II 110th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 818 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 8, 2007 Mr. Sanders introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To expand the middle class, reduce the gap between the rich and the poor, keep our promises to veterans, lower the poverty rate, and reduce the Federal deficit by repealing tax breaks for the wealthiest one percent and eliminating unnecessary Cold War era defense spending, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the National Priorities Act of 2007.

2.

Findings

The Senate finds the following: (1)The United States has the highest rate of poverty and the highest rate of childhood poverty among 17 major countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, including Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. (2)36,950,000 Americans are living in poverty, an increase of 5,400,000 since 2000. (3)12,896,000 children in the United States under the age of 18 lived in poverty in 2005, and the number of children living in extreme poverty rose by 87,000 from 2004 to 2005. (4)In 2005, an estimated 33 percent of the homeless population were children and an estimated 1,350,000 children will experience homelessness in a year. (5)The number of uninsured Americans rose to 46,577,000 in 2005, 1,272,000 more than in the previous year, and the number of Americans without health insurance has risen for 4 consecutive years. (6)The United States Government must provide the funding necessary to ensure that our Nation’s veterans receive the health care and other benefits they deserve and have earned in a timely fashion. (7)Millions of middle class American families are finding it increasingly difficult to afford the escalating cost of a college education with average tuition and other costs increasing by more than $4,300 at 4-year public universities and over $8,000 at 4-year private colleges since 2001. (8)The Surgeon General of the United States has reported that tooth decay has become the single most common chronic childhood disease—5 times more common than asthma and 7 times more common than hay fever. (9)Surveys have shown that dental problems cause children to miss more than 51,000,000 hours of school and adults to miss more than 164,000,000 hours of work each year. (10)In 42 States, child care fees are higher than tuition at a 4-year public university. (11)Seriously investing in renewable energy, energy efficient appliances, public transit, and high speed rail would create millions of decent-paying jobs, reduce our dependence on dirty fossil fuels, and reduce global warming. (12)The Department of Defense's increasingly large budget provides for total defense spending that is greater than that of the other 192 countries in the world combined. (13)The Government Accountability Office estimated in 2003 that the Department of Defense could not account for over $1,000,000,000,000 in funds appropriated to the Department of Defense. (14)The United States has the largest gap between the rich and the poor of any major industrialized country. (15)The wealthiest 400 Americans saw their combined net worth increase by $120,000,000,000 from 2004 to 2005. (16)The richest 400 Americans have a combined net worth of $1,250,000,000,000 equaling the annual income of over 45 percent of the entire world’s population or 2,500,000,000 people. Of the world’s 793 billionaires, over 400 are Americans. In 1989, we only had 66 billionaires in this country. (17)According to a December 2006 report by the Congressional Budget Office, the average after-tax income of the richest 1 percent of households rose from $722,000 in 2003 to $868,000 in 2004, after adjusting for inflation, a one-year increase of nearly $146,000, or 20 percent. This represents the largest increase in 15 years, measured both in percentage terms and in real dollars. (18)Median household income for working age families has declined for 5 years in a row. (19)During the presidency of George W. Bush, the United States has experienced the 3 largest Federal deficits in history, and the national debt has skyrocketed, attributable in large part to tax breaks to the wealthiest 1 percent. (20)The United States has a moral responsibility to expand the middle class, reduce the gap between the rich and the poor, keep our promises to veterans, lower the poverty rate, and reduce the Federal deficit by repealing tax breaks for the wealthiest 1 percent and eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse at the Pentagon.

3.

Recision of 2001–2004 tax cuts for top one percent of income earners

With respect to any individual whose gross income for taxable year 2008 exceeds $400,000— (1)section 901(a)(1) of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (relating to sunset of provisions of Act) shall be applied by substituting after December 31, 2007, and before January 1, 2009 for after December 31, 2010, and (2)section 303 of the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (relating to sunset of title) shall be applied by substituting after December 31, 2007 for after December 31, 2008. The Secretary of the Treasury shall provide such forms as necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.

4.

Reduction in waste, fraud, and abuse at the Pentagon

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, Federal funding appropriated for the Department of Defense for fiscal year 2008 shall be reduced by $60,000,000,000. The Secretary of Defense is authorized to make such reductions by eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse, and weapon systems and other programs that are determined not to be a priority for current national security needs since the end of the Cold War. None of these reductions shall be made that harm the basic needs of United States military personnel or their quality of life, including necessary pay increases and health care.

5.

Expansion of investments for middle class, veterans, senior citizens on fixed income, and low-income families with children, and deficit reduction

From amounts made available under sections 3 and 4, for fiscal year 2008— (1)$575,000,000 shall be made available for consolidated health centers under section 330 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254b); (2)$140,000,000 shall be made available to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for the workforce, capital, and equipment needed to establish or expand oral health services at community health centers and other community-based sites pursuant to subsequent authorization; (3)$15,000,000,000 shall be made available to carry out State child health plans under title XXI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.); (4)$4,000,000,000 shall be made available to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure that veterans receive the health care and other benefits that such veterans were promised without being put on a waiting list pursuant to subsequent authorization; (5)$2,200,000,000 shall be made available to carry out the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.); (6)$7,200,000,000 shall be made available to carry out the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.); (7)$14,900,000,000 shall be made available to carry out the grant program under part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.); (8)$16,200,000,000 shall be made available for the Secretary of Education to increase the maximum Pell Grant pursuant to subsequent authorization; (9)$500,000,000 shall be made available to the Secretary of Education to carry out the Federal TRIO programs and Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.); (10)$27,085,000,000 shall be made available to the Secretary of Energy, Secretary of Transportation, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency for programs to increase energy efficiency and conservation and to increase investment in sustainable and renewable energy alternatives, public transit, and high speed rail pursuant to subsequent authorization; (11)$5,000,000,000 shall be made available to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish a national affordable housing trust fund for the construction, preservation, and rehabilitation of at least 150,000 affordable housing rental units in mixed-income locations in order to create 180,000 jobs pursuant to subsequent authorization; (12)$7,200,000,000 shall be made available to the Secretary of the Treasury to expand the earned income tax credit under section 32 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 pursuant to subsequent authorization; and (13)$30,000,000,000 shall be made available to reduce the Federal deficit.