[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 154 (Friday, November 18, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2435]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     DEFICIT REDUCTION ACT OF 2005

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                          HON. JERROLD NADLER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, November 18, 2005

  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this horrible 
legislation. In all my years in Congress, this is easily one of the 
ugliest bills I have ever seen. I can't think of a more glaring example 
of pandering to the rich on the backs of the poor. It's no wonder the 
Republican leadership needed all the extra time to bring it to the 
floor.
  The cuts in this legislation will result in the reduction, if not 
elimination, of services to those who need it most, and those who are 
able to fight for them least. I hope that those in the faith-based 
community are watching closely: this is the true face of 
``compassionate conservatism.'' This from the party which claims to 
have cornered the market on morality.
  It is hard to identify what is most egregious about this bill--there 
is such a litany of problems here. Is it the cuts in food stamps that 
will leave hundreds of thousands hungry? Is it that Medicaid funding 
has been decimated, adding to the rolls of the millions without 
adequate health insurance? Is it the hits that student loan programs 
take, leaving our Nation's youth with still more financial burdens? Is 
it the insidious weakening of environmental provisions, inserted under 
cover of darkness? The list goes on and on.
  And despite the rhetoric from the other side, this bill will do 
nothing to reduce the staggering deficits we've been seeing. That is 
because, under the Republican fiscal policies, deficits are built into 
the system. As a result of the tax cuts for the wealthy that the 
Republicans forced down this country's throat several years ago, there 
is simply not enough revenue coming into the treasury to eliminate the 
shortfall. Indeed, unless Republicans are planning to gut just about 
all discretionary spending, there is simply no way to plug the hole. 
It's basic arithmetic.
  No, what's going on here is that my Republican friends have created a 
monster. Their tax cuts have starved our government of its resources, 
and have brought us from record surpluses to record deficits. But will 
budget reconciliation reduce the deficit and begin to fix the problem, 
as they claim? No. This bill actually increases the deficit. This bill 
is about making room for still more tax cuts. In fact, the bill allows 
for up to $106 billion in new tax cuts during FY 06, not just the $75 
billion specified in the bill. $50 billion in spending cuts, and $106 
billion fewer dollars in the treasury, leads to an increase in the 
deficit to $56 billion!
  And the $106 billion in tax cuts will not benefit the families of the 
troops fighting in Iraq, nor those who suffered in the gulf coast. No, 
these cuts are targeted to benefit corporations and the wealthy.
  Three hundred thousand low-income Americans will lose food stamp 
assistance; 17 million Americans, half of them children, will see 
increased costs in Medicaid; the average student will suffer an almost 
$6,000 increase in his or her college costs because of $14.3 billion in 
cuts to student loan programs. So we give tax cuts to those who don't 
even need them, and the back of our hand to those who need assistance. 
This is a disgraceful bill. It is socially unjust, and it will 
aggravate, not help cure, our Nation's fiscal crisis. In the strongest 
possible terms, I urge a no vote on this bill.

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