[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 37 (Tuesday, March 23, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H1327]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           COMPETING VISIONS

  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, this week the House will take up the budget 
resolution for fiscal year 2005. This is the document that will set the 
terms for much of the national debate in this very pivotal year. Issues 
as unrelated as tax cuts and homeland security, law enforcement and 
space exploration, and the deficit and the international democracy and 
diplomacy will all be affected by this budget.
  Anyone who believes there are no real differences between the two 
parties should watch this week's debate, read the competing budget 
proposals, and see how stark these differences really are.
  The Republican budget is built on the principles of strength, growth, 
and opportunity. To secure our Nation and win the war on terror, it 
increases defense spending by 7 percent; it provides for more than $33 
billion in nonmilitary homeland security initiatives to fund America's 
first responders, law enforcement officers and the every day heroes who 
keep our communities safe.
  The Republican budget will provide the framework by which Congress 
can help maintain the economic recovery. It will protect the economy 
from targeted snap-back tax increases on parents, married couples, and 
the working class. Our budget will anchor Federal spending by freezing 
all nonsecurity discretionary spending growth giving the economy 
breathing room to grow, create jobs, and cut the deficit.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, the budget will meet all our domestic needs, 
from health care and education to welfare reform and veterans benefits 
without leaving any priority behind. The Republican budget speaks 
clearly to the issues facing our Nation this year.
  And to their credit, so does the Democrat's budget. Unfortunately, 
their budgets, while clear, are just wrong. In not one budget, but in 
three separate budgets, the minority party will propose job-killing tax 
increases, more spending, and bigger government as the solutions to our 
Nation's problems.
  The differences between the parties' visions could not be more clear. 
Democrats trust government, and Republicans trust the American people. 
This week we will see which vision prevails in this debate and in the 
minds of the American people.

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