[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 5348-5356]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 INVESTING IN AMERICA'S FUTURE: CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS FISCAL YEAR 
                        2005 BUDGET ALTERNATIVE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 7, 2003, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Madam Speaker, I rise this evening to discuss the 
Congressional Black Caucus's fiscal year 2005 budget alternative.
  Today, the Congressional Black Caucus offered a budget substitute 
that would invest in America's future while restoring fiscal 
responsibility in fulfilling our shared sacrifice.
  Madam Speaker, when we are in a state of war, finding ourselves, even 
as we speak, with men and women in our armed forces fighting in 
Afghanistan and fighting in Iraq, and finding themselves spread out 
across the globe, the Congressional Black Caucus, which has 
consistently over and over and over again reiterated that we certainly 
support our troops and, at the same time, we are very firm on the fact 
that we must address the issue of terrorism.
  But we also say that we must have a budget that is balanced, not only 
from the standpoint of economics, but also from the standpoint of doing 
for the people in the United States, people who work hard every day; 
people who give their blood, sweat, and tears to making this country 
the best that it can be; people who cannot even watch this on C-SPAN 
because they left a job at 5 o'clock today and went to another job 
because ends simply are not meeting.
  And not only those people, but 9 million people who are not watching 
this because they do not have cable, and the reason why they do not 
have cable is because they do not have a job. Nine million of them, at 
the end of every 2-week period when they normally would

[[Page 5349]]

have gotten a check, they are not getting a check anymore, because they 
are simply unemployed.
  Madam Speaker, despite the best efforts of over 100 of my colleagues 
in the House of Representatives, our budget substitute, that is the 
budget substitute of the Congressional Black Caucus, did not pass.
  But one thing is clear, as I have said to the caucus many, many 
times, when I borrowed the words from former Representative Bill Clay, 
when he said to the caucus back in September, he said, you may not win 
every battle, but you will set the trend. You may not get what you want 
at that moment, but hopefully, we will be able to plant a seed in the 
minds of not only Members of this Congress, but in the minds of the 
country that we can do better. That is why, day after day, Members of 
the Congressional Black Caucus come forth to address issues that go to 
the center of people's lives, to the center of Americans' lives and, 
day after day, we come as a conscience of the Congress.
  The Congressional Black Caucus budget alternative fully funded No 
Child Left Behind to the authorized levels. In comparison, the budget 
that President Bush sent to the Congress broke its promise to America's 
children and teachers by short-changing its own education legislation 
by $7 billion.
  Every time we hear about dollars, it is so hard, I think, for many of 
us to put faces on that short-change of dollars. But the fact is that 
when we go back to our districts, as I do, and I go to visit schools 
and I see some children in schools where rain is coming through the 
roof, and so often classes are overcrowded, and many times children 
have basically nowhere to go at 3 o'clock or 3:30; and then to look at 
the provisions of No Child Left Behind where it calls for substantial 
testing of our children, which a lot of us do not have a major problem 
with, but the problem is that once you test, and assuming a State can 
afford to test because there is not enough money in many instances for 
them to be able to even give all of the tests that are required by the 
Federal Government, the next thing we know, many school districts do 
not even have the money to send them to other schools.
  So when we put a face on the $7 billion that is left out of the No 
Child Left Behind legislation and authorization, it gives us great 
concern.
  Not only did the CBC budget provide adequate funding to take care of 
our troops fighting in the battlefields of Iraq and around the world, 
but our budget provided over $8 billion for our servicemen and women 
once they return home.
  One of the things that we are seeing over and over again is young 
people going overseas. Many of them in the National Guard, when they 
joined, certainly they understood that there might come a time when 
they might have to go overseas. But so many of them, like the ones in 
our districts, find that their lives are interrupted. Resources are not 
there to keep the mortgage paid. Resources are not there for them to 
make sure that their families can carry on life the way they would 
normally carry on if they were not in Iraq or Afghanistan. The fact is 
that they find their lives interrupted.
  One of the things that we wanted to do is, when they do come home, to 
make sure that they would be okay after they had put their lives on the 
line for us.
  Madam Speaker, the CBC budget alternative would have doubled the 
funding for Historically Black Colleges and Hispanic Serving 
Institutions. I have often said that if we did not have HBCUs, we would 
have to invent them, for they are the institutions that provide and 
account for most of the B.S. degrees and the Master's degrees and 
Doctorate degrees for the children of African Americans.
  Our education increases included over $2 billion for Pell grants, so 
that deserving students who may not have the financial means to attend 
college could obtain a college education. There was a time not very 
long ago when a Pell grant would cover 70 percent of a student's 
tuition and fees. Today, the average Pell grant probably covers 
somewhere between 20 and 30 percent.

