[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 72 (Thursday, May 20, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E928]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


  CONFERENCE REPORT ON S. CON. RES. 995, CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE 
                      BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2005

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                             HON. JOE BACA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 19, 2004

  Mr. BACA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to revise and extend 
my remarks.
  I rise in opposition to the Republican Budget Resolution conference 
report. For the first time since the Congressional Budget Act was 
enacted, the Republicans are bringing only a 1-year budget resolution 
to the floor. This 1-year conference agreement provides no plan to 
reduce the deficit and no commitment to provide critical resources for 
defense, homeland security, education, veterans, and other priorities 
in future years.
  The budget agreement cuts funding for key priorities to help fund 
another round of Republican tax cuts totaling $55.2 billion. After 3 
years of the Bush administration's fiscal policies, we are facing a 
$363 billion deficit in 2005, and that is before any new tax cuts or 
other policies the President is proposing. Republicans have managed to 
turn a project $5.6 trillion surplus into a projected $3 trillion 
deficit.
  This budget also fails to protect Social Security. The conference 
agreement not only fails to attempt to restore the budget surpluses to 
begin to protect the Social Security trust fund, but it also spends 
every penny of the $1 trillion Social Security surplus over the next 5 
years.
  If that's not enough, the Republican budget shortchanges education 
and health programs. It provides $81 billion for education and training 
programs, which is $2.9 billion less than the Senate budget. The 
conference agreement provides $8.8 billion less for education than was 
promised in the No Child Left Behind Act. It represents the smallest 
increase in education spending in 9 years, cutting $1.4 billion in 
critical education programs, including those that improve family 
literacy, and provide school counselors to elementary school children.
  It fails to provide any new money to help the 43 million Americans 
who are without health insurance. There are over 12 million Hispanic 
Americans without health insurance and millions more who can barely pay 
their premiums, yet Republicans do nothing to hold costs down.
  The budget cuts spending for mandatory health programs by $905 
million over 5 years. Medicaid constitutes over 90 percent of the 
dollars for these programs, so it is likely that disabled Americans, 
children and the elderly would bear the brunt of these spending cuts, 
if enacted. The budget also does nothing to hold down prescription drug 
costs. This administration and the Republican Party are failing the 2 
million Hispanic seniors and all seniors on Medicare.
  The budget cuts and underfunds critical housing programs. At this 
funding level, approximately 250,000 low-income families with children, 
senior citizens, and people with disabilities could lose their Section 
8 vouchers.
  The Republican budget leaves our veterans behind. The conference 
agreement provides only $31 billion for appropriated veterans programs 
for 2005, which is $1.3 billion less than the Veterans Affairs 
Committee, on a bipartisan basis, stated is needed for these vital 
veterans' health care programs. It shortchanges veterans' health care, 
raising health care costs for 1 million veterans. It makes it harder 
for veterans to get their disability, education, pension, housing, and 
employment benefits by eliminating critically needed staff that process 
claims for veterans' benefits. The Republicans talk about patriotism, 
yet how quickly they forget about the men and women who are coming back 
from Iraq and Afghanistan, and the over 1 million Hispanic veterans.
  The conference report before us is a failure of our fiscal and moral 
responsibility. We should reject this conference report and ask the 
conferees to go back to the drawing board.
  I yield back the balance of my time.

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