Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2016
Floor Speech
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Mr. STUTZMAN. Mr. Chairman, today, I rise in strong support of the Blueprint for a Balanced Budget, the Republican Study Committee's substitute amendment that will expand opportunities for middle class families, grow our economy, and strengthen our national defense.
First of all, I want to say I appreciate Chairman Price and his hard work on the budget that is being presented from the Republican Conference, and I am looking forward to the continued debate as we make sure that we look forward to strengthening our economy and America.
Mr. Chairman, it is very clear we are on the wrong path. Despite improving indicators, folks across the country know that our economic recovery has been sluggish at best. Over 90 million Americans are not participating in the workforce, wages are stagnant, and businesses are struggling with the uncertainty about what new tax or regulation is waiting for them just around the corner.
No matter how many stimulus packages, shovel-ready jobs, and summer recoveries the President promises, things aren't getting better fast enough. Unfortunately, on many fronts the fundamentals are getting worse.
Since President Obama took office, our national debt has increased by 70 percent and has now soared past $18 trillion. To make matters worse, the President's recently proposed budget calls for even more taxes and even more spending, and never, ever balances.
Fortunately, we now have a choice. We can continue down the road President Obama wants us to with a reckless tax and spend agenda that will add $8.5 trillion to our debt and does nothing to reform our soon-to-be bankrupt social safety nets, or we can decide to make the bold and necessary decisions our constituents sent us here to make.
With the Republican Study Committee's blueprint, we can fix our broken system, and we can build a better future for the American people. We do this by addressing our Nation's challenges head on.
First, it is clear we must change Washington's out-of-control spending habits. If we don't, by 2023, we could be spending more money paying off the interest on our debt than we do on our national defense.
I would like to show you a chart, Mr. Chairman. As you can see, under the President's plan, because of the addiction to borrowing, our Federal Government continues to rack up more interest payments year after year. Keep in mind, this is money that we have to pay as a Federal Government, that we cannot go to a line item and say, We are going to cut that particular payment. We have to pay the interest on our debt. This is locked in due to our borrowing.
In fact, under CBO's projections, if our interest rates on government notes increase by just 1 percent for 10 years, this expense could go up by a whopping $1.75 trillion.
I would like to show this in particular. Last year, in the 10-year window, this particular bar is $785 billion alone, much more than what our defense spending would cost.
We have to act, and with the RSC blueprint we do. Our budget cuts $7.1 trillion in Federal spending over the next decade and balances the budget in 6 years. The only way we are going to ever start paying our debt is if we get to a balanced budget.
By enacting commonsense reforms, we are able to have a surplus. By year 2021, we will have a surplus so we can start paying that debt down. If you look at the President's budget, you will never, ever see a balanced budget, and so we will never, ever deal with our debt.
In addition, our budget puts forward a pro-growth set of tax reforms that will make the Tax Code simpler, fairer, and more competitive. We do this by lowering rates and simplifying brackets. We reduce taxes on small businesses and corporations, and we encourage money that is setting overseas to return home by transitioning to a fairer, smarter territorial tax system.
To get the government out of one-sixth of America's economy, through reconciliation, our plan repeals ObamaCare in full. However, we replace it. We replace the failed law with the American Health Care Reform Act, a patient-centered, free market, and affordable way to provide health care for all Americans. This act allows individuals and families to deduct health care costs, expands access to health savings accounts, and creates options and choices for Americans to purchase their coverage across State lines.
Our budget also strengthens national defense. Our Federal Government's primary role, number one constitutional responsibility, is the defense of the Nation. By providing our men and women in uniform with $570 billion in our base defense budget, we are able to ensure our military has the resources it needs to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
Mr. Chairman, in 1962, discretionary programs made up a majority of government spending. Today, it is the reverse. So-called mandatory programs, like we see right here, are on autopilot, and this makes up two-thirds of the budget. As you can see, these programs are on a clock. We can see that Social Security Disability Insurance goes bankrupt in 2016. Social Security retirement for Americans all across the country goes bankrupt in 2034. And, of course, Medicare isn't too far behind that; it is actually in front of Social Security, and goes bankrupt in 2030.
The clock is ticking, Mr. Chairman, and we need to do something sooner rather than later. This is very predictable and it is very preventable if we act now. The President doesn't do that. In contrast, our plan does, and it makes the critical structural reforms necessary to preserve these entitlement programs for current and future seniors.
Let's not let the solvable problems of today become the causes of decline tomorrow. Let's stand together and let's pass a serious budget through a serious conversation that reforms the way Washington operates. Let's pass a budget that will allow opportunities for middle class families to flourish. Let's pass a budget that will keep America strong for years to come at home and abroad.
Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. STUTZMAN. Mr. Chairman, first, I would like to just mention that CBO is actually projecting that our economic growth is going to slow down. That is happening under this administration's policies, and it is not helping Americans recover as quickly as possible. This is a serious budget that does deal with those challenges, and it is straightforward. We believe we have to get to a balanced budget sooner rather than later so we can have a stronger economy.
With that, Mr. Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Flores), chairman of the RSC.
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Mr. STUTZMAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I will just point out really quickly that I appreciate the other side's compliments on how we budget for defense, but let's remember this, that defense is only 18 percent of the overall Federal Government spending.
As you see on this pie chart, this is defense discretionary spending right here, $596 billion. This is nondefense discretionary spending. The rest of this pie, which is the rest of the $3.5 trillion in Federal Government spending, is untouched. It is on autopilot. Here is the interest. All of these programs continue to grow.
If we don't protect these programs and reform them, this is only going to get squeezed more and more. If we want to protect the country, we have to recognize that we are going to have to do it in a way that puts our priorities in order.
Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Pittenger).
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Mr. STUTZMAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I would first of all just like to thank the RNC members for helping to put this budget together. It is a blueprint for a balanced budget. There are no gimmicks.
What the gentleman is referring to is our revenue line highlights the benefit that Americans receive when we have tax reform. For example, you know, the gimmick that was sold in the health care law was that people were going to pay less in health care costs. I was at a Cracker Barrel a couple of weeks ago in Auburn in my district, and a lady comes up to me and says: Mr. Congressman, I would like to show you my story. I am now paying more in premiums. My premiums doubled. My out-of-pocket expense went from $500 to $5,000.
That is more than a tax increase, Mr. Chairman.
Our foreign policy is on the wrong path; our spending is on the wrong path; our economy is on the wrong path. We have got to get back to priorities and recognize, for our country to be strong economically, to be strong with our defense, that we have got to get our budget back into balance to make sure that we can pay off the $18 trillion of debt that our kids have to face. I have two boys, Payton and Preston, 13 and 9 years old. They are going to have to pay the interest on this debt and the debt for years and years to come.
I ask the Members of this body to take a serious look at the RNC budget, and I ask for their support.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
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