                              {time}  1930

  The fact is that we educate our children, and then we want them to do 
better than we did, and we want them to go to college; but at Morgan 
State University, where I sit as a member of the Board of Trustees, 
sadly, out of 13,000 students we had to release somewhere between 7 or 
800 of them, not because they were not qualified, not because they did 
not want to go to college, not because they had poor attendance but 
because they did not have the money.
  So I have said it and I will say it again, one of the worst things, 
if you want to talk about the threats to this society, the most 
dangerous threat to our society is our failure to properly educate our 
young. But most importantly, the CBC budget alternative fulfilled the 
needs of American people while setting aside money to reduce our 
deficit.
  Now, at $521 billion it would have placed our Nation back on the path 
of fiscal responsibility. Madam Speaker, we have to be honest with the 
American people. Our Nation is in the midst of a fiscal crisis. Not 
only is the Federal deficit spiraling out of control, but now we have 
reports from the Medicare actuary that Medicare will be bankrupt by 
2019 and Social Security will soon follow. I did not say that. The 
Democrats did not say that.
  The fact is that the official body, looking at our Medicare and our 
Social Security situation, said that.
  Madam Speaker, I say we must be honest because up to this point the 
administration has been less than forthcoming with the American people 
and with this Congress. It has been reported that Medicare's chief 
actuary was told he would be fired if he reported to Congress the true 
costs of the Medicare bill. Earlier this year we learned that the 
administration fudged the conclusions of its health disparity report in 
order to report a more favorable national condition than what truly 
exists. That is a very sad commentary.
  One thing that we know, and it is just a basic rule of life, that in 
order to correct a problem you have to, first of all, realize you have 
it. And if we have institutions that are being paid with taxpayers' 
dollars that are putting out reports that are then fudged to give a 
different image, a more favorable image of situations like health care 
disparities of all things, then that is a very, very, very sad day; and 
it is a very, very, very sad commentary on anyone who would be about 
the business of causing that to happen.
  Just last month, the President sent a budget to Congress that 
conveniently neglected to include the costs of extending the tax cuts 
while claiming that his budget would cut the deficit in half. In my 
neighborhood they would say, ``Please.''
  While the administration has made a practice of misleading the 
American public on the true state of our Union and brushing issues 
under the rug, the Congressional Black Caucus has faced these 
challenges head on and offered real solutions. If we are to truly 
resolve this crisis, then we must face the facts.
  I have often talked about my little girl when she was 3 years old. 
She would say, Daddy, let's go play hide and go seek. And she would put 
her hands up to her face and stand directly in front of me and say, you 
cannot find me. Well, that is okay for a 3 year old, but we are here in 
the Congress of the United States of America making policy for over 247 
million people and affecting their lives on a daily basis. We have to 
be honest about what is going on in this body and in this city.
  Week after week the members of the Congressional Black Caucus come to 
this House floor to make the American people aware of the problems and 
challenges facing our country. Today we offered real and achievable 
solutions to those problems. Although others in the Congress do not 
seem to share our budget priorities, I hope that we will share the 
priorities of ensuring life, liberty and happiness of all Americans.
  Madam Speaker, we have one life to live. This is no dress rehearsal, 
and this so happens to be that life. The real truth, Madam Speaker, is 
that this is not a spending-driven deficit, as some of my colleagues on 
the other side of

[[Page 5350]]

the aisle would have us believe. This deficit crisis was created by 
fiscal mismanagement.
  In the corporate world, CEOs are held accountable to the bottom line. 
This November I hope all of America follows the corporate example and 
holds the CEO of this great Nation accountable for this government's 
bottom line that is now over $500 billion in the red.
  Madam Speaker, this Congress can do better. We can do better. We can 
do better for the American people, and the Congressional Black Caucus 
will continue to press this Congress to address the issues that go to 
the center of people's lives.
  It gives me great pleasure to yield to my colleague from the great 
State of California (Ms. Lee), who has been at the forefront of the 
things that I just talked about: a fair budget process, a budget 
process that balances our need to protect ourselves from enemies 
without and enemies within, by the way, and making sure that we do all 
of those things that are necessary to take care of Americans.
  Ms. LEE. Madam Speaker, let me thank the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. 
Cummings) for not only holding this Special Order tonight to discuss 
the misplaced priorities and the misallocated resources found in the 
Republican budget and to discuss our CBC alternative budget, but just 
for his leadership and his attempts to organize us to wake up America. 
Quite frankly, I do not think the majority of American people know the 
damage that is being done in this place each and every day. And thanks 
to the gentleman's leadership, we have the opportunity to come forward 
to present a vision of the world, of our country that we know is an 
American vision, a vision based on our values.
  So I want to thank the gentleman for his leadership and just hope 
that the gentleman's district understands how important you are to our 
caucus and to this entire Congress for helping us move our agenda 
forward. Let me also mention and thank my colleague, the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Scott), who is a member of the Committee on the Budget 
and he is a leader in our caucus on the budget. I want to just thank 
the gentleman for his very exceptional work in making this budget a 
very real and very progressive alternative for Members.
  I want to thank all of my colleagues who contributed to the process. 
I think that our work speaks for itself.
  As the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) indicated earlier, this 
budget received over 100 votes. That is a record vote, I believe, for 
the Congressional Black Caucus, and it is under the leadership of the 
gentleman that we achieved this vote. But this is the budget that 
really should have passed because it would have put America on the 
right fiscal track, and it also ensured the economic security for all 
Americans.
  During this debate and for weeks prior to today, we have made a clear 
case for why and how the Republican budget sacrifices our children, our 
senior citizens, our security, our environment, and our economy in 
order, really, to advance monied interests and to promote tax breaks 
for the wealthy. We have made it clear that we hold the President and 
this Republican-led House responsible, responsible for the largest 
deficit in history.
  The 5.6 trillion 10-year surplus projected when President Bush took 
office has been replaced by deficit as far as the eye can see. For 2004 
the budget proposes a record deficit of $521 billion. That is the 
budget they passed tonight. That is $146 billion more than the 2003 
deficit, and that was a historic record. It is a greedy budget. That is 
what this is. It gives to the few while sacrificing the needs of the 
many, and it gives the bill to our children and to their children. It 
is irresponsible, and it is unacceptable.
  Now, unlike the Republican budget, the Congressional Black Caucus 
substitute has its priorities really in the right place. It is based on 
fairness. It is based on fiscal responsibility. And it is based on the 
values that we hold dear. And it happens to be balanced. Instead of 
gutting foreign aid programs and woefully underfunding the promised 
global AIDS initiative, the Congressional Black Caucus alternative 
includes $800 million towards our commitment and our moral obligation 
to fight the devastating HIV/AIDS pandemic. And it also includes $1 
billion towards the global fund to fight aids, tuberculosis, and 
malaria.
  Instead of ignoring our neighbors in Haiti and the African continent, 
the Congressional Black Caucus budget adds $1 billion to critical 
development assistance to meet the critical needs in countries that 
really need our help the most.
  Instead of rolling back our environmental programs, which the Bush 
budget does, and cutting badly needed enforcement programs at the 
Environmental Protection Agency, the Congressional Black Caucus's 
budget enhances them to ensure that our children and families have 
access to clean water and clean air. The Bush budget ensures that they 
have less access to clean air and clean water.
  Now, California has 97 sites contaminated with toxic waste. These 
sites are on the national priority Superfund list and 38 sites are 
likely to be affected by failing to fully fund the Superfund program. 
The Republican budget also cuts clean water funding by 37 percent 
nationwide and that is mind boggling; 37 percent which is over a $35 
million cut in funding just for my home State of California alone.
  Instead of leaving millions of our children behind in education and 
in training, they cut job training almost out for the most part and 
turn a blind eye to the millions of unemployed Americans, as the Bush 
budget does, the Congressional Black Caucus budget increases funding 
for school construction, for Head Start, for GEAR UP, for Perkins 
loans, for Pell grants, for job training which we so desperately need 
in an economy where so many millions of our people are unemployed. 
Also, funding for historically black universities, it fully up-funds 
the fiscal year 2005 authorization level for Leave No Child Behind.
  Instead of cutting funding for housing, we do have an affordable 
housing crisis in this country. My home State of California is off the 
scale. Our budget puts more resources into housing. Affordable housing, 
or the lack thereof, is really a national disgrace; and it is a 
national emergency. Housing is, or rather it should be, a basic human 
right; and, unfortunately, it remains ignored and underfunded in the 
Republican budget again this year. And we are seeing an increasing 
number of homeless people out there on the streets of America, the most 
powerful and wealthiest country in the world.
  Currently there are over 2 million households assisted by rental 
vouchers and turnover in this program is very low. Thirty-seven percent 
of vouchers are used to house our most vulnerable citizens, namely, 
senior citizens and persons with disabilities. This budget barely funds 
the 1.75 million in rental vouchers. The Bush budget for HUD proposes 
that public housing authorities scramble to cover the $1.7 billion 
costs needed to fund the remaining 250,000 vouchers and to ensure that 
housing remains available to special needs populations.
  Now, this ultimately means that a quarter of a million section 8 
recipients, current section 8 recipients, not those in waiting lines 
and on the list but current section 8 recipients, they will lose their 
vouchers or they will be forced by the public housing authorities to 
increase the amount of rent that they pay. Where in the world are they 
going to find the money? Where are the jobs? They do not have the jobs. 
They do not have the resources to afford to pay more rent.

