[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 126 (Tuesday, August 1, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H8143-H8144]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                              {time}  1815
                           BUDGET PRIORITIES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Metcalf). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentlewoman from Oregon [Ms. Furse] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. FURSE. Mr. Speaker, at the start of what I have to say, I am just 
really amazed by the analysis I have heard of the Medicare Board of 
Trustees' report. I read it and nowhere did I find that they 
recommended a $270 billion cut in order to give a tax break to the 
privileged few.
  Mr. Speaker, what I really want to talk about today is budget 
priorities. I want to remind you that this Congress has really only 
power over discretionary spending. That is about 54 percent of the 
budget, and that 54 percent is divided equally, 50-50, between military 
and nonmilitary spending. Well, that is, it was divided that way.
  Mr. Speaker, we have all heard all this talk about how we are going 
to cut waste in this new Congress, we are going to balance the budget. 
But we may be surprised to hear that all of the cuts, all of them; I 
repeat, all the cuts, have come from nonmilitary spending. Did the 
military budget get a cut? No; it did not. In fact, it got a huge 
increase.
  Now, poll after poll shows that the average American wants Pentagon 

[[Page H8144]]
  spending either kept the same or cut, but they do not want it 
increased. In the Republican plan, one star wars account, yes, we are 
still funding star wars, was actually increased 111 percent over last 
year's level. That is nearly $400 million more than the administration 
requested. Mr. Speaker, I think this is wrong and I would submit that 
the American people might think this is a wrong use of their money.
  Now, it is true that we have made enormous cuts. But I would like to 
talk about what those cuts are, and keeping in mind that those cuts are 
at the same time we are increasing Pentagon spending, while some of the 
cuts have been direct attacks on our children and our country's future. 
The Republicans have approved cuts that would deny Head Start, the most 
successful program, everybody agrees on that, deny it to 180,000 
children nationwide by the year 2002. In addition, Pell grants. Pell 
grants that help our young people get to college, they will be denied 
to 360,000 students in 1996. In fact, in my district, 3,000 students in 
Oregon will not have a chance to go
 to college because of these cuts. Then they are also attacking the 
environment.

  Mr. Speaker, let me tell you some of the cuts in the environment. 
There is an elimination of all funding for listing of endangered and 
threatened species. These are species on which the fishing industry 
depends. We need support for these endangered species, but we are 
cutting all of the funding. There is a 40-percent reduction in solar 
and renewable energy, a 33-percent reduction in the EPA budget, 
including a $765 million cut in clean water funding. There is a 17-
percent cut in all of the Environmental Protection Agency enforcement.
  Well, what about the cuts to seniors? I talked about the $270 billion 
cut in Medicare. We have eliminated the low-income energy assistance 
program. This new Congress has cut senior nutrition programs by $24 
million. The older worker programs, $46 million in cuts. All at the 
same time that we are increasing the Pentagon, we are cutting from 
children, from the environment, and from seniors.
  Mr. Speaker, I would wonder, and I would wonder if the American 
people would agree, that to cut away at these security protections, the 
security of good education, safer streets, healthy children and 
seniors, a safe and healthy environment, is the right priority. Is that 
the priority that we believe in in this country? I would say it is the 
wrong priority.
  Mr. Speaker, it is also important to realize that all of these cuts 
will not reduce the deficit, because the Republicans have a budget 
which increases Pentagon spending, gives a tax break to the privileged 
few, so we are taking all of the cuts out of children, the environment, 
seniors, and we are not even reducing the deficit.
  Shame--I think it is a shame--when we have such very skewed economic 
priorities. I would say that they are not, in my view, the priorities 
of my constituents. I hope that we will look for sane, commonsense 
economic priorities.

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