[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 53 (Tuesday, April 12, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H2599-H2601]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               THE BUDGET

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Stutzman). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 5, 2011, the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. 
Fortenberry) is recognized for 27 minutes.
  Mr. FORTENBERRY. Mr. Speaker, any American that may be watching 
tonight is probably bewildered by all of the discussion of budgets and 
continuing resolutions and perhaps debt ceilings, as well as the 
appropriations process. In order to understand where we are currently, 
it is important to look back at where we were. And what I would like to 
do tonight is share a little bit of information about what the 
government spends, where the revenue comes from, and then how we got 
into this current situation we are in. Right now, we have a $1.6 
trillion deficit. We have $14 trillion of debt. That means every man, 
woman, and child in America, if we were to pay it off right now, owes 
$45,000. And the trajectory of spending is simply unsustainable. We are 
borrowing about 40 cents on every dollar that we spend. America cannot 
continue to do this. We all know that. We all know we are going to have 
to act with bold resolve to get the fiscal house in order.
  But let's look at this chart, Mr. Speaker, for a moment. It shows the 
President's 2011 budget proposal. There was no budget in 2011, and this 
is part of the confusion. There was no finishing of the appropriations 
process. Right now we are trying to finish the appropriations process, 
cleaning up the mess from last year by passing what is called a CR, 
continuing resolution, that will fund the government for the rest of 
the year. But a lot of the numbers are based off a somewhat mythical 
budget, and it's just easier to talk about, I think, the President's 
2011 budget to get a snapshot currently of where we are in terms of the 
fiscal situation.
  Here is what the government spends and the categories in which it 
spends. If you look at the blue side of that chart there, that is what 
we in Washington call discretionary spending. And defense is about 20 
percent of the discretionary spending here in the United States. The 
other section of the blue slice of the pie there is what we call non-
defense discretionary spending. That's about 14 percent of the overall 
budget. A lot of the negotiations about reducing the budget at this 
time have centered around that particular slice of the pie.
  The other aspects of government that we fund, Social Security, this 
maroon slice right here, is about 20 percent of the budget. Medicare is 
about 13 percent, Medicaid about 8 percent, and then another mandatory 
spending category, these are programs that are on auto pilot, whatever 
the demand is, we spend, we write the check. And it has grown very 
rapidly since the year 2008 when it was 11 percent. It is now 17 
percent of the budget. This includes unemployment, welfare, 
supplemental security income for the disabled, jobs programs, as well 
as some of the TARP money, the bailout money for banks and Wall Street. 
That's the lion's share of the budget here, 57 percent. It is called 
mandatory spending, discretionary, 36 percent spending, that's defense 
and non-defense discretionary, and then we add interest on the debt, 
that yellow section right there, and that's about 7 percent. So that's 
basically what the government spends right here. And that totaled about 
$3.8 trillion in last year's projected budget for this year.
  Now, where did the revenues for the government come from?

                              {time}  2110

  It is important to remember this number, $2.567 trillion; $3.8 
trillion expenditures; $2.567 trillion in revenues. In this blue area 
over here, this is the largest area where we obtain income for the 
government, and that is the individual income tax. That is about 44 
percent of overall revenues to the government. About half of Americans 
are paying income tax. This orange area is what we call payroll taxes. 
That is about 36 percent. Anybody who is working is going to pay a 
payroll tax. Corporate income tax, this yellowish area here, is about 
12 percent. And then the rest of the budget receipts come from estate 
and excise taxes, as well as customs and other receipts.
  But the important number to remember is $2.567 trillion as opposed to 
$3.8 trillion in spending. This shows you the imbalance. Again, 
remember, this was last year's projections. We were projecting $1.267 
trillion based upon this spending level and this amount of receipts. 
But in reality we have just found out that the new deficit estimate is 
actually about $1.6 trillion. It is skyrocketing. It is simply 
unsustainable.
  Now, let's look at the next chart, which is the budget proposed for 
this year by the President; and it has spending a little less, down 
from about

[[Page H2600]]