                              {time}  1945

  This is just downright cruel. In my district alone, 3,000 families 
who are currently using section 8 vouchers to pay their rent will lose 
their homes. This is unacceptable. This is unconscionable.
  The Bush administration must fully fund and take responsibility for 
our most vulnerable families living in the section 8 program; but, of 
course, the budget that they passed out tonight did not do that. Ours 
did.
  In the area of crime, the Congressional Black Caucus budget keeps our

[[Page 5351]]

commitments to our local law enforcement agencies by providing real 
funding programs like the community policing efforts, like the 
Department of Justice reentry initiatives.
  Under the Republican budget, the COPS program would be slashed by 87 
percent, 87 percent. Crime rates are going up in certain communities. 
Of course, we know the reasons, but community policing has been a 
remedy and a way to really affect in a very positive way the reduction 
of crime in many of our neighborhoods; but again, the budget that they 
passed out tonight cut the COPS program by 87 percent.
  The Republican budget underfunds homeland security programs. The Bush 
administration budget cuts first responder funding by $648 million and 
cuts port security grants by 63 percent, and they talk about homeland 
security. Yes, homeland security is very important. We must ensure the 
homeland, but we have got to pay for it. We have got to pay for it, and 
cutting port security grants by 63 percent does not tell me that this 
administration is committed to homeland security.
  The House Republican budget is even worse. It cuts homeland security 
funding by an additional $155 million in 2005 and $857 million over 5 
years. What a sham. Currently, 95 percent of all North American and 
U.S. trade moves by sea, concentrated mostly in a handful of ports. 
Only about 5 percent of the cargo containers that enter the United 
States are screened, 5 percent. Any one of these containers, the vast 
majority of which do not have tamper-resistant seals, could hold a 
deadly threat, a disease hidden in a shipment of foreign fruit, 
radioactive material hidden in frozen seafood, or an explosive device.
  Instead of skimping on homeland security, our budget, the 
Congressional Black Caucus budget, provides the necessary resources for 
the Department of Homeland Security to fully begin protecting America's 
rails and ports, and we provide significant resources for our first 
responders, the first line of defense in the event of an attack.
  Homeland security, dealing with terrorism, we have got to get this 
administration to understand they have got to support this. They have 
got to support homeland security and our first line of defenders, our 
police officers, our firefighters, our emergency workers, our health 
workers.
  What the CBC does not provide for is $9 billion a year for ballistic 
missile defense. Missile defense merely diverts terribly scarce 
resources into a program that does not meet our most urgent security 
needs and probably will not work in any case. Let us be clear, 
ballistic missile defense, better known as Star Wars, would not have 
prevented September 11, and the approach taken in the Republican budget 
will not prevent its recurrence.
  One other thing the Congressional Black Caucus does not provide, 
Halliburton's license to steal, by withholding payments to the company 
that has overcharged taxpayers. That is what we did in our budget. This 
amounts to over $300 million. I do not know if the American people 
understand that the budget that the Bush administration and that 
Congress reported out tonight pays Halliburton, gives them money for 
violating the law. Unbelievable to me, unbelievable.
  Let me just read my colleague a list of some of the programs being 
eliminated, not cut. These are some of the programs being eliminated in 
the Bush budget to feed this military spending. They are eliminating 
alcohol abuse reduction, arts and education, close-up fellowships, 
community technology centers, comprehensive school reform, 
demonstration projects to ensure quality higher education for students 
with disabilities. They are taking $7 million out of that. They are 
eliminating that. Dropout prevention programs, they are eliminating. 
Dropout prevention programs. Dropout prevention programs.
  They are eliminating the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Math 
and Science Education, Elementary and Secondary School Counseling, Even 
Start, the Excellence in Economic Education program. They are 
eliminating literacy programs for prisoners. My God, what are we going 
to do? They will be getting out sooner or later and no skills, no job 
training, no jobs. What do we expect in terms of the recidivism rate, 
and here they are cutting out the literacy program for prisoners.
  They are eliminating the Migrant and Seasonal Farm Workers programs, 
the National Writing Project, Parental Information and Resource 
Centers. Recreational programs, eliminate $3 million. They really cut 
out really all the federally funded recreational programs for kids. 
Regional Technology in Education.
  They eliminate Smaller Learning Communities. They eliminate, here is 
another one, State Grants for Incarcerated Youth Offenders. They 
decimate that program. They gut it. It is gone. It is gone.
  They eliminate Vocational Education National programs. They eliminate 
the Women's Educational Equity program. They eliminate the Early 
Learning Opportunities Fund, the National Youth Sports. They eliminate 
Community Food and Nutrition Efforts. They close that down. They shut 
it down. They shut down the Rural Community Facilities.
  They shut down Hope VI, which revitalizes many of our communities, 
our urban communities where the unemployment rates are soaring. They 
finish, they cut out, they eliminate Empowerment Zones which have 
provided the opportunity to create jobs and to create economic 
opportunities for minority- and women-owned businesses and small 
businesses. The Bush administration just cuts that. They cut it out. It 
is gone.
  The more I look at that, the more upset I get. It is very hard to 
convey the depth of my anger at this budget.
  Brownfields Redevelopment they cut that out. Rural Housing and 
Economic Development programs they are cutting out.
  I mentioned all the COPS programs and law enforcement programs they 
are just taking away. They are cutting out juvenile accountability 
block grants. They are taking away migrant and seasonal farm workers 
programs. I do not know if the American people know about all these 
programs that, like I said, are not being cut, they are being 
eliminated. They are gone. They are gone.
  The Tech Prep Education State grants, $107 million, that is done. 
That is finished.
  Madam Speaker, I will insert this list into the Record tonight at 
this point.

