[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 56 (Friday, April 15, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E759-E760]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2012

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 14, 2011

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H. Con. Res. 34) 
     establishing the budget for the United States Government for 
     fiscal year 2012 and setting forth appropriate budgetary 
     levels for fiscal years 2013 through 2021:

  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Mr. Chair, Congressman Paul Ryan's budget 
goes beyond what is necessary to restore fiscal solvency. It unfairly 
targets our nation's low income communities and senior citizens, while 
protecting the interests of the wealthiest Americans.
  My colleague's budget, which has been embraced by his party returns 
to the ``trickle down'' economics that contributed to the recent 
recession by cutting the tax rate for the wealthiest individuals and 
corporations from 35 to 25%.
  This ten percent decrease represents $800 billion dollars in new tax 
cuts for the wealthiest among us at a time when so many are struggling. 
The $800 billion in tax cuts represents $115 billion dollars cut from 
healthcare, $119 billion from income security, $223 billion from 
education, job training and social services, and $276 billion dollars 
in cuts to transportation initiatives that provide jobs.
  There is absolutely no justification for these huge tax cuts. The 
wealthiest tax brackets should not profit at the expense of programs 
keeping struggling families from poverty.
  The Economic Policy Institute states that ``A study just released by 
the Heritage Center for Data Analysis projects that The Path to 
Prosperity [Republican Budget Plan] will help create nearly one million 
new private-sector jobs next year, bring the unemployment rate down to 
4% by 2015, and result in 2.5 million additional private-sector jobs in 
the last year of the decade.'' This is an overwhelmingly presumptuous 
estimation.
  Unemployment fell to 4% for only one relatively brief episode in 
recent memory, and that was after nearly a decade of strong economic 
growth. So the Heritage Center's claim is very bold.
  The Congressional Budget Office predicts that the unemployment rate 
will be 5.9% in 2015. The Heritage Center's forecasts for the Ryan plan 
are even bolder in the out years: It predicts unemployment will fall to 
an unprecedented 2.8% by 2021. Simply put, this is incredible and 
wholly unrealistic.
  The Economic Policy Institute calls ``the Ryan budget a job killer,'' 
and goes on to say, ``The chances that this plan would drive the U.S. 
economy to 2.8% unemployment are near zero, but the chances of it 
repeating the mistakes of the Bush tax cuts and driving the economy 
into a ditch are very real.''
  The Republican's 2012 budget cuts $2 trillion dollars more than 
President Obama's Debt Commission advised, and those cuts come from 
vital social services and safety nets for low income families, children 
and seniors.
  Since 1965, Americans have relied on the Federal government to 
provide healthcare security. The changes and cuts to Medicare proposed 
in this budget deeply threaten the security of our senior citizens. The 
proposed repeal of guaranteed eligibility means that Americans who are 
54 years old today will not be guaranteed to receive Medicare when they 
turn 65.
  The Congressional Budget Office estimates that these changes to 
Medicare will triple the cost for new beneficiaries by 2030 and 
increase costs for current recipients, including the 2.9 million people 
in Texas who received Medicare in 2010.
  The Republican proposal will enact damaging changes to Medicaid, 
threatening healthcare resources for the 60 million people, half of 
them children that rely on this program to stay healthy. A block grant 
for funding or a cap on federal Medicaid spending would increase the 
cost for states and the low income families who benefit from the 
program.
  Harris County has one of the highest Medicaid enrollment records in 
Texas. Limits and cuts to Medicaid funds would significantly hurt the 
citizens of Texas's 18th District. Harris County averages between 
500,000 and 600,000 Medicaid recipients monthly, thousands of people 
who may not have access to healthcare under this budget.
  Changes to Medicaid advocated by Republicans would be devastating to 
senior citizens who rely on the Medicaid safety net for long term care 
and nursing home costs not covered by Medicare. The AARP estimates 
cutting this safety net would put 54,000 Texas nursing home residents 
in jeopardy.
  The Majority party's budget cuts do not just impact those who rely on 
Medicaid and Medicare; they also prevent 32 million Americans from 
obtaining health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. By inserting 
a repeal of this historic legislation into a budget, Republicans 
threaten millions seeking insurance, including the 6.2 million Texans 
who do not have health care coverage.
  Underserved and low income Americans will see deep cuts to the 
programs that keep them safe and healthy, like the Supplemental 
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides food assistance to 
44.3 million people, would be transferred to a block grant under the 
Republican plan. Shifting the cost to the states would force them to 
cut benefits to current recipients or create a waiting list of families 
that can't afford food on their own. This

[[Page E760]]

would certainly harm the 554,000 people in Harris County receiving SNAP 
benefits in December of 2010.
  This legislation would cut Federal housing aid, and impose unfair 
work or job training requirements that give no consideration to job 
market diversity or extenuating circumstances. It will also deeply 
reduce the LIHEAP contingency fund will affect the 500,000 low income 
households in Houston that were receiving heating and energy discounts 
last year.
  Republicans may be willing to pass a budget that reduces Pell Grants 
by 60%. They may be comfortable eliminating $75 million dollars to 
provide housing and other services to homeless veterans, but I cannot 
support a budget that leaves so many Americans behind.
  In order to move America forward, we must give all citizens equal 
opportunity for success. We must invest in future generations by 
funding education and job training programs, not cutting this funding 
by $250 billion dollars. We need to invest in clean energy, and 
environmentally sound technology that will foster job growth, and 
continue to improve our infrastructure.

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