[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 65 (Thursday, April 30, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1041-E1042]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


        CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2010

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 29, 2009

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong 
support of the Conference Report on S. Con. Res. 13, Chairman, setting 
forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for 
fiscal year 2010, revising the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal 
year 2009, and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for 
fiscal years 2011 through 2014. I thank Chairman Spratt of the Budget 
Committee for his leadership and hard work on spearheading the effort 
to bring a budget to the floor that the American people can live with, 
helps fuel the engine of the government, makes America thrive, and 
makes it place that we all can be proud of. The President, the 
Conferees, and this Congress, should all be commended for helping bring 
this budget to the floor. I support the budget and I urge my colleagues 
to do the same. I support the budget for several important and distinct 
reasons.
  Unlike the last Administration, which inherited a $5.6 trillion 
surplus, this Administration inherited an economy in steep decline, a 
budget in record deficit, and faltering public services due to 
persistent underfunding and inattention. The Congress has already taken 
steps to create jobs, help Americans regain their home, help Americans 
pay their bills and put food on the table for their families. The 
Congress has also taken steps to rebuild our economy. The Congress has 
done all of these tasks by enacting the Recovery Act. The budget is an 
economic blueprint for the future that builds from these initial steps 
by making strategic investments to rebuild our economy over the long 
term. The budget provides for increased investment in health care 
reform, education, and energy independence and at the same time puts 
the budget back on a path to fiscal responsibility and sustainability.
  The budget is to be applauded as nothing short of a miracle. It makes 
strategic investments in education, health care reform, and energy 
independence and puts the country back on track to remain globally 
competitive. It puts us on track to cut the Federal budget deficit by 
more than half by 2013. The budget reflects the Recovery Act. The Obama 
Administration inherited a deficit of well over $1 trillion and the 
worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. The budget builds 
upon the President's plan. It provides tax relief to middle-income 
families, creates jobs through investment in infrastructure, and 
extends unemployment benefits for millions of Americans.
  The budget addresses eight years of Republic policies that have 
brought on America's current economic woes. So far, we have seen 25 
straight months of housing price declines; 14 months of job losses and 
4.4 million jobs lost, the most since World War II, with 651,000 jobs 
lost in February alone; unemployment is currently soaring above 8.1 
percent and in the double digits in the minority communities across 
this great Nation; and 45 percent drop in major stock markets from 
their highs.
  The budget supports the President's goals for Health Care Reform. The 
President's principles for healthcare reform include making health 
coverage affordable and available to all, improving safety and quality, 
and improving and providing Americans with a choice of health plans and 
physicians, including the choice of keeping their current health plan. 
The budget begins to address the rising health care costs. The average 
cost of an employer-sponsored health insurance policy exceeded $12,000 
in 2008, more than twice what it cost ten years ago. The President's 
plan would reduce the inefficiencies that have caused these prices to 
soar.
  The budget sets us on a plan to increase coverage. The number of 
people without insurance grew from 38 million in 2000 to nearly 46 
million in 2008. Nearly 1 out of 6 Americans is without health care 
coverage. Most uninsured are in working families. Millions more are 
underinsured. The budget assumes that health care will be paid for, so 
it does not add to the deficit. Importantly, the budget supports 
improvements to medicare's payment system for doctors. The budget 
supports legislation on medicare physician payments to provide for 
efficiency and higher quality care, promote fiscal sustainability, 
ensure that primary care receives appropriate compensation, and 
improves coordination of care.
  The budget invests in education. The budget builds upon the Recovery 
Act's historic investment in education. The budget includes the $100 
billion in education funding provided for in the Recovery Act to help 
states maintain elementary, secondary, and higher education services. 
The Recovery Act targeted funds to Title I (Education for the 
Disadvantaged), Head Start, and special education, where the funding 
can be used to train more teachers to provide needed services. This 
supports Congress's efforts that resulted in increased maximum 
Pell Grant awards to $619 to a total of $5,350--the largest annual 
increase in history--and created the American Opportunity Tax Credit 
for eligible students receive a partially refundable tax credit of up 
to $2,500 to cover college costs. Simply put, the budget makes 
education more affordable and accessible and increases education 
funding. It supports early childhood education and supports improved 
school breakfast and lunch programs. The budget will afford over 31 
million children a healthy and nutritious meal.

