[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 83 (Monday, May 21, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1098]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF CONFERENCE REPORT ON S. CON. RES. 21, 
        CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2008

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                               speech of

                          HON. ELIOT L. ENGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 17, 2007

  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of S. Con. Res. 21, a 
budget resolution designed and drafted by Democrats to end over a 
decade of Republican fiscal irresponsibility.
  One of the best results of the Democrats gaining the majority in the 
Congress is the fact that we can realign the priorities of the Federal 
government. Instead of Republican tax cuts for the richest 1 percent, 
we can put those same resources into health care for our children and 
veterans. Instead of driving our Nation deeper and deeper into debt, we 
can put us back on track towards a balanced budget.

  Twelve years of Republican budgets have left our fiscal house in 
shambles. We are nearly $9 trillion in debt, and if Republicans had 
their way, we would never end the deficit. However, the Democratic 
budget resolution is a good first step towards ending the sea of red 
ink on our budget. Within the next 5 years, we will have balanced the 
budget, while at the same time providing necessary services to those 
who need them most.
  This budget resolution incorporates the pay-as-you-go rule that the 
Democrats passed as one of our first acts in the majority. The rule is 
simple. Any additional funds we spend, or any taxes that we cut, have 
to be paid for with cuts in other areas.
  The budget resolution finally fulfills some of the promises we made 
to our military veterans. This legislation includes a $6.6 billion 
increase in veterans spending, which is the largest increase in 
history. The Congress has failed to meet our obligations for over a 
decade in providing necessary services to our veterans, and this budget 
aims to correct some of this neglect.
  In addition, this budget also provides $50 billion over 5 years 
towards children's health care. The State Children's Health Insurance 
Program (SCHIP) has been extremely successful in improving access to 
healthcare for children whose parents earn too much money to qualify 
for Medicaid, but not enough to purchase private health insurance. Two-
thirds of all uninsured children in this nation are actually eligible 
but not enrolled in SCHIP. With this budget, we can significantly 
improve health care coverage to millions more children across the 
country.
  This budget resolution will also help protect our Nation from its 
enemies. The 9/11 recommendations, most of which have been ignored by 
the Republican Congress, can be implemented under this budget 
framework. We have also included additional funding for homeland 
security in order to better ensure the safety of our citizens.

  It is no great secret that the Administration has severely 
underfunded schools across the nation with the No Child Left Behind 
Act. This is another program we intend to fix with our budget 
resolution. In this budget, we have included $9.5 billion over what the 
President requested for fiscal year 2008. This necessary funding will 
help stop the decline in our Nation's education system.
  Mr. Speaker, I do not have nearly enough time to speak about all the 
benefits of this budget resolution. Programs such as Head Start, 
LIHEAP, Social Security and Medicare all benefit. Residents of New 
Orleans and Mississippi benefit from the money to rebuild after 
Katrina. Higher education students will benefit from increased Pell 
Grants and we avoid cutting other student aid programs such as Perkins 
loans and special opportunity block grants, which was proposed in the 
President's failed budget plan.
  I am strongly supportive of this Democratic budget resolution. This 
bill will go a long way towards putting our fiscal house in order, 
without relying on the massive middle class tax increase that the 
President's budget relies upon. I would urge all of my colleagues to 
support this budget resolution.

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