[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 120 (Tuesday, August 2, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1492]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       BUDGET CONTROL ACT OF 2011

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 28, 2011

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I have had and continue to have serious 
concerns about Senator Reid's revised bill. The cuts to discretionary 
spending will be adverse to the beneficiaries of programs designed to 
provide essential services the private sector will never--and in some 
cases, should never--perform. The cuts to defense funding, the single 
biggest source of government waste, are a good start but are small 
compared to those cuts to non-defense spending. I will work to ensure 
that we achieve defense cuts greater than the minimum required by this 
bill.
  We are now three days away from reaching the effective debt ceiling, 
a landmark that would drastically accelerate the $400 billion of damage 
to our economy already caused by the mere threat of reaching the 
ceiling.
  This bill raises the debt ceiling while not prescribing cuts to 
Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. It prevents further instances 
of the debt ceiling (which has been raised 74 times since 1962 and 10 
times since 2001) from being held hostage. It cuts funding from the 
account that fuels the wars that dramatically increased our debt.
  In the past, I voted against three of the main drivers of our debt: 
the war in Iraq, the Bush tax cuts and Medicare Part D. I believe in 
fiscal responsibility. I do not believe America should go into default 
over a manufactured crisis. It is time to prevent fake crises, and get 
on with rebuilding the U.S. economy.

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