  The budget builds upon significant funding and tax incentives in the 
Recovery Act by increasing our investments in renewable energy and 
energy efficiency by some 18 percent for 2010. These investments will 
spur new sources of energy that we can produce here, creating ``green 
collar'' jobs for American workers. It will promote energy independence 
over the long term.
  I urge my colleagues to support the budget. It takes the appropriate 
steps to put the budget back on track for fiscal responsibility and 
sustainability. It will cut the budget deficit by more than half in 
four years. Specifically, it will cut the budget from $1.7 trillion in 
2009 to $586 billion in 2013. It also improves responsibility through 
statutory pay-go. It includes investment in oversight and enforcement 
yielding savings.


                               Youth Jobs

  The budget includes funding for summer jobs for youth. Our youth, and 
individuals that have opted not to go to college or institutions of 
higher learning, need to be engaged and employed. Employment will 
provide them with skills and aptitudes that are necessary to be 
productive in society.


                               Healthcare

  The budget accounts for the cost of healthcare reform to ensure that 
the 45 million uninsured Americans (four million of which are children) 
have access to quality and affordable healthcare.
  The budget accounts for the following:
  Funding the Minority AIDS Initiative to build capacity among minority 
run non-governmental organizations and to conduct outreach services 
among minority communities.
  Funding the Ryan White CARE Act to support care and treatment 
programs at the local level to address the needs of people living with 
HIV/AIDS.
  Funding the CDC Prevention activities for HIV, STD, TB and Viral 
Hepatitis to fund testing initiatives and support innovative prevention 
efforts at the local level.
  Funding for Housing for people living with HIV/AIDS (HOPWA) to 
provide supportive housing for people with AIDS.


                         International Affairs

  I commend the President for requesting an increase of $15 billion for 
the Department of State and other international programs in FY2010, 
which is a 40% increase over the FY2009 level. The budget includes this 
increase in the budget resolution. I am hopeful that these additional 
funds will go towards the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and 
Malaria; USAID; migration and refugee assistance; peacekeeping efforts 
in Darfur; education, healthcare and cultural exchange programs; child 
survival and health programs; and development assistance.


                            National Defense

  I support the robust funding for our troops and America's national 
defense. I support reducing funding for the failed Ballistic Missile 
Defense program and reallocating those funds within the Defense 
Department to fund increases in shipbuilding, troop readiness, military 
and civilian pay, cancer research, and mental health services.
  I have consistently fought for funding to weed out waste, fraud and 
abuse within the Department of Defense. The Defense Department has 
already saved an estimated $89 billion between FY01 and FY07 by 
implementing 1,682 of the Government Accountability Office's 
recommendations. The present budget, as does President Obama's FY2010 
Budget Overview, reflects a similar commitment, as has the House Budget 
Committee under Chairman Spratt's leadership.


                            Income Security

  As the economy continues to worsen, the budget accounts for the 
increased need for income security programs, such as the Supplemental 
Nutrition Assistance Program, Unemployment Insurance, Medicaid, and the 
Recovery Act's COBRA subsidy.


                            Housing Programs

  The housing crisis lies at the center of the economic problems we 
face today. After the series of TARP bills, the Congress has just found 
out that bank executives have used over $100 million in TARP funds to 
pay for executive bonuses and other forms of compensation. The budget 
reverses eight years of underfunding of the nation's affordable housing 
programs and we are pleased that the Administration has proposed a HUD 
budget that

[[Page E1042]]

increases funding for the Department by 19 percent. The budget matches 
this aggressive budget authorization and to support large investments 
into the Community and Regional Development and and the Income Security 
functions in order to account for increases in Affordable Housing 
programs.

