[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 65 (Thursday, April 30, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1043-E1044]
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. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 29, 2009

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the 
Budget Resolution Conference Report (S. Con. Res. 13). As a member of 
the Budget Committee, I would like to thank Chairman Spratt for his 
continued leadership, and President Obama for advancing a budget that 
embodies our national values.
  The serious problems caused by eight years of failed policies, 
including record deficits, doubling of the national debt and the 
smallest rate

[[Page E1044]]

of job growth in three-quarters of a century, will not be solved 
overnight. Families across the nation, and in Minnesota, are struggling 
to make ends meet. Unemployment has soared to 8.5 percent, while health 
care costs are rising and housing prices continue to decline.
  This budget is a new beginning. It charts a course toward economic 
recovery and signals the end of an era of disinvestment in America's 
families. Instead of ignoring the economic crisis, this agreement 
confronts it head-on by making strategic investments in education, 
health care reform and energy independence to help restore growth at 
home and keep the U.S. competitive in the global economy.
  Today's students are tomorrow's workforce, which is why this 
resolution makes significant investments in education from early 
childhood programs to college affordability. This budget also 
recognizes that health care reform cannot wait: nearly one out of every 
six Americans is uninsured and many more are underinsured. This 
resolution takes steps to make health care coverage affordable and 
available to all, while also improving the quality and safety of 
patient care. In addition, this budget makes historic investments in 
renewable energy, energy efficiency and the clean energy research 
programs America needs to start down the path of energy independence.
  After eight years of masking the costs of war and natural disasters, 
this plan ushers in a new era of honesty and accountability in 
budgeting. President Obama and this Congress have included estimates of 
these costs for every year in the budget.
  The budget resolution is a blueprint for the future of our country, 
which recognizes the needs of America's families and will help to 
restore widely-shared economic prosperity for generations to come. As 
an important first step in this direction, the budget calls for tax 
cuts for families who make less than $250,000 and permanently extends 
the middle-income tax cuts adopted in 2001 and 2003 for middle-income 
Americans. This plan will also place restraints on areas of 
unsustainable spending and cut the deficit in half by 2014.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting S. Con. Res. 13.

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