Mr. Chair, I rise in strong support of the Democratic Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to H. Con. Res. 27, the House Republicans' Congressional Budget Resolution for Fiscal Year 2018. Mr.…
Mr. Chair, I rise in strong support of the Democratic Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to H. Con. Res. 27, the House Republicans' Congressional Budget Resolution for Fiscal Year 2018.
Mr. Chair, House Republican budgeteers have a very poor track record when it comes to economic forecasts and projections.
For years, they have based their entire legislative agenda and strategy on their belief that the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare would be a failure.
The wish was father to the thought and they were wrong.
Because of Obamacare more than 20 million Americans now know the peace of mind that comes from affordable, quality health insurance that is there when you need it.
House Republicans oppose increasing the minimum wage, claiming that it costs jobs.
Wrong again.
Every increase in the minimum wage has been accompanied by an expanding economy, especially during the Clinton Administration.
House Republicans opposing comprehensive immigration reform claim that it will lead to lower incomes and lost jobs.
Wrong again.
Studies conducted by groups as far apart as the Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO consistently show that comprehensive immigration reform will grow the Gross Domestic Product by $1.5 trillion over 10 years.
Given this sorry track record of economic forecasting, it is mind- boggling that anyone could support another Republican budget that favors the wealthy over middle class families and those struggling to enter or remain in the middle class.
The Democratic Budget ANS represents a much better way forward to the economic prosperity and security that Americans want and demand because it:
1. Creates good-paying jobs by investing in cutting-edge research and innovation, education, and infrastructure--highways, broadband, school construction, and more.
2. Increases educational opportunities by enhancing the Pell Grant program and funds career, technical, and adult education, and supports initiatives to help borrowers manage their student debt.
3. Supports American workers and families through responsible tax reform that creates jobs, boosts economic growth, and ensures that the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share.
4. Promotes economic growth, expanded opportunity, and better quality of life by supporting a raise in the minimum wage, equal pay for equal work, immigration reform, consumer safeguards, childcare, job training, and paid leave.
5. Protects a basic standard of living by funding for programs that ensure families can access nutrition assistance, find and afford quality housing in their neighborhood, heat and cool their homes when extreme temperatures hit, and supports strengthening and expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit and increased resources for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.
6. Defends and strengthens the Affordable Care Act and protects Medicare by rejecting both Trumpcare and any plan to turn Medicare into a voucher-like system that would increase costs for seniors.
7. Rejects the Republican budget's 19 percent cut to diplomacy and foreign aid operations and invests instead in all aspects of national security, including our military and diplomatic corps, foreign aid, homeland security, veterans, and law enforcement.
The Democratic Budget ANS works FOR American families by giving them the tools to buy a home, send their kids to college and enjoy a secure retirement.
Mr. Chair, the Democratic Budget represents a better way.
We Democrats understand that we are all in this together and that our current economic situation calls for a balanced approach between increased revenues and responsible reduction in expenditures.
Our plan will protect and strengthen our recovering economy, reduce the deficit in a responsible way, while continuing to invest in the things that make our country strong like education, health care, innovation, and clean energy.
Mr. Chair, this Republican budget is bad for America but it is disastrous for the people from my home state of Texas who sent me here to advocate for their interests.
Let me highlight a few examples.
1. If the Republican budget resolution were to become the basis of federal fiscal policy, 3,435,336 Texas seniors would be forced out of traditional Medicare and into a voucher program.
2. Under the Republican plan to end Medicare as we know it, Texas seniors will receive a voucher instead of guaranteed benefits under traditional Medicare.
3. For the 3,435,336 Texans aged 45-54, the value of their vouchers would be capped at growth levels that are lower than the projected increases in health care costs.
4. Previous analyses showed that this type of plan would cut future spending by $5,900 per senior, forcing them to spend more out of pocket and diminishing their access to quality care.
5. Additionally, private insurance plans will aggressively pursue the healthiest, least expensive enrollees, thereby allowing Medicare-- currently the lifeline for 3,187,332 Texas seniors--to wither on the vine.
6. If the Republican budget resolution is adopted by Congress, 206,304 Texas seniors would pay more for prescription drugs next year.
7. The Republican plan would re-open the donut hole, forcing seniors to pay the full cost of their prescription drugs if their yearly drug expenses are more than $2,970 for the year.
8. Seniors reaching the prescription drug donut hole would pay an average of $828 more in prescription drug costs in 2018 and approximately $13,000 more from now through 2027.
9. Under the Republican budget, the 2,445,462 Texas seniors who utilized free preventive services currently covered by Medicare in 2017 will face increased costs in the form of higher deductibles, co- insurance, and copayments for certain services, including even cancer screenings and annual wellness visits.
10. The Republican budget would slash $33 billion in nursing home care and other health care services for 754,500 Texas seniors and disabled persons who currently rely on Medicaid for their long-term care needs.
11. The draconian cuts included in the Republican budget would have a devastating impact on the 1,191 certified nursing homes in Texas that serve nearly 100,000 seniors, with more than half relying on Medicaid as their primary payer. As a result, nursing homes would be forced to slash services, turn away seniors, or close their doors.
Mr. Chair, the Republican budget may be characterized in many ways-- cruel, irresponsible, short-sighted, reckless--but ``fair and balanced'' is not one of them.
In contrast, the alternative budget proposed by the Democratic Caucus is worthy of support because it fairly balances the need for increased revenues and responsible reductions in expenditures with the imperative of making the necessary investments in human capital required to move our country forward.
The Democratic Budget ANS will generate at least a million more jobs this year compared to the Republicans' austerity first plan by making the investments needed to create jobs, strengthen the middle class, create greater upward mobility, and ensure opportunity for our children and future generations.
Mr. Chair, Democratic alternative budget maintains our commitment to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security; expands the EITC for childless workers; and provides ample funding for early childhood education.
Especially important to my constituents, and those of my colleagues representing Louisiana, Texas, Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico, is that the Democratic Budget ANS includes the funds approved by Congress as a down payment for assistance in response to Hurricane Harvey and supports further emergency funding related to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, along with other natural disasters.
It is said often, Mr. Chair, but is no less true, that the federal budget is more than a financial document; it is an expression of the nation's most cherished values.
As the late and great former senator and Vice-President Hubert Humphrey said:
``The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in shadows of life, the sick, the needy, and the handicapped.''
It is for this reason that in evaluating the merits of a budget resolution, it is not enough to subject it only to the test of fiscal responsibility.
To keep faith with the nation's past, to be fair to the nation's present, and to safeguard the nation's future, the budget must also pass a moral test.
Unlike the Republican budget, the Democratic Budget ANS passes both of these tests with flying colors.
The Republican budget calls to mind what Talleyrand said of the restored Bourbon dynasty after the abdication of Napoleon:
``They had learned nothing and forgotten nothing.''
Like the discredited Ryan Budgets of years past, this repackaged and warmed over TrumpRepublican Budget seems to know the cost of everything but the value of nothing.
For these compelling reasons, I stand in strong opposition to the Republican budget and urge my colleagues to join me in supporting a much better deal for the American people, the Democratic Budget ANS.