  The budget supports the Administration's proposal to fund the 
National Affordable Housing Trust Fund at $1 billion and to fully fund 
the Community Development Block Grant program. It funds HUD's housing 
programs for the elderly, disabled, and Native Americans, as well as 
for those programs that prevent homelessness. It increases funding for 
the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which allows states, 
localities, and nonprofits to buy up and rehabilitate abandoned and 
foreclosed properties.


                            Justice Programs

  The budget accounts for funding efforts to combat and reduce juvenile 
crime and efforts to rehabilitate ex-offenders. Removing barriers to 
reentry has proven to reduce recidivism, which in the long run reduces 
crime. In addition, the budget accounts for much needed increases in 
youth crime intervention programs. Research has shown that targeting 
funding towards intervention rather than incarceration is more 
effective at reducing crime and saving the taxpayer money in the long 
run.
  I have long supported efforts to increase funding for the Justice 
Assistance Program, the Juvenile Justice Program, Civil Rights 
Enforcement, the COPS Program, the Byrne Justice Grant Program, and 
State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance. The budget accounts for 
sustaining many of the important increases for these programs that was 
included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.


                               Education

  As the Chairwoman of the Children's Caucus, I support the budget's 
effort to reform and expand the Pell Grant program. Pell Grants are way 
to make education affordable to disadvantaged youth. This is very 
important to me.
  The budget has sustained increases in education funding, especially 
for Title I and IDEA. Even though Congress is to consider the 
reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act this year, the Budget 
Committee should still account for the need to address the substantial 
funding shortfalls of this program over the last eight years. The 
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act made substantial increases, the 
budget accounts for sustaining many of these new investments.
  The budget also account for needed increases in funding for Head 
Start, TRIO (including Upward Bound), GEAR UP, Youth Build, and 
vocational education programs. The budget accounts for funding for 
expanded grants to states for workplace and community transition as 
authorized in the Higher Education Opportunity Act. These grants will 
better assist and encourage incarcerated individuals who have obtained 
a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent to acquire 
educational and job skills.
  The budget accounts for funding for the historic increases in funding 
for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Serving 
Institutions authorized in the Higher Education Act reauthorization 
enacted last year.


                             INFRASTRUCTURE

  The budget supports the President's initiatives to provide increased 
funding for infrastructural projects. The President's priorities are 
reminiscent of the New Deal where this country invested in building up 
our Nation and the budget reflects this. The President has made a 
significant effort at achieving this by his signing of HR 1, the 
Stimulus Act.
  In the Stimulus Act, the President authorized money to be spent on 
infrastructural projects that were shovel ready, i.e., ready to be 
stated within 120 days. I know that America could use this money.
  Indeed, Houston would benefit. Houston's Metro Rail needs to complete 
its RAIL service in certain quadrants of Houston. The project has been 
twenty years in the making. I have worked with Leadership and Chairman 
Oberstar to ensure that METRO Rail projects get the funding that they 
need to be completed.
  Completion of this mobility project would decrease congestion and 
pollution as Houstonians would travel via rail instead of using their 
cars. This would increase Houston mobility and the health of 
Houstonians as they would be forced to walk around instead of using 
their private transport.


                                Veterans

  The budget provides increased funding for veterans over the next five 
years.


                            Other Priorities

  Fully fund the Community Development Block Grant.
  Increased funding for the Public Housing Capital Fund to continue to 
address eight years of stagnant funding under the Bush Administration.
  Fully fund the Child Care and Development Block Grant.
  Fully fund the Social Services Block Grant.
  Increased funding for HOPE VI.
  Fully fund the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.
  Increased funding for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
  Support for the creation of a National Infrastructure Bank.
  Continued funding for Hurricane Katrina recovery and rebuilding 
efforts.
  Increased funding for the Environmental Justice Small Grants Program.
  Increased funding for the National Underground Railroad Network to 
Freedom program at the National Park Service. This is important to me. 
I worked to get funding for urban parks in the Stimulus bill. This 
increases the health and overall well being of constituents. It is 
necessary in urban Mecca's like Houston.

                          ____________________