Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2011

Floor Speech

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Mr. TONKO. I thank the ranking member of the committee for yielding.

Madam Speaker, there is not a single person in this Chamber who doesn't want to balance the budget, but the legislation before us today is not about that. It is about enshrining a particularly radical interpretation of the Republican agenda into the foundational document, a precious document, our Constitution, that guides our system of government.

If successful, it would put in place a cap on Federal spending at 18 percent of GDP, turning back the clock more than half a century to the glory days of 1966. Though it makes for a great press release, why didn't anyone else think of this solution? Even President Reagan never once requested a Federal budget that spent nearly this low.

Well, to begin with, our population is much larger and much older on average than it was in 1966. Some see that as a problem. Seniors are expensive, they say. I suppose that's one way of looking at it. And if all you're worried about is how much Grandma's nursing home care costs, then this is the bill for you. But since 1966, Grandma is living, on average, nearly 10 years longer. There is no price you can place on that, and there is no question that it's because she's getting a guaranteed level of health care.

This bill, according to their own leaders, enshrines the Republican plan to end Medicare in the United States Constitution. Right there, after the freedom of religion, the freedom of thought, the freedom of assembly, we can have the freedom from health care after age 65.

This is nothing more than a political stunt, a gimmick that would change the fundamental rules of our democratic system so our Republican colleagues can make it easier to end Medicare and more difficult to cut tax giveaways to millionaires, to billionaires and their friends in Big Oil.

Let's stop this nonsense and get back to work. Let's stop the nonsense that is playing games with America's working families. They promote this as a way to fiscal sanity, but, rather, it's a lack of investment in sanity. It's an assault on our children, our families, our veterans, our seniors. Let's put America back to work. Let's invest in those opportunities and reduce the deficit as we move forward. Enough with the foolish gimmicks.

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