[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 163 (Wednesday, October 11, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1358]
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. CEDRIC L. RICHMOND

                              of louisiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 4, 2017

  Mr. RICHMOND. Mr. Chair, I include in the Record a letter from the 
National Education Association.

                               National Education Association,

                                  Washington, DC, October 4, 2017.
       Dear Representative: On behalf of the more than three 
     million members of the National Education Association (NEA), 
     and the 50 million students they serve, we urge you to Vote 
     No on the FY 2018 budget resolution (H. Con. Res. 71) being 
     brought to the House floor this week, and offer our views on 
     the alternative budgets that have been proposed. The budget 
     should reflect the priorities of our nation and should 
     especially meet the needs of children and those most in need. 
     Actions on this issue may be included in the NEA Legislative 
     Report Card for the 115th Congress.
       In addition to urging a NO vote on H. Con. Res. 71, we urge 
     you to:
       Vote YES on the Democratic substitute budget. This budget 
     stresses the need to invest in our economic future. It lifts 
     the budget caps, broadens access to education, defends and 
     strengthens the Affordable Care Act, invests in 
     infrastructure, raises the minimum wage, and supports tax 
     reform that supports American families and workers.
       Vote YES on the budget presented by the Congressional 
     Progressive Caucus offered by Reps. Pocan (D-WI) and Grijalva 
     (D-AZ). This budget provides a practical, progressive vision 
     for our country by investing in 21st century infrastructure 
     and jobs, tackling inequality, making corporations pay their 
     fair share, and strengthening essential public programs.
       Vote YES on the budget presented by the Congressional Black 
     Caucus offered by Rep. Scott (D-VA). This budget would 
     establish funding levels to allow for investments in key 
     programs like education, infrastructure and job training, 
     makes the tax code more progressive and fair, repeals the 
     Budget Control Act and ends the threat of sequestration, and 
     create jobs while also reducing the deficit.
       Vote NO on the budget presented by the Republican Study 
     Committee authored by Reps. Walker (R-NC) and McClintock (R-
     CA). This budget goes beyond the Budget Committee proposal in 
     terms of balancing the budget on the backs of those least 
     able to afford it by cutting spending $5.7 trillion over the 
     next 10 years. The budget also would repeal the Affordable 
     Care Act, increase the Medicare eligibility age, and block 
     grant Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program.
       We strongly oppose H. Con. Res. 71 because it takes us in 
     the wrong direction as a nation by making dramatic cuts to 
     essential programs and services in order to finance tax cuts 
     for the wealthy. Specifically, we oppose:
       Doubling down on deep cuts to education and other domestic 
     programs. This proposal would cut Non-Defense-Discretionary 
     programs (i.e. education, health care, job training, etc.), 
     which are already at historically low levels (as a percentage 
     of GDP), by lowering the already inadequate spending caps by 
     $5 billion in 2018 and cutting spending for NDD programs by 
     $1.3 trillion over the next decade. This would force even 
     deeper cuts to crucial investments like education depriving 
     students of the opportunity they all deserve for a quality 
     education.
       Making dramatic cuts for essential programs to finance a 
     massive tax cut for the wealthy and add $2.4 trillion to our 
     country's debt. According to the Tax Policy Center, the top 
     one percent of households would get 80 percent of the 
     framework's next tax cuts, or more than $200,000 annually on 
     average.
       Slashing Medicaid and other health programs, which provides 
     healthcare for more than one-third of our nation's children. 
     Overall funding for Medicaid and other programs would be cut 
     by $1.5 trillion over the decade, while Medicare would be cut 
     by $487 billion over the decade.
       Voucherizing Medicare and shifting costs to seniors. Under 
     the proposed plan, seniors would receive ``premium 
     support''--fixed payments to help buy coverage, which would 
     likely fail to keep pace with rising healthcare costs. The 
     plan also could also lead to the gradual demise of 
     traditional Medicare by making the pool of beneficiaries 
     smaller, older, and sicker--and increasingly costly to cover.
       Student aid cuts, which appear to include deep cuts to the 
     Pell Grant program and student loans. We should be working to 
     make college more affordable for more students.
       For too long Congress has tied its own hands with senseless 
     and untenable budget caps, resulting in wholly inadequate 
     funding levels for critical programs like education. This 
     budget would make that problem much worse and sets the stage 
     to enact massive tax cuts for the wealthy. We urge you to 
     Vote NO on the FY18 budget resolution (H. Con. Res. 71).
           Sincerely,

                                                    Marc Egan,

                                   Director, Government Relations,
     National Education Association.

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