[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 37 (Tuesday, April 9, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E443-E444]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H. CON. RES. 353, CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
                    ON THE BUDGET, FISCAL YEAR 2003

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. JAMES R. LANGEVIN

                            of rhode island

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 20, 2002

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H. Con. Res. 353) 
     establishing the congressional budget for the United States 
     Government for fiscal year 2003 and setting forth appropriate 
     budget levels for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2007:

  Mr. LANGEVIN. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong opposition to this 
budget resolution, which undermines our long-term fiscal health and 
spends a huge portion of the Social Security and Medicare surpluses.
  I stand united with the President and my colleagues on both sides of 
the aisle in our commitment to defeat terrorism and to do what is 
necessary to preserve national security both at home and abroad. 
However, despite the many new security and economic challenges 
confronting us, our homeland protection efforts and fiscal policies 
should not shortchange Social Security and other national priorities. 
We can win the war against terrorism without raiding the Social 
Security and Medicare Trust Funds and without increasing the national 
debt.
  Earlier this year, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) confirmed 
that in less than a year the 10-year projected surplus declined by $4 
trillion. While portions of this decline are a result of the war and 
the economic downturn, the depletion of the surplus to date was largely 
caused by last year's massive and fiscally irresponsible tax cut 
package. The additional billions in tax cuts proposed in this year's 
budget would only worsen our current situation and lead us further down 
the path of mounting deficits and escalating public debt. To pay for 
the additional tax cuts, this budget would raid more than $1.5 trillion 
from the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds over the next ten 
years to cover deficits in the rest of the federal budget. We need a 
wartime freeze on tax cuts to avoid deficit spending.
  When I was elected to Congress, I promised my constituents that I 
would protect the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds. And I was 
not alone. Over one hundred of my colleagues have co-sponsored 
legislation to prevent Congress from spending the Social Security and 
Medicare surpluses, and the House of Representatives has voted four 
times in the past three years to establish lockboxes for these funds.
  The Administration and the Republican Leadership made the very same 
pledge to not touch these vital trust funds. This budget breaks that 
promise. It is time to honor our commitments by acknowledging our 
current situation and working together to craft budget that is fair and 
fiscally responsible.

[[Page E444]]

  Moreover, this resolution uses overly optimistic Administration 
budget estimates rather than the usual non-partisan estimates from the 
Congressional Budget Office. Furthermore, it assumes unacceptable cuts 
in key domestic priorities such as education, housing, health care, job 
training and environmental protection, even though Congress will likely 
restore the needed funding. While this resolution provides $350 billion 
in additional Medicare spending, it would place a Medicare prescription 
drug benefit in competition with Medicare ``modernization,'' as well as 
provider givebacks that the Republican Leadership has estimated will 
costs as much as $174 billion. The projections also leave out an 
assessment of the lost revenue from extending expiring tax credits and 
modifying the individual minimum tax that will impact 39 million 
middle-income taxpayers over the next 10 years. And these five-year 
projections fail to disclose the cost of making last year's tax cuts 
permanent, as the Administration's budget proposes. Over the customary 
ten-year budgetary window, extending the tax cuts cost $400 billion. A 
more realistic set of assumptions would show that the 10-year budget 
surplus has already vanished.
  The disappearance of the 10-year surplus compels us to consider not 
just a one-year but also a long-term budget plan. The American people 
have the right to know how the Congress proposes to restore fiscal 
discipline while enacting additional tax cuts, boosting spending for 
the military and meeting commitments to a growing number of retirees. 
The Administration and Congress should devise budgetary rules that make 
tax cuts and spending contingent on the realization of specified 
targets for the budget surplus and the federal debt. Unfortunately, 
this budget fails on all those counts.
  I am also deeply concerned about the draconian cuts to the Small 
Business Administration. The budget proposes cutting funding for the 
7(a) loan program in half. Last year, this loan program provided over 
$94 million in assistance to Rhode Island's small business community. 
Additionally, the Administration proposed cutting funding for 
employment and training programs by $685 million. With more than 1.4 
million workers laid off over the last year, we need this funding now 
more than ever. The budget would also slash the Low-Income Home Energy 
Assistance Program (LIHEAP) by #$300 million. This program is crucial 
for all New England states and particularly for our seniors, who might 
otherwise be forced to choose food over heat. Finally, the budget would 
cut $417 million from Public Housing Capital Fund, which helps provide 
1.2 million families nationwide--40 percent of whom are elderly or 
disabled--with affordable housing. Housing needs are especially acute 
in Rhode Island, where 38 percent of renter households pay more than 30 
percent of their income for rent.
  I urge my colleagues to reject this misguided budget and to develop 
one that will ensure security at home and abroad, without dramatically 
increasing our debt, borrowing against Social Security and Medicare, or 
abandoning our commitments to children, workers, senior citizens and 
all Americans.

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