[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 160 (Monday, October 24, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1915-E1916]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HIGHLIGHTING THE NATIONAL DEBT CRISIS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 24, 2011

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to highlight the National Debt 
Crisis. We are in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the 
Great Depression. Our deficit has ballooned to the highest sum in 
history, 14.8 trillion. Our nation's unemployment hovers at 9.1 percent 
and a record 46.2 million Americans live in poverty. This problem 
cannot be sustained without running the risk of destroying our Great 
Nation.
  As I stand before you, I make a plea to our spiritual leaders 
throughout the United States to be heard and to speak out for the 
gridlock that exists here in Congress. It seems to me whether we're 
dealing with the Koran or the Bible or the Torah, one thing that is 
abundantly clear is that we have a moral obligation to take care of the 
vulnerable among us, especially during our current economic crisis. 
This great nation now has broken all records in terms of our middle 
class actually being shrunk as people are forced into poverty. 
Therefore, cutting funding to entitlement programs will exacerbate this 
problem. Let the churches, synagogues, mosques and the temples be open 
so people can express themselves. Our spiritual leaders could encourage 
people not just to pray but to become active. So whether you're a 
Protestant, Catholic, Jew, Gentile, Mormon or Muslim, this is a time 
when America needs you.
  The Congress has an obligation as well. Let this Congress attempt to 
be more civil and recognize that we have a responsibility that goes 
beyond the election. We have a responsibility to the American people 
and our National Debt is a priority that we must address.
  Since the 1970's Keynesian economics has been the guiding principle 
for both parties. It stated that you should spend when times are bad to 
stimulate the economy and balance the budget when times are good. 
Therefore, the Government must increase spending to fill the void left 
by the private sector in a Recession. However, the Republican Party has 
abandoned this principle of economics in favor of ``Reaganomics.'' The 
Republican Party has prioritized cutting taxes and decreasing spending. 
While this would make sense when the economy is strong, trying to 
balance the budget this way in a Recession is dangerous. The tax cuts 
will cost the Federal Government $65 billion for 2011 alone. They will 
continue to add to the debt, while the Government struggles to raise 
revenue. Without revenue the Government cannot fund vital social 
programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, among others.
  Moreover, with low revenue the Government cannot pay its bills and 
its debts. As a result,

[[Page E1916]]

the Government has been forced to borrow from countries such as China 
and Japan, as well as the Social Security program and the United States 
Postal Service. Republicans have argued that Social Security is 
unsustainable and is contributing to the debt; however Social Security 
has run surpluses for decades. The Government has used these surpluses 
to fund their spending, including the high spending under President 
Reagan. We cannot continue borrowing from Social Security. Social 
Security was created to last, without contributing to the debt. The 
program cannot pay benefits if it does not have the resources to do so. 
Furthermore, Social Security cannot borrow; therefore it cannot 
increase the federal deficit. Hence, years of tax cuts and borrowing 
from Social Security have pushed the program near insolvency. 
Additionally, borrowing from the Post Office has caused it to go broke. 
Republicans have called for privatizing the Post Office because it is 
unsustainable and cannot be subsidized by the government. On the other 
hand, tax cuts have forced the Government to borrow from the Post 
Office to make up for lost revenue. This has resulted in the 
devastation of the U.S. Postal Service.
  The biggest amount of spending goes to health programs like Medicare, 
which accounts for 15 percent of the GDP alone. That is the main reason 
Democrats supported the health care bill. The Health Care law was meant 
to bring health care costs down, but Republicans seek to repeal the 
law. Other developed nations have managed to keep their health related 
costs low on a single-payer government-backed health care system. We 
must control the soaring health care costs if we are to decrease 
spending and the national debt and repealing the health care law is not 
the way to do it. It is abundantly clear that Republicans only seek to 
benefit their base of insurance companies.
  Tax expenditures should also be on the table when discussing how to 
cut spending. They include tax breaks on mortgage interest and 
employer-provided health insurance. Tax expenditures add hundreds of 
billions of dollars a year to our debt. They decrease the amount of 
taxes individuals and businesses pay, thereby decreasing the amount of 
revenue the Government takes in. Moreover, tax credits are also a form 
of spending, which ``fiscally conservative'' Republicans claim they 
want to cut. However in 2009, House Republicans introduced new housing 
subsidies that gave a $5,000 credit to Americans that reliance their 
homes and $15,000 in credits to those buying homes. These tax credits 
are a form of spending that Republicans do not have a problem with. If 
we are serious about cutting spending than we must look at these tax 
expenditures, which account for more than the total cost of all non-
defense programs, excluding Social Security and Medicare. So when we 
consider cutting spending on programs that benefit the poor and 
elderly, we should also take a look at tax expenditures, which help the 
middle class and wealthy.
  Democrats and Republicans alike should make a valiant effort to work 
together in other to save our beloved country. We must look at cutting 
spending on all programs and not excluding tax expenditures from the 
list. Moreover, we must increase taxes on the wealthy, so we can stop 
borrowing from Social Security and effectively bankrupting the program. 
In order to balance the budget and decrease the debt, the government 
must receive revenue. This revenue can only come from increasing taxes. 
Spending cuts alone will not help this country recover. In fact, sharp 
cuts can force us back into a recession and will stunt our economic 
recovery. Therefore the best option is to cut spending gradually, not 
rapidly like Republicans propose and to increase taxes. Most economists 
agree that this is the best method to improve our economy and to 
decrease our debt.
  Democratic and Republican voters are in agreement on programs that 
should be cut and where spending should be increased. Democrats and 
Republicans support cuts for the highway system, air travel and 
railroad, medical research, subsidies to agricultural corporations with 
large farms and defense spending. However, both voters support spending 
increases for job training, energy conservation and renewable 
resources, elementary and secondary education, higher education and 
agricultural subsidies to small farmers. It seems like the electorate 
is much less polarized than the government.
  Mr. Speaker, if Democratic and Republican voters can agree on where 
spending should be decreased and where it should be increased, than why 
can't we? At the end of day, we must work together to ensure America's 
prosperity and the well-being of our nation. This is the only way to 
get us out of the current economic crisis we are in.

                          ____________________