[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 148 (Wednesday, November 9, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2319]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E2319]]
                         BUDGET RECONCILIATION

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. PATRICK J. KENNEDY

                            of rhode island

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 9, 2005

  Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Speaker, in October 1999, a 
presidential candidate from Texas said that House Republicans 
``shouldn't balance the budget on the backs of the poor.'' He 
criticized his fellow Republicans for projecting ``pessimism, 
indifference, and I disdain for government.''
  That man was President George W. Bush, and what a sad, tragic 
difference 6 years in power has made.
  Today, too many Americans are struggling just to get by, let alone 
get ahead. They're trying to scratch out a living . . . [pause] . . . 
and some hope for the future in the face of rising energy prices, 
higher education costs, stagnant wages, and for some, the complete loss 
of homes, jobs, and even loved ones to Hurricane Katrina.
  To them, this reconciliation bill says, ``we need you to sacrifice 
more so that the energy companies can get their subsidies and the 
wealthy elite can get their tax breaks.''
  Democrats believe that government should reflect the sense of 
community that Americans demonstrated after Katrina--the sense of 
community that has defined and united America throughout its history.
  We believe in some basic human principles--everyone should have the 
opportunities not just to survive, but to excel with their God-given 
talents and abilities. Those are the values that should be reflected in 
our budgets.
  We could have a budget that brings Americans together.
  But sadly, instead, we have a budget that will widen the divide in 
America between those who have plenty, and those who struggle just to 
have enough.


                               EDUCATION

  One of those people is a young lady in my district. She will graduate 
from high school this spring; the first in her family with a chance at 
college.
  She will work in an America that faces more global economic 
competition than ever before in its history.
  But this budget will limit her opportunity and turn education into a 
commodity because it will increase by almost $6,000 the interest rates, 
taxes and fees she will have to pay.
  Robert McKenna, who heads up higher education in my state, has 
proclaimed that this budget could severely undermine already existing 
education benefits. And make it harder to expand access to higher 
education.
  I have 44,000 students like that young lady in my state, and this 
spring when she graduates, she will have one less tool to build the 
American Dream for her and her family.


                              food stamps

  Unfortunately, these families will have plenty of company in their 
disproportionate sacrifice. At the beginning of every month, you will 
find many families in the supermarket, pinching and saving and clipping 
coupons to get by. We saw some of those same faces on August 31--those 
without enough money at the end of the month to fill up the gas tank to 
get out of New Orleans.
  In my state, over 17,000 households are going hungry on a regular 
basis.
  My state has the highest child poverty rate in all of New England, 
above the national average.
  What does this budget do for the people in my state?
  It starts by taking school lunches from their kids.
  It continues by taking 300,000 families in this country--over 12,000 
in my state alone--and kicking them off food stamps. Leaving them to 
sacrifice basic nutrition for their children to keep the heat on this 
winter or a roof over their heads.
  Bernie Beaudreau, the Executive Director of the Rhode Island 
Community Food Bank, recently commented: ``The forces and trends in our 
economy creating conditions of poverty and hunger--low wages, 
unemployment and low incomes, housing and energy costs, the cost of 
food and health care, are outstripping our capacity to respond. Given 
this hunger data, cutting food stamps is a disastrous idea.''


                                medicaid

  Regarding Medicaid, I recently had a chance to visit with some young 
adults who have Down's Syndrome or autism, at the Groden Center in 
Providence, Rhode Island. Of all the people in America who are asked to 
sacrifice, I can't believe this budget would go after them.
  And yet the Medicaid program that helps them meet the challenges of 
their disabilities is also on the chopping block.
  Dale Klatzker, Executive Director of the Providence Center, a 
facility that provides mental health treatment and supportive services, 
recently commented, ``Perhaps if some of the Members of the House could 
spend some time with the individuals that these changes seek to make 
more personally responsible--they would have a different take on the 
life and death decisions they seem intent on making.''
  Nearly 200,000 Rhode Islanders on Medicaid will be affected by these 
changes.


                               CONCLUSION

  In conclusion, reconciliation is more than a line item in a budget. 
It should be about hope and dreams and opportunity, not just tax breaks 
for the wealthiest among us.
  In his Second Inaugural Address, President Roosevelt said, ``The test 
of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those 
who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too 
little.''
  With this budget it is all too clear that we are failing the test.

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