Van Hollen Floor Speech on the Democratic Budget

Floor Speech

"I thank you, Mr. Chairman.

"This amendment reflects the priorities and values of the country. This amendment focuses on growing jobs now, making sure that we have a strong economy, and making sure we significantly reduce our deficit and debt as a share of our economy over the longer term, and does it in a balanced way. It does it by closing some of the special-- Mr. Chairman, Mr. Chairman, if I could have order, please.

Speaker pro tempore: "The committee will be in order. The gentleman can proceed.

"It does it, Mr. Chairman, by, for example, closing some of the special interest tax breaks that actually perversely encourage American corporations to ship American jobs overseas. We believe we should be in the business of shipping American products overseas, and this budget does invest in jobs right here at home.

"Unlike the House Republican budget, we don't allow the transportation trust fund to go insolvent later this summer. Unlike the House Republican budget, we do not make deep cuts in our kids' education. We think it's important to build that ladder of opportunity. Unlike the Republican budget, we don't reopen the prescription drug doughnut hole and require seniors to pay more if they have high prescription drug costs. And we don't shred the social safety net.

"And Mr. Chairman, I want to also bring to the attention of the body something else that's in here. We advance fund the veterans-- Mr. Chairman, if I could have order, please.

Speaker pro tempore: "Please remove all conversations from the floor on both sides of the aisle, please. Please remove your discussions to the cloakroom. Please remove your conversations to the cloakroom. The gentleman may proceed.

"I thank you, Mr. Chairman. We also advance fund, on a one hundred percent basis, the Veterans Administration, because what we saw during the unnecessary and unproductive government shutdown last fall, was that the closure began to put at risk the benefits that were being paid to our veterans. Now, we already provide for the advance funding of those health care benefits, but what we don't fund in advance are the people who have to administer them, to make sure that they are delivered to our veterans on time.

"So we're very pleased to have a letter here from the DAV, and other veterans groups strongly support this provision in our budget. It's something they have been requesting. I just want to read one of the paragraphs: "We would like to commend you for presenting an alternate budget proposal that contains a provision for advance appropriations to all VA discretionary programs and services, a critically needed reform that is universally supported by veterans organizations and is DAV's number one priority.'

"So whether it's veterans, whether it's our kids' education, whether it's making our commitment to our seniors, we choose to make sure that we fund the priorities of the country, and we don't keep off limits tax preferences for the powerful and privileged.

"I reserve the balance of our time."

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