[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 52 (Thursday, March 26, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3885-S3886]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               THE BUDGET

  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I have just come from an all-day session 
with the Budget Committee. I am very pleased that we have voted it out 
to the floor, and we will be taking up next week President Obama's 
budget, his priorities. Certainly the chairman of the committee, 
Senator Conrad, gets tremendous credit for his hard work, as usual, and 
his expertise, and his staff's expertise as well.
  Particularly, on a personal level, since it is such a difficult time 
for those Senator Conrad loves in North Dakota, we know his heart and 
mind has been there, as well as shepherding this budget through. We 
appreciate his diligence in this very challenging time.
  What was clear from the budget debate not only in the committee 
yesterday and today but in the comments that have gone on in the last 
couple of weeks from Republican colleagues is that they have dusted off 
a 15-year-old set of arguments about the budget, which is in front of 
us. You could use the headline: GOP Dusts off, Reuses 15-year-old 
Message of ``No.''
  We have heard no on equal pay and from too many people around here on 
health care and on protecting public lands. The issues go on and on--
whether it has been slow walking, filibustering, or just plain saying 
no.
  So when we look at what is happening, I think it is important to put 
it into context. This year, 2009, we saw multiple headlines. One was: 
``GOP Warns About Budget Hardball.''
  We know they are going to come to the floor and play hardball on the 
budget next week and fight us every step of the way on our priorities 
and the President's vision for education, health care, and energy 
independence. They clearly have indicated that.
  If you roll back the clock, this is not a new message. It is very 
much recycled. This was a headline in 1995: ``GOP Plan For Budget To 
Take No Prisoners.''
  They took on President Clinton and his priorities of investing and 
creating children's health insurance and focusing on jobs and on ways 
to bring down the deficit, which, by the way, created 22 million jobs 
in this country.
  I can tell you coming from a State with now 12 percent unemployment, 
we would be happy to have taken the Clinton budget and the era of 
creating jobs. I know the Presiding Officer comes from a State also 
hard hit. When we talk about what is best for people, people in this 
country would love to go back to an era of creating 22 million jobs.
  President Obama is focusing on getting us back to that point by 
moving forward to invest in jobs, invest in the economy and what people 
care about.
  But all we are hearing over and over again is how we are going to 
have a fight, it is going to be tough. One more time it is no.
  1993: ``GOP's Politics of No.'' ``One-word vocabulary hobbles GOP.'' 
Sound familiar? ``Republicans grouse as Senate takes up budget bill.'' 
This was back in June 18, 1993. At that time, we had a Democratic 
President putting forward priorities for the American people--not the 
wealthiest in the country but middle-class families working hard every 
day, playing by the rules, who wanted to know their country was focused 
on them and their families.
  We fast forward to today, and in the Budget Committee and on the 
floor, what do we see? We see a Republican repeat: Same old politics, 
same old policies that have gotten us to where we are, that have gotten 
us into this crisis.
  The debate in the Budget Committee was very much about going back to 
the policies that did not work, that have created such financial chaos 
and job loss in this country. Whether to move us forward, that is what 
we are talking about, changing course, moving us forward, a different 
set of values and priorities, a different vision about what is 
important for America.
  The American people have rejected the same old politics and the same 
old policies. But yet every day we see the same old politics, forcing 
us to go to 60 votes rather than working together to move legislation 
forward.
  H.R. 1388 is a terrific bill on community service, the national 
service bill. Rather than being able to move it forward every step of 
the way together, there was constant effort to force cloture votes, to 
move in a way that has slowed it down, even though we know the majority 
of people were supporting it.
  So we see the same old politics over and over again and the same old 
policies. When you listen to Republican colleagues over and over again, 
their mantra is always about tax cuts for the wealthy, we will solve 
great problems for everybody else. I can assure you the 11 million-plus 
people in this country who are unemployed right now are not concerned 
about another supply-side tax cut. They were waiting a long time, for 
the last 8 years, for it to trickle down to them, and all that trickled 
down to them was job loss, home loss, health care costs up, education 
costs up, energy costs up, food costs up.
  This budget goes in a different direction. We reject the same old 
policies that got us where we are, that got us into this crisis.
  Instead, we have put forward under the President's leadership a 
budget that is investing in America's future, investing in jobs. I am 
very proud to have led an effort in the committee to make sure we are 
focused on manufacturing, to focus on jobs in our budget resolution. I 
know our Presiding Officer shares my deep concern about those issues, 
and I am proud to partner with him on so many initiatives around 
manufacturing and jobs.
  Health care: to make sure we have put in place the ability to tackle 
health care costs and health care access. We are in a unique position 
in health care. It is one of those rare situations where the more 
people are covered, the more you provide health care, you actually 
bring the cost down because you have fewer people using emergency rooms 
inappropriately, fewer people unable to go to the doctor before they 
get very ill, being able to get preventive care. This budget focuses on 
health care.
  This budget focuses on energy independence. I am very proud to have 
authored in the bill a clean energy fund. This is based on work we are 
doing in the Energy Committee. I am so appreciative of the leadership 
and commitment of the chairman, Senator Bingaman, to work with us on 
manufacturing and energy independence, focusing on green technologies, 
focusing on a clean energy fund that will help us invest in those 
technologies and create great new manufacturing jobs. This is a part of 
the budget, energy efficiency efforts, creating the opportunity for us 
to work

