[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 111 (Friday, July 22, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S4829]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       CUT, CAP, AND BALANCE ACT

  Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, you should see the folks back in Montana 
and across this country as they watch the news and read the papers, 
shaking their heads. I do not blame them. I am shaking my head too 
because we just wasted 2 precious days debating a plan that wipes out 
Medicare and Social Security, a plan that guts veterans' benefits.
  Yes, that is exactly what the plan did. That is exactly why I opposed 
it. It is incredible to me that some folks have no problem turning 
their back on America's seniors and America's veterans while at the 
same time preserving tax loopholes that benefit millionaires and Big 
Oil and Wall Street and corporations that ship our jobs overseas. That 
is why Montana and folks across this country are shaking their heads. 
They do not think much of what is going on in Washington, DC, these 
days.
  My friends in the House know full well this bill is no friend of the 
seniors and it is no friend of the veterans. They know full well it 
would force deep cuts in Medicare and Social Security. They know this 
all so very well. So you know what they did. What do career politicians 
do when they want people to believe their plan to cut Medicare somehow 
exempts Medicare? They add language saying ``exempt Medicare.'' That is 
what they did. Montanans deserve better, and Americans deserve better.
  Let's look at the whole truth. Let's first talk about the cuts that 
are in the cut, cap, and balance plan.
  This plan locks in cuts proposed by the controversial House budget 
plan--otherwise known as the Ryan plan in the House--and it locks them 
in for a full decade. That means you are going to see more than $111 
billion in cuts this year alone. That is 10 percent. Will it be a 10-
percent cut to veterans health care or highway or water infrastructure 
or education? They will not tell us how they plan to make those cuts. 
Maybe they will take a little less out of our veterans but at the 
expense of the police and firefighters. Maybe they will take a few less 
dollars out of agricultural research but then kick a few more kids out 
of Head Start.
  Now let's talk about the ``cap.'' The plan caps Federal spending at 
18 percent of gross domestic product, requiring even further spending 
cuts. Now, 18 percent brings us to a level this country has not seen 
since 1966, about the same time Medicare was created. Even Ronald 
Reagan advocated for a higher rate than 18 percent.
  Here is the kicker: The small print you will not hear from the people 
who already voted for this bill is that the annual interest on our debt 
and the very things this bill claims to exempt--Medicare, Medicaid, 
Social Security, veterans' benefits--will cost more than what is 
allowed under the cap. That means there is to be nothing left to spend 
on any other program--nothing. That includes the military, our 
infrastructure, homeland security, and just about everything else. So 
how is that going to work so that this bill protects Social Security 
and Medicaid? It will not unless you invent your own math. What are the 
lawmakers going to do? Do they really intend to close down the 
Pentagon? I doubt it. But that means they are going to have to go back 
and cut Medicare and Social Security. Under this bill, it is their only 
choice. The numbers simply do not add up.
  The fact is, we were wasting time even giving it daylight in the 
Senate, and it is exactly why the folks back home are shaking their 
heads. They expect us to get a job done responsibly, using common sense 
in a way that does not dismantle Medicare, Social Security, or hurt our 
veterans.
  I look forward to debating a bipartisan plan to responsibly cut the 
debt and cut spending. There is one being worked on right now. But the 
bill the Senate just voted on was not responsible. The Senate rejected 
it, and rightfully so. Now we need to move to a bipartisan plan that 
comes out of the middle, not from the partisan extremes.
  I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. KYL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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