[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 161 (Thursday, December 15, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H11869-H11870]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SAVING FOR A RAINY DAY

  Mr. SCHIFF. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to speak out of 
turn.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SCHIFF. Madam Speaker, the poet Longfellow once wrote: ``Thy fate 
is the common fate of all; into each life some rain must fall.'' How 
true this is.
  We know that calamities will come to our Nation. We know that 
terrorists are trying to attack us again and that Osama bin Laden wants 
to strike us with weapons of mass destruction. We know that in years to 
come hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, and other natural disasters 
will devastate our shores, our towns, our homes, and most terrible, our 
very lives.
  We must prepare, not only with a strong military and good 
infrastructure but also with a reserve of funds to cushion the impact 
to our economy and to meet the needs of the victims. Part of being 
prepared is doing what many families know as saving for a rainy day.
  America has seen both prosperity and depressions, periods of 
unbridled growth and periods of stubborn stagnation. We have seen 
strong budget surpluses and huge budget deficits.
  While any economy has periodic cycles of expansion and contraction, 
we know that fiscally irresponsible policies of an administration or a 
Congress can abbreviate an upturn or prolong a downturn.
  Today, a lack of revenue, uncontrolled spending and faulty planning 
have put our national debt so high that putting our fiscal house in 
order seems out of reach. I am here to tell you that it is not out of 
reach. It will take time, but it is possible and it must be done.
  The Blue Dog Coalition has put together a comprehensive 12-point plan 
to make needed reforms to our budget process, and one of these critical 
reforms is the creation of a rainy-day fund to set aside money for good 
times to pay for disasters, which we know will eventually come.
  Madam Speaker, as you know, unlike the Federal Government, States 
must balance their budgets each year. In tough times States must raise 
revenue or cut spending. And generally, they cannot put these decisions 
off for another year or another generation. But many States have been 
resourceful. Forty-five of them, including my own home State of 
California, have created their own rainy-day funds. These funds are 
still small, too small and the States are in poor fiscal health. But 
they have begun the process of planning for their own rainy days.
  According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, since 2001, 
States have used around $30 billion from their rainy-day funds and 
general fund balances to help offset more than $250 billion in 
deficits.
  Even during these weak economic times, States must continue to 
maintain and grow the viability of their rainy-day funds. In California 
we understand only too well that an earthquake, wildfire, or other 
calamity can strike our State without notice; and these funds will be 
crucial to helping Californians deal with the crisis.
  The Federal Government must also be prepared for the Nation's next 
crisis; but, sadly, we are not. Even today, this Congress struggles 
with the unprecedented task of rebuilding the gulf coast after the 
worst natural disaster in our Nation's history.
  Because the Federal Government failed to make the proper investment 
into the levees protecting New Orleans, one of our prized cities now 
lies in ruins. If we had had the foresight to establish a national 
rainy-day fund prior to Katrina, immediate fiscal decisions of this 
Congress could have been so much less painful, the cuts so much less 
devastating, and we would not have to go so far deeper into debt to 
come to the aid of our fellow citizens.
  Imagine also that if Congress properly invested each year into the 
rainy-day fund, the interest from this fund could be used to make 
needed infrastructure improvements, the same type of improvements that 
could have saved the city of New Orleans from such devastating 
flooding.
  Congress has so far provided more than $62 billion in emergency funds 
to respond to Hurricane Katrina, but we know that so much more will be 
needed. So much more was spent after September 11 and still our 
Nation's needs are not met.

[[Page H11870]]

  Let us do what we encourage all of our children to do and save for 
the future. I encourage this Congress to take a strong look at the Blue 
Dogs' 12-point plan and establish a rainy-day fund.

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