[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 22, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H5537]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  DEMOCRATS COMPLETE A BUDGET, SOMETHING THAT ELUDED PAST REPUBLICAN 
                               CONGRESSES

  (Mr. BUTTERFIELD asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, last week, congressional Democrats 
accomplished something the Republican ``do-nothing'' Congress could not 
do. We passed a final budget through both the House and Senate.
  Over 3 of the last 5 years, the Republican-led Congress failed to 
reach agreement on a final budget resolution, leading to unparalleled 
deficit spending. Unlike our Republican predecessors, this new 
Democratic Congress has produced a fiscally responsible budget that 
serves as a blueprint for investing in America's priorities, providing 
tax cuts to middle-class families, and balances the budget in just 5 
years without raising taxes. Not even the President's proposed budget 
comes out of the red after 5 years.
  Mr. Speaker, budgets serve as a blueprint of a Congress' priorities. 
Our final budget strengthens our military readiness and invests in our 
troops and veterans. It also spurs innovation to boost our economy and 
expands investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency to reduce 
global warming and our dangerous dependence on foreign oil.
  Democrats vowed to run this Congress differently, and we have, by 
producing a final budget agreement.

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