[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 160 (Thursday, October 5, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1335-E1336]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 4, 2017

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the concurrent resolution 
     (H. Con. Res. 71) establishing the congressional budget for 
     the United States Government for fiscal year 2018 and setting 
     forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2019 
     through 2027:

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong support of the 
Democratic Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to H. Con. Res. 27, 
the House Republicans' Congressional Budget Resolution for Fiscal Year 
2018.
  Mr. Chair, House Republican budgeteers have a very poor track record 
when it comes to economic forecasts and projections.
  For years, they have based their entire legislative agenda and 
strategy on their belief that the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare 
would be a failure.
  The wish was father to the thought and they were wrong.
  Because of Obamacare more than 20 million Americans now know the 
peace of mind that comes from affordable, quality health insurance that 
is there when you need it.
  House Republicans oppose increasing the minimum wage, claiming that 
it costs jobs.
  Wrong again.
  Every increase in the minimum wage has been accompanied by an 
expanding economy, especially during the Clinton Administration.
  House Republicans opposing comprehensive immigration reform claim 
that it will lead to lower incomes and lost jobs.
  Wrong again.
  Studies conducted by groups as far apart as the Chamber of Commerce 
and the AFL-CIO consistently show that comprehensive immigration reform 
will grow the Gross Domestic Product by $1.5 trillion over 10 years.
  Given this sorry track record of economic forecasting, it is mind-
boggling that anyone could support another Republican budget that 
favors the wealthy over middle class families and those struggling to 
enter or remain in the middle class.

[[Page E1336]]

