[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 19]
[House]
[Pages 26010-26011]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           REPUBLICAN CREDIBILITY DROWNING IN SEA OF RED INK

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, today House Republicans had the audacity to 
claim that they are getting tough on spending, that they are restoring 
fiscal discipline. But I say to my friends on the other side of the 
aisle, who do you think you are kidding? Do you not think the American 
public is watching what you have done?
  Just this morning, USA Today reported on our Nation's dire fiscal 
conditions, quoting experts on both sides of the aisle.
  For example, the newspaper said: ``To hear Comptroller General David 
Walker tell it, the United States can be likened to Rome before the 
fall of the empire. Its financial condition is `worse than advertised.' 
It has a `broken business model.' It faces deficits in its budgets, its 
balance-of-payments, its savings, and its leadership.''
  The leadership, of course, of this city and this country is a 
Republican President, a Republican-led Senate, and a Republican-led 
House.
  Mr. Speaker, I have been a proud Member of this body for 25 years. 
For 17 of those years, a Republican has occupied the White House. I 
would suggest to my colleagues, there is one person and only one person 
in America that can stop spending in its tracks, and that is the 
President of the United States. No single Member of Congress, no single 
member of the Senate, but a President can say ``no'' to spending. So 
when Presidents lament spending, they lament what they have done.
  Here is the reality, Mr. Speaker: in every single one of those 17 
years, this country has had substantial deficits. Let me repeat that: 
17 years of Republican leadership and 17 straight years of deficits.
  The Republican budget reconciliation bill would only perpetuate that 
record of irresponsibility and recklessness. Why? Because the net 
effect of their reconciliation package would add $20 billion additional 
deficits in this country. Five years ago, the Bush administration and 
this Republican Congress inherited from a Democratic President a 10-
year budget surplus of $5.6 trillion and four consecutive budget 
surpluses from the Clinton administration.
  I call your attention to this chart: budget deficits, fiscal year 
1982, the first fiscal year for which Ronald Reagan was responsible, to 
fiscal year 2006, which is the current year we are budgeting for. Look 
at that, 17 straight years of Republican deficits, with no exception.
  Now the Republicans come to the floor and they say, oh, my goodness, 
we have had Iraq. We have, but when Ronald Reagan said it was good 
morning in America, when he said the economy was doing extraordinarily 
well and that America was back and had an overwhelming reelection based 
upon that premise, guess what? We had a deficit of $212 billion. The 
next year we had a deficit of $221 billion. So the deficit picture you 
see on this chart is unblemished straight deficits until Bill Clinton 
is elected President of the United States.
  Then Bill Clinton, as you can see on this chart, introduced an 
economic plan on this floor, and I will get to that.

[[Page 26011]]

  President Bush had promised the American people that he would proceed 
with tax relief without fear of budget deficits, even if the economy 
softens. You will see he was dead flat wrong. So when you hear these 
Republicans make representations about what they are going to do, look 
at the 17 years Ronald Reagan said he was going to balance the budget. 
He did not do it. George Bush the First said he was going to balance 
the budget. He did not do it. The present President of the United 
States said we can adopt his economic program and we would pay off the 
national debt, we would not spend a nickel of Social Security, and we 
would not spend a nickel of Medicare. He was wrong, or I might say, he 
misrepresented politely every one of those points, and has run up 
deficits of 157, 377, 412, 319 and $323 billion.
  That record is one that ought to be rejected. Democrats have been 
united in rejecting those proposals. We will continue to take that 
posture.
  At the same time, Republicans have raised the debt limit not once, 
but twice, not three times--but four times in four years; $450 billion 
in 2002, $984 billion in 2003, $800 billion in 2004, and $781 billion 
this year.
  The interest payments on the national debt are now the fastest 
growing category of spending in our budget.
  So today, when Republicans say that they want to restore fiscal 
discipline, we must respond: You have lost all credibility on this 
issue.
  President Bush has not vetoed one--not one--spending bill.
  Republicans rammed a prescription drug bill through this Congress 
that they insisted would cost $395 billion. But they suppressed a more 
accurate estimate, and now that legislation is expected to cost $1 
trillion.
  The budget reconciliation bills are the Republican Party's latest 
charade.
  They say that they are cutting spending by some $54 billion--
including cuts of $12 billion to Medicaid, $14 billion to student 
loans, $1 billion to food stamps and $5 billion to child support 
programs.
  But they also plan to cut taxes on the wealthiest people in America 
by $70 billion.
  Anyway you cut it, this Republican majority intends to increase the 
deficit, not reduce it.
  Even Alan Greenspan, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, is sounding 
the alarm. Recently, he said: ``You should not be cutting taxes by 
borrowing.''
  Fortunately, not all Republicans are willing to participate in this 
irresponsible fraud.
  Last Thursday, for example, Senator Voinovich told the Washington 
Post: ``I do not know how anyone can say with a straight face that when 
we voted to cut spending last week to help achieve deficit reductions, 
we can now then turn around two weeks later to provide tax cuts that 
exceed the reduction in spending. That is beyond me, and I am sure the 
American people.''
  So I implore my colleagues on the other side of the aisle: 
Demonstrate the courage of your convictions.
  Put the interests of the American people ahead of the interests of 
your political party.
  Oppose these irresponsible reconciliation bills.
  Join Democrats in fighting to restore fiscal discipline to our 
budget.

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