[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 62 (Thursday, May 18, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E877]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2007

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                               speech of

                           HON. BOB ETHERIDGE

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 17, 2006

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration of the concurrent 
     resolution (H. Con. Res. 376) establishing the congressional 
     budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2007 
     and setting forth appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal 
     years 2008 through 2011:

  Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to this 
misguided budget resolution, and I urge my colleagues to join me in 
voting against it.
  The Federal budget is much more than just a government document; it 
is a statement of our Nation's priorities and values. I am tremendously 
proud that in my first term as the Second District of North Carolina's 
Representative in the U.S. House, Congress and the President balanced 
the budget for the first time in a generation. Until just a few years 
ago, the budget remained balanced and the surpluses we produced were 
being used to pay down the national debt and strengthen the solvency of 
Social Security. But this Administration and the Republican 
Congressional Leadership have squandered the budget surpluses on 
wasteful tax policies and are running record budget deficits as far as 
the eye can see.
  This budget offers more of the same failed policies and it flunks the 
test of moral leadership by increasing the burdens on the poor, the 
middle class, families struggling to get into the middle class and 
future generations. This budget contains devastating cuts to essential 
services for our families and will leave the statutory debt at a record 
level of $11.3 trillion. The American people deserve better.
  As the only former State schools chief serving in Congress, public 
education is my priority. Education holds the key to the American Dream 
for middle class families, and the Federal Government has a solemn 
obligation to help all of our people make the most of their God-given 
abilities. This budget eliminates 42 Federal education initiatives, 
cuts funding for education, social services and training by $4.6 
billion below the amount needed to maintain purchasing power at the 
current level and will cut this funding more deeply each subsequent 
year.
  Specifically, this budget completely dismantles: vocational education 
($1.3 billion); Perkins Loans ($730 million); Safe and Drug-Free 
Schools state grants ($347 million); GEAR-UP college readiness for low-
income students ($303 million); education technology ($287 million); 
and Even Start family literacy services ($99 million). The budget cuts 
$15 billion from the amount authorized for the No Child Left Behind 
education reform effort and cuts the Federal contribution for special 
education from the current 17.7 percent to only 17.0 percent for the 
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) despite years of 
rhetoric from the Republicans claiming to support IDEA. And while the 
costs of college continue to rise, this budget contains none of the 
funds needed to raise Pell Grants beyond the 2003 funding level.

  In addition, this Republican budget resolution cuts funding for 
homeland security, including port security by $6.1 billion over 5 
years, cuts essential services for working families by $9.4 billion, 
cuts veterans' health care by $6.0 billion, slashes funding for health 
by $18.1 billion below current services and fails to protect the 
environment by imposing a cut of $25 billion over the next 5 years.
  In contrast, the Spratt Substitute will balance the budget by 2012. 
It includes tough Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) budget enforcement rules that 
require the cost of any new mandatory spending or revenue legislation 
to be fully offset. Vice President Cheney has claimed ``deficits don't 
matter,'' but the American people know better. The Spratt budget 
provides $4.6 billion more for education in 2007 than the Republican 
budget and adds $45.3 billion over 5 years that our States and 
communities desperately need for quality schools.
  The Spratt Substitute keeps our commitment to veterans by including 
$8.6 billion more than the Republican budget for veterans' health care. 
It provides $6.5 billion more over 5 years for homeland security, 
including port security and rejects the Republican cut to Army National 
Guard troop strength and the cut to Cooperative Threat Reduction that 
protects America from weapons of mass destruction. The Spratt 
alternative budget provides $18 billion more over 5 years to fund 
health priorities cut by the Republican budget, including medical 
research at NIH and CDC, rural health activities, and graduate medical 
education for children's hospitals. Finally, the Spratt Substitute 
rejects the Republican budget cuts for environmental protection and 
requires an honest, separate vote on any proposal to raise the limit on 
the national debt.
  Finally, Mr. Chairman, I believe the Federal budget is the public 
expression of our Nation's priorities and values. I urge Congress to 
reject the Republican budget that is wrong for America and support the 
Spratt Substitute that restores funding for essential services for a 
stronger country and a brighter tomorrow for our families.

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