[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 55 (Tuesday, April 17, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E543]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2013

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 28, 2012

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H. Con. Res. 112) 
     establishing the budget for the United States Government for 
     fiscal year 2013 and setting forth appropriate budgetary 
     levels for fiscal years 2014 through 2022:

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of the Budget offered by 
the Congressional Progressive Caucus. This budget and the others we are 
considering tonight and tomorrow morning speak volumes about the 
country we would like to see. The Budget for All is the only budget 
under consideration that cuts war funding, funding from the bloated 
Defense budget, and a slew of subsidies for corporations and for the 
rich.
  This bill includes language that mirrors my own efforts in Congress. 
The first is an example of a corporate subsidy that is rescinded by 
this budget. It removes the tax deduction for advertising and marketing 
junk food and fast food to children. We should not be using taxpayer 
money--about $2 billion every year--to make the childhood obesity 
crisis even worse for the sake of boosting the profits of the junk food 
and fast food industry. If this tax break were to be revoked, it has 
been estimated that the number of overweight children in the U.S. would 
be reduced by more than 5 7 percent.
  This bill also provides relief for states struggling with financial 
crises by allowing them to move to a single-payer model of health care. 
If the residents of a state demand it because they want their 
businesses to be more competitive, they want higher quality health 
care, and they want coverage for everyone in the state, the federal 
government should not stand in their way. This is an issue I have 
worked on for years now. I was able to win, by a bipartisan vote, an 
amendment to the health care reform bill in 2009 that would have helped 
states go to a single payer health care system. Though it was stripped 
out by the Administration, it was one of the first single-payer 
Congressional victories in U.S. history and it showed there is an 
appetite in Congress for moving forward.
  Finally, and most importantly, this budget provides for full public 
financing of elections, mirroring a constitutional amendment I have 
introduced. Public financing of elections benefits the public. Private 
financing of elections benefits private interests.
  I urge my colleagues to support the FY 2013 Budget for All.

                          ____________________