                              Zero Funding

       The Bush administration proposes to eliminate the following 
     programs in fiscal 2005:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     2004 funding        Reason for
              Program                (in millions)       termination
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commerce:
    Advanced Technology Program...            $171  Duplicates private-
                                                     sector efforts.
    Technology Opportunities                    14  Diminished need.
     Program.
    Continued Dumping and Subsidy              293  To save money.
     Offset Act.
Education:
    Alcohol Abuse Reduction.......              30  Duplicates other
                                                     programs.
    Arts in Education.............              35  To fund higher
                                                     priorities.
    B.J. Stupak Olympic                          1  Duplicates other
     Scholarships.                                   programs.
    Close-Up Fellowships..........               1  Duplicates private-
                                                     sector efforts.
    Community Technology Centers..              10  Duplicates other
                                                     programs.
    Comprehensive School Reform...             234  Duplicates other
                                                     programs.
    Demonstration Projects To                    7  Goals achieved.
     Ensure Quality Higher
     Education for Students With
     Disabilities.
    Dropout Prevention Programs...               5  Duplicates other
                                                     programs.
    Eisenhower National                          5  Duplicates other
     Clearinghouse for Math and                      programs.
     Science Education.
    Eisenhower Regional Math and                15  Duplicates other
     Science Education Consortia.                    programs.
    Elementary and Secondary                    34  Duplicates other
     School Counseling.                              programs.
    Even Start....................             247  Goals not met.

[[Page 5352]]

 
    Excellence in Economic                       1  Duplicates other
     Education.                                      programs.
    Exchanges With Historic                      9  To fund higher
     Whaling and Trading Partners.                   priorities.
    Federal Perkins Loans; Capital              99  Duplicates other
     Contributions.                                  programs.
    Foreign Language Assistance...              17  Duplicates other
                                                     programs.
    Javits Gifted and Talented                  11  Duplicates other
     Education.                                      programs.
    Leveraging Educational                      66  Goals achieved.
     Assistance Partnerships.
    Literacy Programs for                        5  Duplicates other
     Prisoners.                                      programs.
    Migrant and Seasonal                         2  Duplicates other
     Farmworkers.                                    programs.
    National Writing Project......              18  Duplicates other
                                                     programs.
    Occupational and Employment                  9  To be merged with
     Information.                                    other programs.
    Parental Information and                    42  Duplicates other
     Resource Centers.                               programs.
    Projects With Industry........              22  Duplicates other
                                                     programs.
    Ready To Teach................              14  Duplicates other
                                                     programs.
    Recreational Programs.........               3  Duplicates other
                                                     programs.
    Regional Educational                        67  Goals not met.
     Laboratories.
    Regional Technology in                      10  Duplicates other
     Education Consortia.                            programs.
    School Leadership.............              12  Duplicates other
                                                     programs.
    Smaller Learning Communities..             174  Duplicates other
                                                     programs.
    Star Schools..................              20  Duplicates other
                                                     programs.
    State Grants for Incarcerated               20  Limited impact.
     Youth Offenders.
    Supported Employment State                  38  Goals achieved.
     Grants.
    Tech-Prep Demonstration.......               5  Duplicates other
                                                     programs.
    Tech-Prep Education State                  107  Duplicates other
     Grants.                                         programs.
    Underground Railroad Program..               2  Goals achieved.
    Vocational Education National               12  Duplicates other
     Programs.                                       programs.
    Women's Educational Equity....               3  Duplicates other
                                                     programs.
Health and Human Services:
    Early Learning Opportunities                34  Duplicates other
     Fund.                                           programs.
    National Youth Sports.........              18  Duplicates other
                                                     programs.
    Community Food and Nutrition..               7  Duplicates other
                                                     programs.
    Rural Community Facilities....               7  Duplicates other
                                                     programs.
Homeland Security: Metropolitan                 50  Goals achieved.
 Medical Response System.
Housing and Urban Development:
    Community Development Block                334  Congressional add-
     Grant.                                          on.
    HOPE VI Revitalization of                  149  Goals achieved.
     Severely Distressed Public
     Housing.
    Empowerment Zones.............              15  Funding not needed.
    Community Development Loan                   7  Accomplishments not
     Guarantees.                                     measured.
    Public Housing Drug                          0  Limited results.
     Elimination Program.
    Brownfields Redevelopment.....              25  Accomplishments not
                                                     reported.
    Rural Housing and Economic                  25  Duplicates other
     Development.                                    programs.
Environmental Protection Agency:               511  Congressional add-
 Unrequested Project Funding.                        on.
Interior: National Park Service                 13  Secondary to
 Statutory Aid.                                      mission.
Justice:
    Edward Byrne Memorial Grant                704  Merged with other
     Program.                                        programs.
    Local Law Enforcement Block                223  Merged with other
     Grants.                                         programs.
    COPS Hiring Grants............             119  Merged with other
                                                     programs.
    State Criminal Alien                       297  Results not
     Assistance Program.                             demonstrated.
    COPS Law Enforcement                       157  Duplicates other
     Technology Grants.                              programs.
    COPS Interoperable                          84  Responsibility
     Communications Technology                       transferred to
     Grants.                                         Homeland Security.
    Juvenile Accountability Block               59  Results not
     Grants.                                         demonstrated.
Labor: Migrant Seasonal                         77  Ineffective.
 Farmworkers.
Small Business Administration:                  17  Expensive;
 Microloan Program.                                  duplicates
                                                     assistance.
U.S. Postal Service: Foregone                   29  Eliminates reduced
 Revenue for Reduced Mail Rate.                      rates for some
                                                     nonprofit mailers.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Office of Management and Budget.

