[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 109 (Wednesday, July 20, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1368]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   CUT, CAP, AND BALANCE ACT OF 2011

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. LAURA RICHARDSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 19, 2011

  Ms. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to 
H.R. 2560, the so-called ``Cut, Cap, and Balance the Federal Budget 
Act.''
  This bill should properly be called the ``Cut, Cap, and End Medicare 
and Destroy Social Security Act,'' or quite plainly the ``Cut, Cap, and 
Plunge the United States into Default Act.''
  Mr. Speaker, this is exactly what will happen if this legislation is 
passed. My colleagues across the aisle would have us believe that the 
proposed legislation is the answer to all the debt crisis but any 
attempt to balance the budget on the backs of seniors, veterans and 
America's working families isn't an answer; it's a cruel joke, but one 
with real consequences.
  The American people did not send us here to play games. Instead, they 
want us to work together to adopt fiscally sound pro-growth policies 
that puts our financial house in order and will give a rocket boost to 
our economy so that it creates millions of good-paying jobs for all of 
our people.
  We can do this. We did it in the 1990s when under the leadership of 
President Clinton we balanced the budget four consecutive years, paid 
down the national debt, created 23 million new jobs, and left $5 
trillion in projected surpluses.
  It is not a serious proposal to legislate a spending cap of 18 
percent of GDP, a level that has not occurred since 1966, before the 
escalation of the Vietnam War.
  But this isn't 1966. It's 45 years later, and in 2011 we face greater 
challenges. Our population has increased by 57 percent, we are living 
nearly 10 years longer on average, and the percentage of citizens age 
65 and up has climbed to 13 percent.
  In my district 63,000 men and women receive Medicare annually and 
40,000 receive Social Security, and tens of thousands more will soon 
reach eligibility age. How can I look them in the eye and tell them 
that the benefits they are entitled to, that they have worked so hard 
for over the years, are not coming?
  More Americans than ever rely on Medicare and Social Security to pay 
for the ever increasing costs of health care and provide for themselves 
in retirement. In my district, Social Security constitutes 90% or more 
of the income received by 34 percent of beneficiaries (21 percent of 
married couples and 43 percent of non-married beneficiaries).
  Passing H.R. 2560 will result in draconian cuts to these vital 
benefits. Doing so would leave our most vulnerable citizens exposed and 
unprotected. I cannot and will not support a proposal that will inflict 
such grave hardship on the most vulnerable of our citizens while asking 
nothing of those who benefited most from the reckless economic policies 
of the previous administration.
  Mr. Speaker, the times are serious but this legislation is not. In 
two weeks the debt limit will be reached so time is of the essence. 
This legislation, however, is a waste of time and has no chance of ever 
becoming law. We should reject this proposal and take up a serious 
proposal to resolve the debt crisis and maintain our country's A+ 
credit rating.
  It is difficult to take seriously a proposal that conditions, as this 
bill does, paying the nation's bills upon the approval by the House and 
Senate, and submission to the states for ratification, of a radical 
balanced budget amendment that enshrines the notorious Ryan Budget in 
the Constitution and makes the discredited theory of trickle-down 
economics the law of the land. That is a prescription for economic 
disaster.
  Passage of this gimmick proposal will virtually ensure that America 
will default on its financial obligations for the first time in 
history, with catastrophic consequences for our nation and the global 
economy.
  Seniors will not receive their Social Security checks; funding to 
train, equip, deploy, and pay military and law enforcement personnel 
will be withheld; interest rates will rise; the value of pensions and 
retirement portfolios will fall; and jobs will be lost.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill is nothing more than political theater; at 
best a cheap gimmick to appease the Tea Party base of the majority 
party in the House. But it's not the right thing for our country.
  What we need right now is for responsible leaders to act responsibly. 
As legislators, our constituents are looking to us to get serious about 
the serious work we need to do to protect the economy, our people, and 
the nation's unrivaled record of creditworthiness. They deserve no 
less.
  For all these reasons, I stand in strong and unyielding opposition to 
H.R. 2560 and urge my colleagues to join me in rejecting this radical 
and dangerous proposal.

                          ____________________