[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 18]
[Senate]
[Pages 24656-24657]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               THE BUDGET

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I strongly oppose the Republican budget and 
the package of reconciliation bills we will be debating and have 
debated this past week. The Republican budget and the reconciliation 
bills are fiscally irresponsible and simply will increase the deficit, 
which is already staggering--$8 trillion.
  The budget and these reconciliation bills are based on the wrong 
values. They harm vulnerable Americans. And these cuts simply provide 
tax breaks for special interests. With so many other serious problems 
facing middle-class families and our Nation, the decision to focus on 
this reconciliation legislation reflects seriously misplaced 
priorities. Certainly, together we can do better than this.
  The budget of the United States ought to be a mirror of our Nation's 
values. The budget should reflect what we think is important, what we 
care about and what we don't. It says a lot about who we are and what 
we value as a people and a nation, this thing we call the budget.
  In essence, a budget is a moral document. Unfortunately, the 
Republican budget is an immoral document. That is not my term, Mr. 
President. That is the conclusion of some of our Nation's leading 
religious leaders who, citing scripture and the Bible, have urged all 
of us to oppose this budget reconciliation process. As Bishop Mark 
Hanson, the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in 
America, put it, ``This is not the time to cut . . . important programs 
while using the cuts to pay for tax breaks for those who don't need 
them.''
  My Republican friends will portray their budget as a way to reduce 
the deficit. In truth, their budget and these reconciliation bills 
actually make the deficit worse. In fact, debt under their budget would 
go up by about $3 trillion in just 5 years. That is fiscally 
responsible? No. It is irresponsible at any time but especially when we 
should be saving to prepare for the baby boomers' retirement.
  Let's review a little bit of the history. When this administration 
came to power, our Nation had finally put our fiscal house in order. 
After many years of deficits and raids on Social Security to pay for 
other programs, Democrats, without the help of a single Republican 
vote, stopped that practice.
  As a result of our efforts, this Nation ran a surplus from 1998 
through 2001, and it was projected we would enjoy surpluses as far as 
the eye could see. At the time, our future looked so bright that many 
economists, including Alan Greenspan, seriously worried about what 
would happen to financial markets if we eliminated our debt altogether. 
Unfortunately, in these 5 short years, with Washington Republicans in 
control of the House, the Senate, and the White House, we have moved 
from a period of record surpluses to a time of record deficits. Once 
again, we are raiding Social Security, and the deficits in each of the 
last 3 years have been higher than at any time before President Bush 
took office.
  This year, Social Security has had taken from it--I don't know the 
exact amount--about $175 billion to mask the deficit. The latest 
Republican budget before us will make matters even worse. While the 
majority has divided its budget in a way that obscures its overall 
effect, nobody should be fooled. Viewed as a whole, budget 
reconciliation would increase the deficit by more than $30 billion. 
After 5 years under their budget, our national debt would exceed $11 
trillion.
  But the problems with their budget go well beyond its fiscal 
irresponsibility. This budget reflects the wrong values. It puts more 
burdens on those already struggling. And if that isn't bad enough, it 
takes the sacrifices it demands of the less fortunate to partially pay 
for another round of large tax breaks for the elite of this country.
  Let's look at what is in the bill before us.
  The budget increases burdens on America's seniors by increasing 
Medicare premiums, and we have not seen what the House is going to give 
us.
  It cuts health care, both Medicare and Medicaid, by a total of $27 
billion.
  It cuts support for our farmers by $3 billion.
  It cuts housing.
  It allows drilling in an Alaskan wildlife refuge, at the behest of 
the oil and gas industry, even though this year they are going to make 
a $100 billion profit.
  If we take a look at what is happening in the House of 
Representatives,

[[Page 24657]]

we can see what is likely coming down the pike from them:

       Student loan cuts, food stamp cuts, cuts in child support 
     enforcement, deeper and more painful cuts in health care.

  Why? Why are we using expedited procedures for cuts that will harm 
millions of seniors and working Americans? Is it to reduce the deficit 
or to pay for Katrina? No; no on both counts. Is it to prepare for the 
avian flu? No. It is to provide congressional Republicans fiscal cover 
today so they can turn around tomorrow to provide tax breaks to special 
interests and multimillionaires.
  Let me be more specific. The capital gains and dividend tax breaks in 
the Republican budget would provide 53 percent of its benefits to those 
with incomes greater than $1 million. Those lucky few would get an 
average tax break of about $35,000.
  What about those with incomes between, say, $50,000 and $200,000? 
Well, they will get an average cut of $112. How about those with 
incomes of less than $50,000? Six dollars--$35,000 for those with 
incomes of more than $1 million, $6 for those earning less than 
$50,000. And to partially pay for these tax breaks, many Republicans 
now want to cut Medicare, cut Medicaid, cut agriculture, cut housing, 
cut student loans, cut child support enforcement, cut services on which 
Katrina survivors should be relying, cut benefits needed by our 
Nation's most vulnerable Americans.
  Now you know why some of our Nation's most respected religious 
leaders call this budget immoral. These choices do not reflect the best 
of American values. That is not what Americans would want. America can 
do better.
  Finally, beyond the fiscal irresponsibility of this budget and the 
disturbing choices it makes, there are other more important priorities 
the Senate should be addressing. Take, for example, skyrocketing prices 
of fuel. Families are struggling to fuel their vehicles and heat their 
homes. Farmers and businesses are feeling the pinch. Democrats have a 
plan to respond, to address price gouging, and ultimately make our 
Nation energy independent. That is more important than harming the 
vulnerable to provide tax breaks to special interests while increasing 
the deficit.
  Hurricane survivors are still struggling. Thousands lack health care 
coverage. More than 200,000 still live in motel and hotel rooms. 
Devastated communities have been forced into massive layoffs and are 
unable to provide even basic services, such as a place for kids to go 
to school. And many survivors who have lost everything are facing the 
threats of foreclosure and bankruptcy in homes that do not even exist. 
Democrats have a plan to address these urgent needs. That is more 
important than harming the vulnerable to provide tax breaks to special 
interests and multimillionaires while increasing the deficit.
  The Iraq war is not going well, as we all know. We were promised by 
this administration that it would. Mr. President, 2,036 American 
soldiers have been killed in Iraq. Tens of thousands have been wounded, 
badly injured; 150,000 more are still in harm's way in Iraq, while the 
administration still has no plan to end the conflict and bring them 
home. Instead of being greeted as liberators, the violence continues 
nearly 3 years after the start of this conflict. Our Nation badly needs 
a strategy for success, and that, too, is more important than harming 
the vulnerable to provide tax breaks to special interests and 
multimillionaires while increasing the deficit.
  I urge my colleagues to defeat this budget piece by piece. It is 
fiscally irresponsible. It is based on the wrong values and reflects 
the wrong priorities. I would hope together we could do better. Let's 
reject this budget, and let's focus on the real needs of the middle 
class and our Nation.

                          ____________________