  The Democratic Budget ANS represents a much better way forward to the 
economic prosperity and security that Americans want and demand because 
it:
  1. Creates good-paying jobs by investing in cutting-edge research and 
innovation, education, and infrastructure--highways, broadband, school 
construction, and more.
  2. Increases educational opportunities by enhancing the Pell Grant 
program and funds career, technical, and adult education, and supports 
initiatives to help borrowers manage their student debt.
  3. Supports American workers and families through responsible tax 
reform that creates jobs, boosts economic growth, and ensures that the 
wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share.
  4. Promotes economic growth, expanded opportunity, and better quality 
of life by supporting a raise in the minimum wage, equal pay for equal 
work, immigration reform, consumer safeguards, childcare, job training, 
and paid leave.
  5. Protects a basic standard of living by funding for programs that 
ensure families can access nutrition assistance, find and afford 
quality housing in their neighborhood, heat and cool their homes when 
extreme temperatures hit, and supports strengthening and expanding the 
Earned Income Tax Credit and increased resources for Temporary 
Assistance for Needy Families.
  6. Defends and strengthens the Affordable Care Act and protects 
Medicare by rejecting both Trumpcare and any plan to turn Medicare into 
a voucher-like system that would increase costs for seniors.
  7. Rejects the Republican budget's 19 percent cut to diplomacy and 
foreign aid operations and invests instead in all aspects of national 
security, including our military and diplomatic corps, foreign aid, 
homeland security, veterans, and law enforcement.
   The Democratic Budget ANS works FOR American families by giving them 
the tools to buy a home, send their kids to college and enjoy a secure 
retirement.
   Mr. Chair, the Democratic Budget represents a better way.
   We Democrats understand that we are all in this together and that 
our current economic situation calls for a balanced approach between 
increased revenues and responsible reduction in expenditures.
   Our plan will protect and strengthen our recovering economy, reduce 
the deficit in a responsible way, while continuing to invest in the 
things that make our country strong like education, health care, 
innovation, and clean energy.
   Mr. Chair, this Republican budget is bad for America but it is 
disastrous for the people from my home state of Texas who sent me here 
to advocate for their interests.
   Let me highlight a few examples.
   1. If the Republican budget resolution were to become the basis of 
federal fiscal policy, 3,435,336 Texas seniors would be forced out of 
traditional Medicare and into a voucher program.
   2. Under the Republican plan to end Medicare as we know it, Texas 
seniors will receive a voucher instead of guaranteed benefits under 
traditional Medicare.
   3. For the 3,435,336 Texans aged 45-54, the value of their vouchers 
would be capped at growth levels that are lower than the projected 
increases in health care costs.
   4. Previous analyses showed that this type of plan would cut future 
spending by $5,900 per senior, forcing them to spend more out of pocket 
and diminishing their access to quality care.
   5. Additionally, private insurance plans will aggressively pursue 
the healthiest, least expensive enrollees, thereby allowing Medicare--
currently the lifeline for 3,187,332 Texas seniors--to wither on the 
vine.
   6. If the Republican budget resolution is adopted by Congress, 
206,304 Texas seniors would pay more for prescription drugs next year.
   7. The Republican plan would re-open the donut hole, forcing seniors 
to pay the full cost of their prescription drugs if their yearly drug 
expenses are more than $2,970 for the year.
   8. Seniors reaching the prescription drug donut hole would pay an 
average of $828 more in prescription drug costs in 2018 and 
approximately $13,000 more from now through 2027.
   9. Under the Republican budget, the 2,445,462 Texas seniors who 
utilized free preventive services currently covered by Medicare in 2017 
will face increased costs in the form of higher deductibles, co-
insurance, and copayments for certain services, including even cancer 
screenings and annual wellness visits.
   10. The Republican budget would slash $33 billion in nursing home 
care and other health care services for 754,500 Texas seniors and 
disabled persons who currently rely on Medicaid for their long-term 
care needs.
   11. The draconian cuts included in the Republican budget would have 
a devastating impact on the 1,191 certified nursing homes in Texas that 
serve nearly 100,000 seniors, with more than half relying on Medicaid 
as their primary payer. As a result, nursing homes would be forced to 
slash services, turn away seniors, or close their doors.
   Mr. Chair, the Republican budget may be characterized in many ways--
cruel, irresponsible, short-sighted, reckless--but ``fair and 
balanced'' is not one of them.
   In contrast, the alternative budget proposed by the Democratic 
Caucus is worthy of support because it fairly balances the need for 
increased revenues and responsible reductions in expenditures with the 
imperative of making the necessary investments in human capital 
required to move our country forward.
   The Democratic Budget ANS will generate at least a million more jobs 
this year compared to the Republicans' austerity first plan by making 
the investments needed to create jobs, strengthen the middle class, 
create greater upward mobility, and ensure opportunity for our children 
and future generations.
   Mr. Chair, Democratic alternative budget maintains our commitment to 
Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security; expands the EITC for childless 
workers; and provides ample funding for early childhood education.
   Especially important to my constituents, and those of my colleagues 
representing Louisiana, Texas, Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and 
Puerto Rico, is that the Democratic Budget ANS includes the funds 
approved by Congress as a down payment for assistance in response to 
Hurricane Harvey and supports further emergency funding related to 
Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, along with other natural disasters.
   It is said often, Mr. Chair, but is no less true, that the federal 
budget is more than a financial document; it is an expression of the 
nation's most cherished values.
   As the late and great former senator and Vice-President Hubert 
Humphrey said:
   ``The moral test of government is how that government treats those 
who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the 
twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in shadows of life, 
the sick, the needy, and the handicapped.''
   It is for this reason that in evaluating the merits of a budget 
resolution, it is not enough to subject it only to the test of fiscal 
responsibility.
   To keep faith with the nation's past, to be fair to the nation's 
present, and to safeguard the nation's future, the budget must also 
pass a moral test.
   Unlike the Republican budget, the Democratic Budget ANS passes both 
of these tests with flying colors.
   The Republican budget calls to mind what Talleyrand said of the 
restored Bourbon dynasty after the abdication of Napoleon:
   ``They had learned nothing and forgotten nothing.''
   Like the discredited Ryan Budgets of years past, this repackaged and 
warmed over TrumpRepublican Budget seems to know the cost of everything 
but the value of nothing.
   For these compelling reasons, I stand in strong opposition to the 
Republican budget and urge my colleagues to join me in supporting a 
much better deal for the American people, the Democratic Budget ANS.

                          ____________________