  Madam Speaker, let me just finally say that this Bush budget embodies 
values that are quite un-American, if you ask me. It is fiscally 
irresponsible. It mortgages our children's future, and it decimates the 
lives of the least of these. It is not compassionate. In fact, it is 
really downright mean-spirited, and I hope that the American people 
understand that this administration is bankrupting our children and 
their future, and they are investing in money interests and privileges 
for the few.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman for her 
statement.
  Madam Speaker, as I listened to the gentlewoman speak, I could not 
help but think about the fact that when I listened to the other side 
talk, it seems as if they forget sometimes what the American spirit is 
all about and what makes America great.
  One of the things that makes America great is that we view ourselves 
like the human body, and if there is a part of us, a part of the body 
that is suffering or a part of the body that needs healing, then it is 
like the entire body has a problem, and that is one of the things that 
makes this country so great.
  I shall never forget when I went to Bosnia several years ago with 
President Clinton and we were talking with the leaders over there in 
Bosnia about how it is that we had quite a few troops over there but 
not one troop, not one of our personnel was harmed. I asked the 
question, Why do you think that is? These leaders all agreed, they said 
because America has a spirit and they know that if one American is 
harmed, they will pay big time, and that has been our spirit. That was 
been our strength.
  I listened to all of the things that the gentlewoman from California 
(Ms. Lee) was talking about, the programs being eliminated. You are 
talking about things that help people be all that they can be. I 
believe that our children, something as simple as arts and education, 
that is something where we know that children in so many instances 
already have the talent within them, and it is up to us as grown-ups to 
do those things that are responsible for helping to bring it out of 
them so that they can share with the world.
  When I think about Empowerment Zones, many people in these 
Empowerment Zone areas, because we have one in the city of Baltimore 
where I represent, and people are trying to climb up, and they have 
been told in many instances in the past, pull yourself up by your boot 
straps; but they did have not any boots, let alone straps. So they were 
pulling themselves up by their fingernails and then the Empowerment 
Zone comes about and helps them get on their feet. They are able to 
create businesses, to get people employed, pay back into the State tax 
coffers and the Federal Government coffers, and then we are in a better 
situation, but more importantly, we have built a person.
  Then I think about the COPS program that you mentioned. It is very 
important that people feel safe in their environment. That is just 
crucial, and the COPS program has done so much. We saw all over this 
country for years the crime rate going down; and now slowly but surely 
in many of our jurisdictions, slowly we are seeing it rise back up, but 
when you have cops on the beat, the fact is their presence, just their 
mere presence is a deterrent to crime.
  So we talk about the Hope VI program. This is a program in Baltimore 
that we have seen, I think we have six or seven Hope VI projects, but 
as I have said, on many occasions and for those who may not know what 
it is, it is basically a program that allows many mainly urban areas to 
tear down high-rise developments and then build more or less low-rise 
and mixed-income developments. Baltimore has changed the landscape of 
our city and allowed people to own homes who would not normally own 
homes. It has revitalized

[[Page 5353]]

our cities in areas that were decaying. Those areas have not sprouted 
up, and I said in an opening of one of the IMF Hope VI projects about 2 
are 3 months ago that it was like having Andy and Mayberry in the 
middle of Baltimore City.
  So those are the things that go to making people's lives better on a 
day-to-day basis. Those are the things that we talk about. We hear 
people say tax-and-spend liberals. Well, that does not apply to this 
side. The fact is that we are spending a lot of money, the other side 
is, that is, but what about the human development, so that people will 
have an opportunity to live the best lives that they can?
  So the fact is that we can do better.
  Ms. LEE. If the gentleman would yield for just a moment, let me just 
comment on what you have said in terms of our values, looking out for 
each other, making sure that all Americans have equal opportunity.