3.8 to 3.7, revenues up slightly from about 2.5 to 2.6, and this is due 
to some spending reductions as well as tax increases, which gives you a 
different balance here. You have a deficit projection of $1.1 trillion 
based upon these numbers.
  Remember, Mr. Speaker, I said this is somewhat bewildering given that 
we don't have a 2011 budget or finished appropriations bill for this 
year, and we are now beginning to consider a 2012 budget in the midst 
of potentially, as well, bumping up against a debt ceiling vote 
shortly.
  Again, it is important to understand how we got here with such 
enormous deficits. If we look back in time, the last 20 years, look at 
spending. In 1990, it was $1.25 trillion. In 2000, it was $1.79 
trillion. This year, $3.8 trillion. The size of the Federal Government 
has basically doubled in the last decade. If you look at deficits as 
well, in 1990 we were talking about $200 billion deficits. I was a much 
younger person then, but I remember how shocking that figure was back 
then and how there were demands that something be done. In the year 
2000, because of extraordinary productivity gains in the late nineties, 
we had a $200 billion surplus to the Federal Government. But this year, 
a $1.6 trillion deficit. It is off the charts. Our debt in 1990 was 
about $3 trillion. In the year 2000 it was close to $6 trillion. Again, 
this year it will be $14 trillion, and it is set to continue to 
skyrocket in the coming years.
  The debt per person, per capita, $13,000; $12,900. In 2000, it was 
$20,000. Now it has doubled to about $45,000.
  Mr. Speaker, I used to be on the Lincoln City Council in Lincoln, 
Nebraska. One of the responsibilities we had every year with our $90 
million budget was that it had to balance. There was never enough money 
to have the ideal number of police officers that we wanted or the exact 
number of firefighting apparatus that we would have preferred or the 
street or road or park maintenance that we would have liked, but you 
had to make a decision. You had to make a decision about what were 
appropriate tax rates and reasonable public services and balance those. 
And by law, we also had to set a little aside.
  Yet Washington doesn't have to do that. It can get away with enormous 
deficit spending because we have a big credit card. And for a long 
time, it really didn't matter.
  At a negotiating table up here, there are really three factors: 
spending, benefits, and debt. And guess which one loses every time, Mr. 
Speaker? Debt. Just pile on the debt, because the consequences can be 
hidden from the American people. But the numbers now have gotten to be 
so shocking and the reality is coming home that I believe, I know, most 
Nebraskans and most Americans want this Congress to act with bold 
resolve to tighten the belt, to ask for some shared sacrifice to get 
this fiscal house in order, because this level of spending is 
unsustainable.
  A business can't do it. A family can't do it. A government should not 
be able to do it, because the consequences are really threefold; and 
they are no longer hidden. They are out in the open.
  This amount of debt and deficits creates basically three problems: 
one, it pushes off the obligation for the way in which we are currently 
living and spending onto children and grandchildren in terms of future 
taxes on them. It is unjust.
  The second problem is that it creates the potential for inflation. 
There is already an argument going on that the Federal Reserve policies 
are monetizing our debt, basically printing money; and now you are 
seeing commodity inflation with price hikes in gasoline and other 
commodities. The effects are very real.
  The third problem is we are transferring ownership of America to 
foreign countries. China officially owns about a trillion dollars of 
this debt; but if you look at the numbers more closely, it could be as 
high as $2 trillion. That means a transfer of the assets of this 
country overseas. So this level of debt, I believe, and I think most 
Americans know, is actually undermining the ability of the economy to 
turn around and create jobs. Now it is not only creating economic 
volatility and economic problems; it creates national security problems 
as we transfer more and more of this debt overseas and sell the assets 
of the country to others.
  So it is simply unsustainable, Mr. Speaker, and we have to act with 
bold resolve. We are staring at white water rapids. The choice is we 
can either build a boat, put on life jackets and try to navigate those 
rapids as best we can, or we will be swept away by them. We are going 
to have to go through them; it is just how we do it.
  That is what all the debates are this week, and will be in the coming 
weeks as to how do we set up the right framework of responsible 
budgets, responsible appropriations, so that we can reset our economic 
course, get our fiscal house in order, begin to give the economy some 
stability, create jobs and, in turn, revenues come into the Treasury. 
So that is the course before us.

  Mr. Speaker, I did want to talk about another topic tonight as well, 
and it is very important that even in the midst of these budget 
negotiations that are going on, we not overlook the fact that the State 
Department recently released its annual report on human rights around 
the world. This report spanning 194 countries calls out those 
governments that routinely and brazenly violate their stated 
commitments to universal human rights.
  I think it is important that we draw back the veil on cruelty that is 
often perpetuated by the world's most powerful against the world's most 
vulnerable and appropriately elevate the issue in our national 
dialogue, as well as our international diplomatic efforts. The report 
spans 194 countries; and to the extent it is available, the report 
details the prevailing human rights conditions over the past year.
  First, let me start with some good news. Of the countries surveyed, 
Colombia, Guinea, and Indonesia stand out for notable human rights 
improvements, the first democratically elected President since 
independence in 1958, and consistent improvements across a range of 
indicators, respectively, in those countries.
  Countries where human rights conditions very sadly prompt serious 
concerns over the past year include Cote d'Ivoire, the Ivory Coast, 
where vicious fighting in recent weeks pursuant to a contested election 
has claimed numerous lives; in addition, the Democratic Republic of the 
Congo, where rape is used as a political weapon; Iran, which still 
supports the stoning of women; Russia, which routinely and often 
violently suppresses the freedom of the press; and China, which has a 
history of forced abortion and sterilization to its demographic 
detriment.
  Other countries highlighted in particular this year: Nigeria, Sudan, 
Zimbabwe, Burma, Cambodia, North Korea, Vietnam, Belarus, Ukraine, 
Bahrain, Iran, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Cuba, 
Nicaragua and Venezuela, where rapid deterioration of civil rights and 
evidence of tightening dictatorial rule are particularly tragic.
  The fundamental message that this report conveys to the world is that 
responsible governance rests upon two pillars. The first is a respect 
for human rights, and the second is a respect and responsibility for 
the rule of law. No society can flourish and prosper without these 
important transcendent principles as they are exercised in the form of 
religious liberty, freedom of speech, the right of assembly and 
peaceful protest, as well as fair and free commerce.