[[Page S3886]]

together to address climate change in a way that is responsible and 
allows us to focus on jobs and creating new opportunities in the green 
economy.
  Finally, and certainly not least, education. In terms of access to 
college or whether it is preschool and Head Start or whether it is 
funding our K-12 system, it is critically important that we not forget 
education and job training for the future. We have a lot of people who 
are going through transition today from one job to another, and job 
training is particularly critical.
  In the Obama budget, we are investing in America's future: jobs, 
health care, energy independence, and education.
  I am also very proud of the fact that we make a strong commitment 
again this year. For the last 2 years, with our Democratic majority, we 
have made veterans a priority, veterans health care a priority. It is 
so terrific to see the commitment of President Obama and his 
administration, the commitment they put in the budget that we have 
sustained a strong commitment to keep the promise of America for our 
veterans and their families, those who have served us, are serving us 
now, and come home and expect us to keep our promises as well.
  There are many important values reflected in this budget, from 
focusing on veterans, focusing on jobs, as well as addressing what 
happens when a plant closes. I am very pleased to have put language in 
to increase money for communities, where there are closed plants, to 
create new opportunities for jobs and economic development.
  There are a lot of different strategies that are represented and 
funded in this budget.
  Again, it all comes down to how we view America, what are our 
priorities, what are our values, whom do we represent? Do we have a 
budget for American families? Do we have a budget for the middle class 
of this country which, by the way, gets significant tax cuts? We have 
significant tax cuts in this bill as well. The difference between the 
tax cuts in this budget and in budgets when our friends on the other 
side of the aisle were in the majority is these tax cuts go to the 
middle class. These tax cuts go to working families.
  We also in the committee under Senator Cardin's leadership have 
increased the dollars going to SBA, for small business, because we 
understand small business is an engine of this economy.
  This budget does reflect jobs, strengthening manufacturing, support 
for small business, addressing job training, and where we go in the new 
green economy around jobs and energy independence. It focuses on health 
care. It focuses on education. We are keeping the promise that has been 
made by this country to our veterans.
  I am very proud of this budget. I am very proud of this President for 
submitting this budget to us. It is different. We will hear honest 
disagreements about philosophy and how we stimulate the economy, 
differences in how we put together a budget and whether we invest in 
people or whether we continue the ways of the past that have gotten us 
where we are today.
  This budget is a change. This budget is a commitment to the American 
people, a commitment to families, a commitment to communities, American 
businesses, keeping our jobs here at home. That is what this budget is 
about. Yes, it is different. Frankly, we tried it for 8 years under the 
philosophy and the direction that came from former President Bush and 
colleagues on the other side of the aisle, and it did not work. We 
cannot sustain having the same old politics and the same old policies 
if we are going to move America forward. We cannot sustain that any 
longer.
  I urge colleagues to come together on a bipartisan basis and stand 
for the values and the people represented in this budget.
  Thank you, Mr. President.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The senior Senator from Wyoming is recognized.

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