[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 25 (Wednesday, February 16, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S793]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. INHOFE (for himself, Mr. Burr, Mr. Coburn, Mr. Kyl, Mr. 
        Crapo, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Risch, Mr. Graham, Mr. Rubio, Mr. 
        Blunt, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Barrasso, 
        Mr. Chambliss, Mr. Johanns, Mr. Enzi, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Thune, 
        and Mr. Cornyn):
  S. 360. A bill to reduce the deficit by establishing discretionary 
spending caps for non-security spending; to the Committee on the 
Budget.
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, we are trying to resolve one of the great 
problems I am sure my colleagues are sensitive to; that is, the 
infrastructure of this country. Today we have two witnesses next to 
each other, the head of the AFL-CIO and the head of the U.S. Chamber of 
Commerce, to show that liberals, conservatives, labor, and industry all 
feel this should be at least the second highest priority in America.
  When I heard the President's budget yesterday and I looked at it, I 
shook my head in disbelief: $8.7 trillion in new spending, $1.6 
trillion in new taxes--all these things. I remembered back when I was 
complaining in 1996 at this very podium during the Clinton 
administration. That was his budget. It was $1.5 trillion. Do my 
colleagues know that the deficit in this President's budget is greater 
than the entire budget of 1996--to run this whole thing called America. 
It was a shocker to me. It reminded me about how people talk about 
entitlements and how we are going to have to do something with that.
  Something we can do right now is something I tried to do last year 
and the House Members are trying to do right now. When the President 
gave his message, he talked about how he was going to freeze nondefense 
discretionary spending and everyone applauded, thinking that was a 
great austerity program. In reality, he is talking about after he has 
increased it from 2008 levels to 2010 levels and then freezing in those 
increases. That is what I find unreasonable.
  So I am reintroducing S. 360--I have a whole lot of cosponsors--to 
wind back the discretionary spending to 2008 levels and then freeze it 
at 2008 levels.
  I will just tell you, briefly, what the bill does. It reduces the 
nonsecurity spending to 2008 levels and will hold it there for 5 years 
through 2016. After that, spending will be allowed to increase with the 
CPI of inflation between 2017 and 2021. The amount of money saved by 
this in that period of time would be over $1 trillion.
  If I can put up the chart. This chart shows what is going to happen 
if we don't do that. The red is what is projected in the President's 
budget; the blue is what is projected if we are successful in doing 
this. I am very proud the House of Representatives Republicans in their 
budget have included my bill I introduced last year and that I am 
reintroducing today as S. 360 as part of their budget. I think it is 
responsible. We will be looking forward to getting cosponsors.
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