[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 126 (Tuesday, October 1, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H6922-H6923]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 BUDGET

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2001, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sandlin) is recognized 
for half the time before midnight as the designee of the minority 
leader.
  Mr. SANDLIN. Mr. Speaker, I think it is important that we ask 
ourselves: What are we doing here today? What have we been doing 
recently?
  During the day we waste our time on mostly ridiculous nonbinding 
resolutions while major economic issues are needed to be addressed. 
Where is the debate on Social Security? What are we doing about 
economics? What about our education reform? Where is some real pension 
reform legislation? What about a real prescription drug plan for this 
country? What about health care, Medicare? What about these issues? 
What are we doing; and importantly, where are we on the budget?
  Mr. Speaker, today, as we stand here today, it marks the first day of 
the fiscal new year. As Alan Jackson, a country western singer, says, 
Who says you can't have it all? Well, apparently not our friends on the 
other side of the aisle. While most New Years are a cause for 
celebration, this particular fiscal new year is anything but joyous and 
provides us with a very sober opportunity to examine the sorry state of 
our country's fiscal health: $6.15 trillion in debt, $1 billion a day 
interest payments, increasing obligations, decreasing investments, and 
broken promises.
  The Blue Dog Coalition has worked hard to sustain the Federal budget 
surpluses that our country has enjoyed for the last several years. Make 
no mistake about it, we have huge deficits, we have huge debts. Those 
deficits are growing day by day. Right now, as our friend Chris Farley 
would say, we do not have Jack squat.
  The deteriorating state of our Nation's fiscal situation is well 
known to Members of the Congress and to the public, though it is worth 
recalling exactly how drastically our budget surpluses have turned into 
budget deficits.
  Just last year, in 2001, the CBO projected that the Federal 
Government would run a 10-year budget surplus of $3.4 trillion, 
excluding the Social Security surplus. The CBO now predicts that the 
government will run a 10-year budget deficit of $1.5 trillion, a 
staggering reversal of approximately $5 trillion.
  Further, the CBO estimates that the Federal Government will run a 
unified deficit of $157 billion in fiscal year 2002. When the Social 
Security surplus is excluded, however, the CBO projects a deficit of 
$314 billion. For the current

[[Page H6923]]

fiscal year, which starts today, the CBO estimates a unified budget 
deficit of $145 billion and a deficit of $315 billion when the Social 
Security surplus is excluded.
  Now, while Members of both parties argue over the specific reasons 
for the shift from surpluses to deficits, the fact remains that the 
Federal budget is now in the red and will remain in the red for the 
foreseeable future. Further, though our country's anticipated effort to 
disarm Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction is necessary, any 
future action in Iraq will increase Federal spending and almost 
certainly expand deficits in the near future.
  In light of our current and anticipated deficits, the Blue Dogs 
believe that the Congress must take several vitally important steps to 
return our Federal budget to fiscal health and fiscal responsibility.
  For starters, the other body needs to extend the pay-go provision of 
the Budget Enforcement Act, which expired just yesterday. Our country 
is in real danger of suffering from a budget hangover in the aftermath 
of this fiscal new year. As we all know, pay-go restrains the natural 
tendencies of Congress to overspending by renewing enforceable spending 
limits. As called for in the Blue Dogs' ABC budget plan, Congress can 
take the necessary first step towards reestablishing balanced budgets 
and possibly budget surpluses.
  As Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan noted recently in his 
September 12 testimony before the Committee on the Budget, ``The pay-go 
rules served as useful tools to control the deficits. In essence, the 
rules provided a means for advancing the broader good of sound fiscal 
policy over narrower interests.''
  Chairman Greenspan went on to assert that ``now is not the time to 
abandon the discipline and structure that worked so well for so long. 
The framework enacted in the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 and 
extended several times must be preserved.''
  But the pay-go rules to which Congress has adhered for the past 
decade are not an end to themselves. They serve only as a means to very 
important ends. The people of east Texas in my district have felt the 
negative impact of the national economic downturn, and seniors in my 
district need assurances that Congress will not end up raiding the 
Social Security fund to make up for budget shortfalls.
  During 2001, Congress and the President promised to secure the Social 
Security Trust Fund surplus in a so-called lockbox. The Democrats 
proposed a true lockbox. The Republican lockbox had a trap door and is 
nothing more than a figment of their collective imagination. Our 
country's anticipated budget deficits will siphon money out of the 
Social Security Trust Fund for years and years and years and years to 
come.
  Last year a number of Blue Dogs, including myself, introduced the 
Restore Fiscal Discipline and Safeguard Social Security Act. This 
legislation, which would require Congress and the President to have a 
midyear review if the CBO projects ongoing deficits during its annual 
budget reestimates in August, is an important step toward ensuring the 
continued existence of the Social Security Trust Fund.
  Unfortunately, the Blue Dogs' efforts to offer this measure on the 
House floor were repeatedly denied by the Republican House leadership. 
Budget deficits have consequences and are financed by sacrificing 
national priorities like Social Security and Medicare.
  The Federal Government is projected to borrow nearly all of the 
Social Security surpluses to pay for the deficits in the remainder of 
the budget. We are scheduled to borrow nearly all of it, $964 billion 
over the next 5 years, and more than $2 trillion over the next 10 
years.
  Mr. Speaker, deficit spending to compensate for a downturn in the 
economy and a war in Iraq should not jeopardize the retirement security 
of our Nation's seniors, who in most cases have contributed to the 
Social Security system for all of their working lives.
  In addition to preserving Social Security for current and future 
generations, the Blue Dogs continue to work for fiscal discipline in an 
effort to lower long-term interest rates. Congress has a significant 
role to play in keeping the growth of long-term interest rates in check 
through the enforcement of fiscal discipline.

                              {time}  2340

  According to Alan Greenspan in his testimony, ``If you watch the way 
markets behave, long-term interest rates, both real and nominal, are 
affected in a significant manner by the long-term fiscal outlook, and 
when you change the long-term fiscal outlook or, more exactly, when the 
markets perceive a change in the long-term fiscal outlook, interest 
rates react immediately.''
  Lower interest rates represent a de facto tax cut for millions of 
American families and serve as an effective economic stimulus as 
families and individuals save money on their mortgages, save money on 
their car loans, save money on their credit cards payments, save money 
on all consumer debt. It is the best tax cut of all for American 
families.
  The Blue Dogs remain committed to strong economic growth which does 
not represent party labels and it benefits all Americans. Fiscal 
responsibility includes transparent budgeting, paying down the debt, 
balancing the budget, and keeping our commitment to respect our seniors 
and invest in the children of America.
  Let us give the budget debate the time it deserves. Let us do it now. 
Let us stay here hour to hour, day to day, week to week and, yes, month 
to month until the important work of the people is complete.
  We need a prescription drug plan. We need legislation to protect 
pensions and to jail corporate thieves. We need a true Patients' Bill 
of Rights. We need to protect Social Security from privatization. To 
address these needs we need a firm financial foundation.
  Mr. Speaker, to address these needs we need a fiscally responsible 
budget. Let us do it. Let us do it now. Let us take the time to do the 
people's work.

                          ____________________