budget -- it is important that the White House and the Congress, Republicans and Democrats, come together to seriously discuss and consider the ideas in the Commission's proposal. Compromise is not a dirty word. Getting things done requires give and take. We should begin that conversation now."

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