[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 23290]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               THE PROBLEM WITH THE PROPOSED BUDGET CUTS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Watson) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I stand to oppose the misguided budget 
amendments that are being presented to us. These amendments will not 
help a post-Katrina plan, but would only add to the deficit. It would 
require spending cuts and new tax cuts that would mount up to $70 
billion, cuts that mostly benefit the wealthiest Americans at the 
expense of the poorest Americans.
  If these spending cuts were approved, they would probably do what I 
would consider to be Draconian cutting. They would cut Medicaid, food 
stamps, child care support, the earned income tax credit, and 
supplemental security income.
  I have a problem in my City of Los Angeles, and it is a homeless 
problem. There are over 80,000 homeless individuals that are on our 
streets, mostly in the evenings. They have problems with alcohol abuse, 
drug abuse, and mental illness. Over 33 percent of the homeless are 
mentally ill. And they are homeless. And why?
  Because we have cut out the programs that address this population; 
and not only did we do that, but under the Reagan administration we 
closed mental health hospitals. Money was to follow the patients into 
the community, and it never did.
  So if we are trying to be fiscally responsible, that means we are 
being irresponsible to the poorest of Americans. As Americans we cannot 
allow this to happen. If we are spreading democracy around the world, 
then we must live up to the principles and the tenets of its 
provisions. And its provisions say that every American has a right to 
be a recipient of the social services programs.
  Mr. Speaker, we cannot accept the amendments to the budget that are 
being proposed. They will weaken our homeland, its people, and our 
security.

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