                              {time}  2120

  The human rights reports describe abuses that shock the conscience 
and tear at the elaborate fabric of the community of nations in which 
we live. These include the ill treatment of dissidents, appalling 
prison conditions, extrajudicial killings, and, as I mentioned, forced 
abortion and sterilization policies that treat human beings like 
animals, violating their most intimate and fundamental human dignity. 
The reports present detailed accounts of systemic corruption, security 
forces run amok, acting with state-sanctioned impunity, kangaroo courts 
that condemn innocents without recourse, making a mockery of the rule 
of law. These dark trends are very often deeply entrenched, creating 
enabling environments that fuel violence--and even genocide in some 
countries--toward vulnerable persons and ethnic groups.
  The reports address the barbaric scourge of human trafficking for 
sexual and other forms of ruthless exploitation, such as forced labor. 
The reports speak truth to perpetrators of

[[Page H2601]]

heinous crimes of violence against women and children, and they 
highlight the feckless enforcement of laws to protect civilians against 
torture and other forms of cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or 
punishment. Taken together with related reports on human trafficking 
and freedom of religion, these particular reports on human rights 
provide keen insights into the state of our world in which we live 
today.
  Mr. Speaker, even as we consider these sobering matters, let us also 
recognize with due humility that the struggle here in the United States 
for the right to life, the most basic of human rights, particularly for 
unborn persons as well as the terminally ill and elderly and those 
suffering from cognitive disabilities that render their deplorable 
marginalization as ``vegetables'' even in our most esteemed medical, 
political, and social circles, is a very deep problem that we must 
wrestle with here in our own country. Yet we have one basic advantage. 
This Nation has learned through bitter experience that self-
determination and reasoned discourse are far more powerful engines of 
growth and prosperity than subjugation by the nature of a police state. 
Sadly, too many countries in the international community lag 
significantly in the development of this fundamental ideal, that of the 
notion of a people having a basic say, having a voice, in shaping the 
governments under which they live and the ability to shape their own 
futures according to transcendent and universal norms of justice.
  Over the past year, as natural disasters summon us to compassion for 
people in Japan, New Zealand, Chile, China, Colombia, Haiti, Iceland, 
Indonesia, and Pakistan, as well as other nations ravaged by violent 
storms, including our own, we are witnessing another upheaval, a 
remarkable upheaval, in an important world region which calls for our 
focused attention. The Arab Spring movement has been driven by 
individuals joining their voices, motivated by a common thirst to 
realize their human potential and the desire to secure a decent 
operating space within civil society. This movement is emblematic of 
lessons learned throughout the centuries. History has shown us that 
rule by suppression in its various forms and degrees is very difficult 
to sustain over the long term, particularly now with the opportunity we 
have for the sharing of ideals and principles. State-sanctioned force 
and coercion against the innocent, in various manifestations, has 
tended to backfire against their enforcers and enablers sooner or 
later.
  The human rights reports challenge today's leaders to shake off the 
archaic and destructive patterns of abuse that foster so much needless 
human misery, sapping the productivity and vitality of countless 
millions, perhaps hundreds of millions, Mr. Speaker, in our world 
today. However, as useful as these reports are, they do not tell the 
full story. As the difficult work of societal transformation begins for 
newly enfranchised citizens in the key countries of Egypt and Tunisia, 
for instance, many people throughout the world, in places like China 
and North Korea and Iran, continue to suffer silently with no one to 
tell their story, with no one to document their plight, far from the 
gaze of cameras that convey real-time images for all the world to see.
  But these reports hold an important message for us as well. In this 
interdependent world of shared technology, shared communication, 
travel, and commerce, we have failed to recognize a shared vision of 
justice. The United States is constantly called upon by the nations of 
the world to stand up against the forces of brutality. We are 
constantly called upon to engage in all matters of complexity that are 
causing human misery, which are really due to three factors: the 
generosity of the American taxpayer; the philosophical ideals that 
govern us and which do not allow us to sit by idly when we see human 
misery and suffering; and the fact that we are an exceptional and 
unique superpower. Though other nations are growing in economic 
strength, given our philosophical ideals and our historic role as that 
exceptional superpower, it is a bit ironic that the world still turns 
to us, even though many other economies are growing very, very rapidly, 
when people cry out for justice.
  So, Mr. Speaker, it is time to elevate at the table of dialogue and 
negotiation basic norms of human dignity and the governmental 
structures which nurture and protect that dignity. Let those norms sit 
alongside the negotiations over trade, commerce, and security, for this 
is ultimately more valuable than any economic gain, which is transient 
and passing. I believe it is time to focus on the permanent things, 
those which last, which will be the legacy we will leave to the future 
of our country and to the future of the world.
  With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________