                              {time}  2000

  Madam Speaker, the insidious and the sinister nature of this Bush 
budget is that so many of these efforts and programs which have been 
eliminated or cut affect the African American, the Latino and the Asian 
Pacific Islander communities. They affect low-income individuals, poor 
people.
  Now, what kind of values do we have if we are going to do that? That 
is not the American way from what I know. I think we need to make sure 
that the country understands that there are communities that are 
impacted by this budget, and then there are communities that are 
severely impacted by this budget and will take us back 50 years if this 
passes.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. We just had a situation in my district where a water 
taxi capsized in a storm. Unfortunately, there were some deaths, but we 
also had a well-trained Navy Reserve unit which so happened to be in 
the vicinity. If it had not been for them, some 20-odd lives would not 
have been saved. During our discussions about this incident, one of the 
things that we talked about was homeland security. The Naval reservists 
were saying when incidents like this happen, if they have the kinds of 
equipment that they would have to have for homeland security, it would 
make their jobs so much easier.
  A lot of people say what happened on 9/11 will not happen again; I 
have heard people say it only happens once. Then we had the Madrid 
train situation, and the fact is, when we talk about homeland security 
and talk about our port situation, we have the Port of Baltimore; and 
in talking to the people at our port, they tell us that one drug load 
could come in and could do so much damage to our city and citizens. And 
yet we are cutting back on ports?
  Ms. LEE. First responder funding, police, firefighters, health care 
emergency workers, we are cutting $648 million out of that budget. We 
are cutting port security grants by 63 percent. This totals, in terms 
of homeland security, an additional $155 million in 2005 and $857 
million for 5 years. What kind of real war on terrorism do we have? 
What kind of commitment do we have to secure America, to secure people 
in our country?
  We will have to look at it in a way that we have not looked at it 
before if in fact these numbers hold in the Bush budget.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. In the Baltimore incident, what they said was, if you 
have the equipment you need for emergencies, like if there was some 
type of attack on our port or our city, even if that did not happen, 
just being prepared for it puts us in a position to be able to address 
issues that would probably have a higher likelihood of taking place. It 
is not like the equipment sits in a corner waiting for some terrorist 
to come along. And they also talked about the training that they have 
been involved in, and said their training was helpful.
  Again, we hear mayors from all over the country, large and small 
cities, saying, we want to be prepared, we want to protect our people. 
We are the ones that have to address our firefighters and our police 
personnel and those who do emergency work. All they want is to make 
sure that they have the things that are necessary to do their job.
  Ms. LEE. Madam Speaker, if the gentleman would yield, that is 
extremely important because having the resources there to do their job 
reduces the anxiety level. It reduces the fear factor which people 
quite naturally have at this point in our time.
  I do not believe this administration wants people to feel that level 
of security. They like to keep them unstable and fearful and worried, 
and that is just downright wrong.
  I think this budget really reflects exactly what the gentleman said. 
We do not have the equipment. Our first responders, our counties and 
cities, do not have what they need. People know they do not have what 
they need, and they are afraid. People need to rise up and tell the 
Bush administration to fully fund homeland security.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Madam Speaker, the gentlewoman also mentioned job 
training, which is so very important. The gentlewoman said there are 
cuts in job training.
  Ms. LEE. Big cuts in job training.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. There are so many people out of work. I was speaking to 
a colleague from Ohio, and he was saying hundreds of thousands of jobs 
are cut, gone. And he talked about how important it is to have job 
training, so if opportunities come, people will be in a position to 
take advantage of it. It is one thing to have opportunity, it is 
another thing to be prepared to take advantage of it.
  It just seems to me as we see so many of our relatives and our 
neighbors out of a job, 9 million of them in our country, it seems to 
me that, if anything, we would be trying to increase the funds for job 
training so that people will be prepared for opportunity were it to 
come along. But yet and still, and the President keeps telling us jobs 
are coming, we have not seen them yet, but assuming he is right, if 
they are not prepared, what difference does it really make?
  Ms. LEE. Madam Speaker, I think I have the answer to why they cut job 
training, and that is, they do not know where the jobs are coming from 
and what to train people for. First, we have lost the service industry. 
We have lost manufacturing, and we are outsourcing high tech. What is 
left?
  We had a hearing several weeks ago with Alan Greenspan, and we talked 
to him about the economy and job losses. I asked Chairman Greenspan, 
What do we tell our young people? How do we tell them to play by the 
rules, go to school and develop some skills and some know-how because 
there is a job at the end of the road? And he could not answer that.
  We asked where the jobs will be in the future, what industries, what 
sectors do we train people for? In what regions, and what jobs are 
going to be available in 2 to 3 years? And there was no answer for that 
question. I suspect the reason they cut job training is because they do 
not have a clue what kinds of jobs are out there in the future to train 
for.
  Mr. Greenspan indicated if he did not believe those jobs were going 
to be out there, he would be as upset as I am, and he believes they are 
out there, but he never told us where.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. When we talk about Pell grants, and we see so many 
students who work so hard and they finally get to college. I am a 
graduate of Howard University, and since 1973, I have gone back to 
every graduation because I want to see the young people emerge and go 
out into the world. It is a good feeling that I get from seeing that.
  But to know there are students today like the ones we saw down at 
Florida A&M and Prairie View A&M, at Morgan State and Howard, so many 
of them have gotten there. They have gone through so many difficulties, 
and they finally get to college. And many of them, although it is 
recommended that they not work in their first year, they are working 
and doing whatever they can do to make ends meet to be able to pay the 
tuition payments. I think it was at Prairie View when they did a survey 
of income of the parents, it was less than $40,000 combined average. So 
the parents simply do not have it.

[[Page 5354]]

  So we have students who are giving it the best they can. They have 
dreamed of being a doctor or nurse or lawyer or teacher, and finally 
they get that acceptance letter and they are able to scrape together 
some money and, maybe their cousin or Aunt Sally gives them money for 
their graduation present from high school, and they get there and then 
they find out that the Pell grant that they are getting, even combined 
with other sources of income, even the money they get from working a 
part-time job is not enough.
  The sad part about it is, I believe such students at Morgan who have 
to drop out, and we have not done a survey, but we believe many of them 
never return. What that means is their income is affected for the rest 
of their lives. They live a totally different life. If they had gotten 
a college education, they would be able to do better for their children 
and have more opportunities and be able to open more doors for future 
generations.
  So in this country, that is probably the richest country in the 
world, we fail to properly make sure that they have that support system 
that they need. I think that is a shame.
  Ms. LEE. Going back to the Congressional Black Caucus' budget, we 
increased the funding for Pell grants and for our young people so they 
do not have to deal with the very situation that the gentleman 
described.
  Taking it just a little further, those that somehow make it through 
start looking for job. There are no jobs out there; but if in fact we 
created an infrastructure, development initiative, if we invested in 
our economy by investing in health care, if we invested by establishing 
the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund to increase the production 
of affordable housing in this country, we would be able to create jobs 
by creating an investment in our country and in our communities for 
areas that people need.
  People need health care and housing and transportation. We need 
schools to be fixed and we need construction projects going on. There 
are so many millions of jobs that could be created if we just invested 
our Federal resources into this instead of the military machine for 
weapons which feed the military industrial complex.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. In the State of Maryland, almost every one of our 
schools that prepare young people for nursing are community colleges 
and our 4-year colleges have long waiting lists. They cannot 
accommodate, they do not have the resources to accommodate the students 
that are qualified. Yet and still, we have a phenomenal nursing 
shortage. That just boggles the mind: These young people who are 
prepared to work in a profession where there is a demand, and that is a 
major problem. Those are the kinds of things that we should be 
addressing, when we have young people standing in line to do what they 
have wanted to do for the last 10 years, and do not have the chance to 
be able to do it.
  Ms. LEE. There has to be the political will to do that, and the 
future has to be a priority in terms of the budget priority. You have 
to see young people as being our future, those who are going to really 
take over the world, and we have not invested in our young people. We 
have not developed an educational system that will allow them to 
develop, learn and grow and move forward.
  Again, Leave No Child Behind is a classic example. It is $9.4 billion 
underfunded.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. The Bible says, Where there is no vision, the people 
perish. And the question is, and the gentlewoman hit the nail on the 
head, what is the vision that we have as opposed to what the other side 
of the aisle and our President have?
  I think our vision is for a better America, an America where each 
person has an opportunity, just as all these Congresspeople have had, 
to use all of the things that are within them to be the best that they 
can be. We have tried in our budget to make sure that we did everything 
that we could to make sure that they had fertile ground to develop and 
be all they can be.

