[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 56 (Friday, April 15, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E757-E758]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               INTRODUCTION OF THE CHILDREN'S BUDGET ACT

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                          HON. DANNY K. DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, April 15, 2011

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, Forest Witcraft is reported to 
have said, ``A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank 
account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove, 
but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a 
child.'' Children make up one-quarter of our population, and they form 
the foundation of our nation's future. Every parent hopes that their 
children will fare better than they did--achieve more, experience 
greater success, and realize the American Dream more fully. As 
policymakers, we have the ability and responsibility to provide a 
strong foundation for our youngest citizens to grow into the achievers 
and leaders of tomorrow.
  Today, I introduce the Children's Budget Act. It is a bill that is 
simple in concept--require the President to provide a detailed account 
of all the Federal funding for children and children's programs. What 
funding do we actually spend on children? Are we properly addressing 
the national needs and problems confronting children? Accounting for 
Federal dollars in this way will help us understand how well we are 
making the health and well-being of our children a national priority.
  Currently, even experienced policy analysts have a difficult time 
determining how much the government invests in children, and therefore 
how the needs of our children might better be addressed. A few 
independent groups--such as First Focus, the Brookings Institution, and 
the Urban Institute--have worked to understand the Federal investment 
in our children. It is only through their efforts that we have been 
able to comprehend how recent Federal funding choices have affected 
children. For example, the children's advocacy group First Focus 
recently commissioned a report by the Urban Institute to detail how 
Federal spending on children has changed over the past 45 years. The 
results of the Kids Share report were startling. In 1960, the 
children's share of Federal domestic spending--tax policies included--
was 20.1 percent. In 2009, that share had declined to 14 percent--a 
30.3 percent overall decline. Together, the Democratically-

[[Page E758]]

controlled 111th Congress and the President substantially increased 
funding for children by $25 billion. The President's FY11 Budget 
proposed important increases of $6.2 billion in children's spending. In 
contrast, the Republican FY12 Budget proposal would eliminate all gains 
from the last several years. To illustrate, the Ryan Budget would 
create a $150 billion funding gap in the Children's Health insurance 
program between 2014 and 2021, resulting in an 80 percent hole in the 
CHIP program and a loss of coverage for approximately 7 million 
children. Similarly, children bore 22 percent of the cuts in the second 
Continuing Resolution this year.
  If children are a national priority, we need to measure our Federal 
spending so that we can understand if our choices disproportionately 
harm or protect our children. Without this analysis, policymakers and 
the public are limited in our ability to know how children fare in 
funding proposals. I strongly believe the Federal Government should 
embrace examining our Federal budget by our investment in children. 
Already, there are several State and local governments who produce a 
children's budget annually, including Louisiana, Ohio, the District of 
Columbia, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Oregon, and the Cities of Philadelphia 
and San Francisco. These budgets provide invaluable sources of 
information that help us understand whether we are meeting our goals 
for children. Precedent already exists for examining the Federal budget 
based on key areas of interest, including spending on programs related 
to homeland security, meteorology, climate, and drug control. By 
creating a children's budget at the Federal level, we can bring a 
renewed attention to children's issues and programs and guarantee a 
fair look at our national investment priorities.
  A Children's Budget is critical now more than ever, with so many of 
our children and youth bearing the brunt of our Nation's economic 
hardship. In 2009, 20.7 percent of children and 23.8 percent of 
children under age 6 lived below the poverty line in our Nation. My 
Congressional District--the Seventh District of Illinois--had a 
staggering 35.5 percent poverty rate among children in 2009. These 
statistics reflect the need for a children's budget so that 
policymakers and voters understand whether our investments match the 
needs of our Nation's youngest citizens.
  As our Nation continues to face difficult economic times, we should 
be able to answer the fundamental question ``Is it good for the 
children?'' The Children's Budget Act would ensure that children are 
given due consideration whenever the budget is discussed and would 
provide policymakers, program administrators, and parents with a clear 
picture of the overall Federal investment in our children. Careful 
analysis of our spending today helps us improve our efforts for 
tomorrow. The well-being of our children should be at the top of our 
national agenda. I hope my colleagues will join me in sponsoring this 
important legislation.

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