[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 57 (Wednesday, April 9, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H3021]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 IN SUPPORT OF THE AMERICAN PARITY ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the 
American Parity Act sponsored by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. 
Emanuel), and I would like to thank him for his leadership on this 
particular piece of legislation and also thank the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) for articulating such a fine point that 
none of us here believe that we should somehow rob the Iraqi people 
from the taste of democracy or from the taste of a free society. But 
the argument that we are trying to make tonight is that we want this to 
happen. We want healthcare for the Iraqi people. We want 
infrastructure. We want schools. We want them to read and experience 
all the best that the democracies have to offer around the world. But 
we cannot do this, we should not do this, and forget along the way the 
priorities of the United States of America and the citizens that we 
have here.
  I want to share with the American people here tonight a study that 
was recently done by Goldman Sachs, not exactly a liberal think tank. 
They said, and this is their forecast, if the President's proposed new 
tax cuts are enacted, a Medicare prescription drug benefit approved, 
the alternative minimum tax adjusted, and appropriations grow modestly, 
the deficits over the next 10 years will total $4.2 trillion. And that 
is if the Social Security surplus is included. If it is not included, 
the deficit would be $6.7 trillion.
  The gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Emanuel) suggested maybe we offer 
this tax cut to the people of Iraq and allow them to grow their 
economy, but the problem with the tax cuts and having normal priorities 
is that the burdens with the baby boom generation needing support in 
their later years, the children and grandchildren of the citizens of 
this country's payroll tax will be 33 percent, 33 percent payroll taxes 
for their children and grandchildren, long-term deficits. We will not 
be investing in alternative energy sources. We are going to raise the 
interest rates. We are going to raise the interest payments. We are 
going to tie our hands with the international problems that we need to 
be committed to. We are not fully funding IDEA where the disabled 
children in this country are not getting the full 40 percent that was 
promised, and worse yet, we are cutting veterans' benefits by $28 
billion. So we are sending our soldiers out, asking them to achieve 
these goals, and when they come back, they are going to have $28 
billion less in services and healthcare benefits that will be a smaller 
and more diminished American dream for our soldiers when they return 
back to this country.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a question of priorities. This is the wealthiest 
country on the planet.

                              {time}  2030

  This is the freest society on the planet. If we want to create 
democracy in Iraq, we will. If we want the young school children to 
have 12,500 more schools, enroll 4 million more children, rebuild or 
renovate 3,000 schools, we will, because we have the power and the 
ingenuity and the spirit to make it happen. But we should not do it at 
the expense of the people and the children of this country, the 
veterans of this country, the seniors of this country, the disabled 
children in this country.
  This is eerily similar to the administration of 1990 and 1991, where 
we have completely taken our eye off the domestic ball and we keep it 
on foreign policy at the expense of the American people. And we are 
over there because we believe in the Iraqi people. We believe that when 
the sweet taste of democracy touches their lips, that they will respond 
in kind.
  But let me just say this in closing, Mr. Speaker, that maybe if we 
were making the investments in this country and gave the faith and the 
devotion to the people of this country, like we have for the citizens 
of Iraq, maybe one day the citizens of the United States of America 
will be up cheering in the streets, saying yes, our government is 
responding to the needs of the people of this country.

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