[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 22 (Thursday, February 26, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E261-E262]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                PRESIDENT BUSH'S FY 2005 NATIONAL BUDGET

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 26, 2004

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today being very 
disturbed with the direction that President Bush is taking our great 
nation. The prime reason for my concern is the President's budget that 
was submitted to this body a few weeks ago. It has become apparent to 
me that this Administration has lost all sense of reality when it comes 
to satisfying the needs of average Americans. I say this not out of 
partisanship, but from a statement of the facts. This President decided 
that multiple tax cuts for the rich would outweigh the programs and 
services most needed by average Americans. The truth is staggering; by 
2009 discretionary spending outside of Homeland Security will be $47 
billion less than current levels. In fact, by 2009 the tax cuts this 
Administration has sponsored will cost more than the cuts in 
discretionary spending outside of Homeland Security. This means that so 
many of the programs and services that average Americans rely upon will 
be cut drastically, all in an effort to finance irresponsible tax cuts 
that only benefit a small fraction of wealthy Americans.
  The truth is that this President is trying to hide from the American 
people the amount of cuts in important programs that his budget 
contains. For the first time, this President's 2005 published budget 
materials do not show discretionary funding totals, or program or 
account totals, beyond 2005. Again, this President is out of touch with 
the American people, and worse still he is trying to hide his true 
intentions. I will not stay silent while he advocates an irresponsible 
agenda that is geared towards only one small sector of the American 
population. It is our responsibility to advocate for all Americans, and 
the great majority of them will be hurt by this irresponsible budget. I 
want to highlight a few areas in this budget that are particularly 
egregious.
  Education: This year marks the 50th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of 
Education, the historic Supreme Court decision that desegregated 
America's schools. I would not be true to the principles of Brown v. 
Board of Education if I did not address the current state of our 
nation's education system. It pains me to do so, I'd much rather stand 
here and celebrate our great victory from 50 years ago, but to do so 
and ignore the needs of our nation's children would be a slap in the 
face to all that we have fought for. At the top of the list of my 
concerns is the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the fact that it 
has not lived up to its mandate. In the years before Brown v. Board of 
Education the proponents of ``separate but equal'' might have said that 
no black child was being left behind, but we know that to have been a 
lie. Likewise we know under the current state of affairs that the idea 
that American children are not being left behind is a farce.
  President Bush shortchanges his own No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) 
by $9.4 billion--including $7.2 billion for Title I. The President 
breaks his promise to provide $20.5 billion for Title I under NCLB. His 
budget will deny nearly 5 million disadvantaged children critical 
education services, such as extra help to become proficient in reading 
and math. Since NCLB was signed into law President Bush has underfunded 
the initiative by $26.5 billion or 21.7 percent.
  President Bush freezes or cuts college aid, forces taxes on students, 
and fails to stop tuition hikes. Not only does the President fail to 
address the rising college tuition, but he also makes college even more 
expensive by freezing or cutting student aid and taxing students.
  President Bush jeopardizes aid to children of military families. The 
Bush budget freezes all Impact Aid funding at the FY 2004 level, 
jeopardizing programs and services for children of military families.
  President Bush breaks his NCLB promise on afterschool programs. The 
Bush budget freezes funding for afterschool programs. As a result, 
nearly 1.3 million children will be shut out of afterschool programs.

[[Page E262]]

  President Bush makes certain that full funding of special education 
will never happen. The Bush budget proposes a $1 billion increase for 
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This marks the 
4th year in a row President Bush has proposed this exact level of 
increase, placing disabled students at an even greater disadvantage. At 
this rate of increase, we will never reach full funding of IDEA.
  President Bush cuts $316 million from vocational education and 
community colleges--again. The Bush Budget would cut $316 million, or 
nearly 25 percent, from vocational education. On top of this, President 
Bush has cut more than $1.5 billion out of job training and vocational 
education programs since he took office. In addition, the budget 
proposes to turn this program into a block grant to states, eliminating 
accountability and targeting of resources to disadvantaged students and 
programs.
  We all know that education is one of the most important priorities 
for our great nation. Our children's success or failure will be the 
true indicator of our effectiveness in this body. The generation of 
African American leaders who preceded us spent their lives making sure 
that all children would be able to get educated and have the ability to 
succeed that every American was entitled to. This President's budget 
threatens that very core principle. This is more than rhetoric; this 
idea is based on staggering facts. Of the 65 programs cut completely 
from the Bush budget, 39 of them were education programs. This 
President believes America will be better off if the richest Americans 
get $66,000 tax cuts, but he doesn't believe our children will be 
better with programs like Dropout Prevention, Even Start and School 
Leadership, all of which are now obsolete under his proposal. This 
President has a different set of priorities when he believes that 
hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts for our children's education 
will be better for America. We as a body of the people can not allow 
this flawed budget proposal to stand. Our children's future and in turn 
the future prosperity of this nation is at stake.
  Veterans: Our brave American veterans are another group who will have 
to suffer if this Bush budget is allowed to be put into effect. Funding 
for America's veterans will be cut by $13.5 billion over the next five 
years. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs himself has testified that the 
Veterans Affairs (VA) budget just for 2005 is $1.2 billion below the 
amount that the VA requested from the White House, and that the funding 
levels for 2006 through 2009 in the President's budget may not be 
realistic. What other proof needs to be shown that this President and 
his Administration are simply not in touch with reality when it comes 
to the needs of our nation. I want to stress that funding for our 
veterans is not a luxury or an option, it's a requirement. When our 
veterans went off into service for America and risked their lives they 
didn't give a half hearted commitment, sadly this President can not say 
the same for his commitment to our veterans.
  I have talked to a number of veterans groups from my district and 
they are all screaming for better health care for themselves and their 
families. They have a right to be angry, they gave a sacrifice to this 
nation that no other group can claim and the treatment they receive in 
this President's budget is unacceptable. I stand in solidarity with our 
brave veterans and everyone else in this body who would like to say the 
same must be against this President's budget. His proposal does nothing 
to increase health care coverage for our veterans and their families. I 
am asking this President, that without proper medical coverage how can 
any proposal for funding of Veterans Affairs ever be worthwhile?
  Education and Veterans Affairs make up only two areas where this 
President's budget fails Americans. The truth is there are many other 
programs and services vital to our nation that are at risk because of 
this Administration. At this point, an average American may be asking 
why this President finds it necessary to cut so many fundamental 
programs. The answer is simple, yet disturbing; this President is 
cutting important programs in order to finance his irresponsible tax 
cuts. He will continue to make the argument that tax cuts provide 
stimulus for our economy, but millions of unemployed Americans will 
tell you otherwise. In fact the Congressional Budget Office itself said 
``tax legislation will probably have a net negative effect on saving, 
investment, and capital accumulation over the next 10 years.'' Yet, 
this President continues to push forward his failing policies, as he 
does he falls farther and farther away from the reality faced by 
average Americans. This body was made to stand for the will of all 
Americans; if we allow this budget proposal to take effect we will have 
failed our mandate. I for one will not stand by silently; I have a duty 
to my constituents and indeed to all Americans to work for their well 
being and I will continue to honor that duty.