Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2013

Floor Speech

The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union had under consideration the bill (H. Con. Res. 112) establishing the budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2013 and setting forth appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2014 through 2022:

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Chair, next week is Passover, when the youngest child at the Seder table asks four questions, the answers to which explain the meaning of the holiday.

In keeping with the tradition of asking questions to understand the importance of key events, I'd like to suggest four questions to ask Republicans so that they can explain the reasoning behind their budget resolution.

Why does your budget resolution protect and indeed increase the wealth of the already-wealthy at the expense of everyone else? The Bible says, ``He who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth and he who gives gifts to the rich--both come to poverty.'' (Proverbs 22:16). Income disparity is at near-historic levels in our Nation. Why then, does the Republican budget provide an average additional tax break of $150,000 for millionaires and refuse to eliminate subsidies to highly profitable Big Oil companies, while asking seniors, children, the poor and middle-class families to sacrifice more and more?

Why does your budget resolution take away the Medicare guarantee? The Bible tells us, ``You shall give due honor and respect to the elderly.'' (Leviticus 19:32). The average senior lives on $19,000, one in three retirees depends on Social Security for 90 percent or more of their income, and 1 in 3 seniors will need help paying for long-term care. Why, then, does the Republican budget double already high out-of-pocket spending for seniors, threaten Social Security, and cut Medicaid by $810 billion over the next decade?

Why does your budget resolution increase defense spending while cutting investments in our children and families? The Bible tells us, ``A just balance and scales are the Lord's.'' (Proverbs 16:11). The U.S. defense budget is higher than the next 17 nations in the world combined and has increased in real terms for each of the past 13 years. Why, then, does the Republican budget renege on a balanced approach to deficit reduction--increasing defense spending and asking education, job training and creation, medical research and other domestic programs to bear the entire burden?

Why does your budget resolution take away food from the poor? The Bible tells us, ``If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.'' (1 John 3:17 18). Nearly 50 million Americans lack adequate food and 22 percent of America's children live in poverty. Why, then, does the Republican budget cut and cap the food assistance needed so that children, families and seniors can't get enough to eat?

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