                              {time}  2015

  Ms. LEE. I want to thank again the gentleman from Maryland for his 
leadership and for insisting that the Congressional Black Caucus put 
forth this vision, a vision that is based on true American values, a 
vision that is based on equality and justice, a vision that is based on 
fiscal responsibility, a vision that is based on not mortgaging our 
children's future; and it is a vision for the country that I know 
someday will be seen by those on the other side. It is just a matter of 
time.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Madam Speaker, on behalf of the Congressional Black 
Caucus, as I have said before, we may not win every battle, but we 
certainly will stand up over and over again. It is so amazing to me 
that at the end of each one of these Special Orders, Madam Speaker, 
when we go back to our offices, we have calls from Americans. They are 
not just African Americans. As a matter of fact, most of them are not. 
These are people calling from various States throughout the country. 
What they are saying is thank you for informing us and thank you for at 
least giving us the other side of the story, because we did not get it. 
We did not hear that anywhere else. We may not win. We may not win 
today, but at least we plant the seeds in the minds of the American 
people and hopefully in the minds of this Congress that there is, in 
fact, a better way.
  Ms. LEE. Yes, there is a better way. I think Dr. King, reflecting 
upon him right now, showed us a better way and told us that there was a 
better way. He told us how the bombs bursting in Vietnam would explode 
here in the ghettos of America if in fact our spending priorities were 
not reordered. Those who care about Dr. King and celebrate his birthday 
in January need to celebrate his life each and every day by executing 
his vision. We have the opportunity to do that. What an honor. We have 
been elected to Congress to be able to create a better world. In fact, 
when we do not take those opportunities to do that, I worry for us. I 
worry for our country.
  I say, thank God for the Congressional Black Caucus. If it were not 
for the Congressional Black Caucus, I do not know if, in fact, any of 
these issues would be crystallized in the way that they are being 
crystallized as a result of our efforts. I want to thank the gentleman, 
even though I know it is very difficult sometimes dealing with 39 of us 
who all have ideas. But the chairman incorporates all of our ideas and 
comes up with a magnificent document each and every year. I think that 
sooner or later our budget will be the budget. It will be the budget 
that is passed by this House and the other body, and it will be in the 
White House, and we will someday see our vision for America and for the 
world as being the American Dream realized and in action.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Last but not least, Madam Speaker, it was the 
songwriter Tracy Chapman who wrote the brilliant words: ``Either we 
change or we live and die this way.'' And so the Congressional Black 
Caucus is about the business of changing for the better, changing so 
that all people may rise up and be all that God meant for them to be, 
but at the same time we present a budget which is fiscally responsible. 
That too is very important to us.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I want to thank 
the Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Mr. Cummings, for his 
steadfast support of the development of this budget alternate. I also 
want to thank Ms. Majette and Mr. Scott for their leadership. I 
appreciate and applaud their steady stream of ideas and positions on 
issues we all care about. I also would like to thank all of the members 
of the CBC and their staff for their help in completing this very 
worthwhile project.
  The Republican budget proposal clearly ignores the needs of Texas and 
of all working Americans. The Republican budget borrows from future 
generations to pay for today's tax cuts and federal spending. It 
reduces taxes on the wealthiest Americans and slams the door on 
economic opportunity for working families. Neither of these outcomes is 
in our nation's best interest.
  Madam Speaker, President Bush inherited a federal surplus of $127 
billion in 2001. His tax cuts give us a deficit of $521 billion, an 
all-time record, in 2004. Recently, the non-partisan Congressional 
Budget Office forecast

[[Page 5355]]

that rather than cutting the deficit in half over the next five years, 
as the President pledged, his budget policies will result in increasing 
it by $2.75 trillion. That's an astounding and mind-boggling amount to 
add to the national debt over the coming decade.
  The CBC budget fights for social justice. It advocates for the poor 
that are left out and forgotten, and more specifically African 
Americans and other neglected minorities. The budget of the 
Congressional Black Caucus fully funds No Child Left Behind, it 
provides funds for school construction, and it increases funding for 
other education and job training programs. The CBC alternative also 
provides funding for the minority health initiative, health insurance 
for the uninsured, it supports child nutrition programs, it funds job 
creation programs under the SBA, and it extends unemployment insurance 
benefits. The alternative budget also eliminates the disabled veteran's 
tax.
  The funding for these important domestic needs comes from two 
sources: (1) a reduction in the tax cuts from 2001 and 2003 for an 
individual's adjusted gross income that exceeds $200,000, and (2) the 
closing of tax loopholes, abusive tax shelters, and methods of tax 
avoidance. These funds total an estimated $35.5 billion in FY05, and 
are used for the domestic and deficit reduction portions of the 
alternative budget.
  I ask, Madam Speaker, that Members of this body give serious 
consideration to both the debate and to the challenge.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today with great fear 
over the direction that the Republican Party and this Administration is 
taking our great nation. My concern is based primarily on the national 
budget which was just voted on. The Nussle budget clearly did not 
improve upon the severely flawed Bush Administration budget. The needs 
of average Americans were still ignored. The interests of a wealthy few 
outweighed the needs of an entire nation in this budget. I say this not 
out of partisanship, but from a statement of the facts. I want to 
highlight a few areas in this budget that are particularly egregious.


