[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 42 (Thursday, March 21, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E348-E349]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2014

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 20, 2013

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the concurrent resolution 
     (H. Con. Res. 25) establishing the budget for the United 
     States Government for fiscal year 2014 and setting forth 
     appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2015 through 
     2023:

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong support of the CBC 
Budget Substitute to H. Con. Res. 25 because it provides for serious 
deficit reduction, job creation, and promotes pragmatic economic 
growth. In a word: this budget puts America back in the black.
  I wish to thank Chairwoman Fudge of the CBC and Congressman Scott of 
Virginia, a Member of the CBC who helps to drive our budget, and 
Congresswoman Gwen Moore who sits on the Budget Committee; Members who 
have taken the lead in steering our job-creating, morally righteous, 
and deficit-reducing budget to the House Floor.
  The Members of this body have some very serious ideological 
differences that have manifested themselves in the respective budgets 
that the American people will hear over the course of the next few 
days. But at the end of the day we have to produce for the American 
people--and budget means that we must do just that--and do so by 
addressing both sides of the ledger.
  That means tough, bedrock decisions about spending but also about 
revenue. My colleagues in the CBC have taken on this task in earnest 
and I believe produced a serious, pragmatic Fiscal Year 2014 budget 
alternative.
  The FY 2014 CBC Budget entitled, ``Pro-Growth, Pro-People, Pro-
America,'' contains $2.8 trillion in deficit reduction relative to 
current law, which would put debt on a downward path after the 
expiration of short-term stimulus spending. Debt is projected to fall 
from 78.8 percent of GDP in 2014 to 66.2 percent of GDP in 2023.
  We include a lowering of the threshold for the tax cuts extended in 
the American Taxpayer Relief Act from $450K to $250K, a concept which I 
strongly supported in 2010, 2011, and 2012; taxing capital gains and 
dividends as ordinary income, and enacting a financial transactions 
tax.
  The CBC Substitute also cancels the harmful sequestration, enacts a 
permanent ``doc fix'', and includes $862 billion in jobs measures and 
long-term investments. Revenue

[[Page E349]]

would rise to 20.5 percent of GDP by 2023 in the CBC's budget, compared 
to 19.1 percent under current policy. Spending would fall to 22.3 
percent of GDP by 2023 under current policy, and would fall to the same 
level under the CBC's budget though with a great deal of short-term 
stimulus measures.
  The CBC Budget protects and enhances Social Security, Medicare, 
Medicaid, SNAP, TANF and other vital safety net programs that save 
millions of families from poverty.
  The CBC Budget creates jobs and opportunity via new infrastructure 
investments, outlined below:
  Maintenance and repair for public transit, highways, airports, ports, 
railroads, bridges and other infrastructure investments. ($230 
billion);
  Workforce development programs such as the Workforce Investment Act 
Adult Program, the Dislocated Workers Program, Job Corps and other 
employment and training services. ($13 billion);
  Providing relief to states to preserve teacher, law enforcement and 
first responder jobs. ($50 billion);
  Neighborhood stabilization programs that provide affordable housing 
development, infrastructure improvements and other community 
development needs. ($50 billion);
  Veterans programs that honor our commitment to help our nation's 
soldiers after they come back from serving our country. (Increased by 
$50 billion).
  The CBC Budget also calls for significant tax reform measures that 
would enhance revenues over the next decade by $2.7 trillion. Economic 
history has demonstrated that you cannot starve the government of 
revenues. To achieve our revenue goals, the CBC Budget outlines 
approximately $4.2 trillion in revenue enhancements that Congress could 
use to achieve this goal, including:
  Ending special tax breaks and closing tax loopholes. ($1 trillion 
over 10 years);
  Limiting tax preferences for Corporate Debt. ($1.151 trillion over 10 
years);
  Enacting the ``Buffet Rule'' and a surcharge for millionaires. ($460 
billion over 10 years);
  Reduce the ``tax gap'' through better tax enforcement. ($107 billion 
over 10-years);
  Ending the mortgage deduction for vacation homes and yachts. ($10 
billion over 10 years);
  The CBC Budget addresses health disparities by fully funding the 
Affordable Care Act and providing strong support of the National 
Institute of Health. In contrast, the Republican Budget attempts to 
repeal the Affordable Care Act, while using the revenues to help 
achieve balance.
  The elephant in the room is entitlement policy. Unlike discretionary 
spending, mandatory spending grew rapidly from 5 percent of GDP in 1962 
to a range of 9 percent to 10.5 percent of GDP from 1975 to 2007, 
peaking in recession years because of automatic stabilizers. The 
American people spoke last year and their collective voice clearly said 
no to haphazard, immoral, and arbitrary cuts to their hard-earned 
benefits; and the Supreme Court raised its voice when it upheld the 
constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. It is the law of the 
land.
  I am here to say that any type of entitlement reform will not be done 
on the backs of Seniors in the 18th District of Texas--and I am 
prepared to ``stand in the gap'' to protect their benefits.
  And speaking of Texas, two years ago, my hometown of Houston, Texas 
was forced to lay off nearly one thousand municipal employees. When 
these employees are put on the unemployment line, libraries close, 
schools cut back on essential after-school programs, community centers 
lose personnel, police hours are trimmed, and the truly destitute 
become an afterthought.
  Those tough budget decisions had a human cost and I hear from my 
constituents every day about them, and frankly, I don't want tax cuts 
for the wealthy at the expense of jobs for people in Texas.
  Nonetheless, I stand here today and declare that the federal budget 
is a moral document, with meaning, fiber, and a unique texture; and the 
budget we craft, and what we do here today in the hallowed halls of 
Congress is really about the American people and the impact that our 
budget and fiscal policy decisions will have on them.
  The Democratic Budget Alternatives stands in clear contrast to the 
budget that our Republican colleagues have put forward. This budget 
will reduce the deficit in a balanced and credible way, making 
difficult choices while providing investments that help create jobs now 
and build an even stronger economy for the future. But unlike the 
Republican budget--which ends the Medicare guarantee while providing 
tax breaks to millionaires--we ask the very wealthy and special 
interests to share responsibility for reducing the deficit. It is a 
shared American sacrifice.
  This budget demonstrates that we can put our fiscal house in order 
without blindly slashing investments and breaking our promises to 
seniors, low-income kids, and individuals with disabilities. We will 
preserve the Medicare guarantee and work to strengthen it, along with 
Medicaid, and not ending it. We will provide tax relief for working 
families, not a tax windfall to millionaires and corporations that is 
financed by middle-income Americans. And we will protect the promise 
and opportunity of the American Dream for all, instead of leaving 
future generations behind.
  Mr. Chair, let's roll-up our sleeves and get to work on a pro-growth, 
pro-people, and pro-American budget.

                          ____________________