                               education

  This President and the majority party in this body have spent so much 
time talking about their record on education and as hard as I try I 
cannot see what they have to be proud of. It is one thing to address 
areas of critical need with rhetoric, but to advocate a policy and then 
not fund it sufficiently is plain irresponsible. At the top of the list 
of my concerns is the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the fact that 
it has become an unfunded mandate. The House Republican resolution 
provides at least $8.8 billion less than the $34.3 billion authorized 
for education programs under the ``No Child Left Behind'' Act for 2005. 
The CBC alternative budget is the only one that fully funds the ``No 
Child Left Behind'' Act of 2005. Without this program being fully 
funded low funding millions of elementary and secondary school students 
are left without the services Congress and the President promised just 
two years ago. For example, the Republican budget denies Title I 
services to 2.4 million students who quality under the Act.
  But the irresponsibility does not end with No Child Left Behind. For 
the third straight year the Republican Party has frozen the funding 
level for Pell Grants. Both the Republicans and the President freeze 
the maximum Pell Grant award at the 2003 level of $4,050, with an 
average grant of $2,399. Such small Pell Grants make college 
unaffordable for millions of students: the College Board reports that 
tuition and fees at 4-year public colleges today average $4,694. In any 
market this gap would be hard to swallow, but with the current state of 
joblessness that the Republican Party's agenda has created it is near 
impossible for so many American families to send their children to 
college. I fear that this agenda if allowed to continue will cause a 
perpetual state where our American families aren't able to succeed. The 
CBC budget would ease the difficulty on the plethora of American 
families having problems funding their children's education. It 
guarantees almost $2 billion more for the Pell Grant, raising the 
maximum level to $4,500, an 11 percent increase over the maximum under 
the Republican Budget.
  In addition to this the CBC budget provides even more benefits to our 
education system. It adds a combined total of $18.7 billion to 
educational spending which will greatly reduce the stress placed on our 
educational system today.
  But education is not limited to elementary and secondary schools and 
colleges and universities. Education is a lifelong endeavor. And with 
that in mind the CBC budget proposes an additional $2 billion for Job 
Training, Vocational Education, and Adult Education. Such funding will 
provide countless Americans the ability to improve their lives, their 
families, their communities, and their nation. The Republican budget 
underfunds our education and our future.


                                veterans

  Our brave American veterans are another group who were outraged by 
the President's budget and will unfortunately be disappointed with the 
Republican House Budget. The majority party argues continuously about 
the greatness of our Armed Forces, and their right, but again it's just 
empty rhetoric on their part. Those brave men and women fighting on the 
front lines in our War Against Terror will come back home and find that 
the Republican Party looks at them differently once they become 
veterans. They are no longer treated as great heroes. Instead they are 
viewed as a nuisance and a way to cut the budget.
  Almost all veterans need some form of health care, some will need 
drastic care for the rest of their lives because of the sacrifice they 
made in war, but the Republican Party continues to turn a blind eye to 
their needs. On a bipartisan basis, the Committee on Veterans' Affairs 
recommended that $2.5 million more than the President's budget was 
needed to maintain vital health care programs for veterans. 
Nevertheless, the House Republican budget provides $1.3 billion less 
than what the Committee recommended for 2005. The CBC budget provides 
an extra $1.25 billion to meet the request of the Veterans' Affairs 
Committee.
  The entire Department of Veterans Affairs is going to suffer because 
of the Republican agenda. Over the next five years the money allocated 
to the Department of Veterans Affairs will not even be able to maintain 
these programs at their current levels. In 2007, the budget is $227 
million less than what the Department of Veterans Affairs needs to keep 
pace with inflation. Over five years, the Republican budget cuts $1.6 
billion from the total needed to maintain services at the 2004 level. 
I've heard from veterans groups throughout my district in Houston and 
I'm sure each Member of this body has heard from groups in their own 
district because veterans are one group that come from all parts of 
this nation. These brave veterans have told me their stories of how 
they are suffering now with the current state of veterans affairs. I am 
going to have trouble telling them that not only will things continue 
to stay bad but things will only continue to get worse. That is not 
what our returing soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan should have to 
look forward to, a future where their needs are not only not provided 
for, but are in fact ignored.
  The CBC budget provides an extra $8.7 billion in total veterans 
spending. An increase that is sure to fix many of the aforementioned 
problems. Of that extra funding $3.6 billion will be dedicated to fund 
the Montgomery GI Bill. This program is, and has been, one of the most 
important veterans programs around, and I for one will not allow it to 
be underfunded. Finally, the CBC budget will give $2.5 billion and $25 
billion over ten years to help eliminate the tax on disabled veterans 
known as concurrent receipts. While the Administration's tax cuts are 
doled out to the wealthiest Americans this budget will aid those who 
really need our help, our veterans.


        irresponsible republican policies and homeland security

  Education and Veterans Affairs make up only two areas where 
Republican budget fails Americans. The truth is there are many other 
programs and services vital to our nation that are at risk because of 
the Republican agenda. At this point, an average American may be asking 
why the Republican Party finds it necessary to cut so many fundamental 
programs. The answer is simple, yet disturbing; the majority party is 
cutting important programs in order to finance all their irresponsible 
tax cuts. They will continue to make the argument that tax cuts provide 
stimulus for our economy, but millions of unemployed Americans will 
tell you otherwise. In fact the Congressional Budget Office itself said 
``tax legislation will probably have a net negative effect on saving, 
investment, and capital accumulation over the next 10 years.''
  While the Republican Party continues its offensive for irresponsible 
tax policies they allow our national deficit to grow increasingly 
larger. The deficits are so large and their policies are so 
irresponsible that they won't even make deficit projections past 2009. 
It's clear that the Republican Party is hiding from the American 
people. This President and this majority in Congress have yet to 
advocate a fiscal policy that helps average Americans. Special 
interests have become king in this budget at the price of sound fiscal 
policies.
  The CBC budget will go a long way to solving this problem. Our goal 
is to help the common person not just the CEO. We want to protect the 
Average American who is struggling every day through these tough times 
just to get by. And this brings me to another key

[[Page 5356]]

problem with the Republican Budget. In what direction are they taking 
Homeland Security? The CBC budget provides an additional $2.4 billion 
in Homeland Security funding. It provides an extra $900 million for 
First Responders including the COPS Program and Citizen Corps and 
provides an extra $566 million for Port Security grants and an 
additional $250 million for Rail Security. We must keep American 
citizens out of harm's way and the CBC budget provides us with the 
resources to do that.


                         cbc alternative budget

  The truth about the budget is that a sound fiscal policy that funds 
needed programs is possible. The CBC Alternative Budget is an example 
of how we can get out of the quagmire that the Republican agenda has 
put this Nation in.

                          ____________________