[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5025-5026]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          BUDGET NEGOTIATIONS

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, the time we have left to work on a budget 
agreement is extremely short. The window in which we can avoid the 
terrible consequences of a shutdown is closing quickly. It is no longer 
measured in months or weeks. We are now down to just a few days in this 
deadline. The time we have to get the long legislative process started 
in both Houses is measured in hours.
  It is clear those sitting at the negotiating table have different 
priorities. That is true of any negotiation. We all should share the 
same goal: to keep the country running and to keep the momentum of our 
economic recovery moving forward. We all want to cut the deficit.
  Last week, we agreed upon a number on which to base our budget--$73 
billion below the President's proposal. But disagreements remain on 
where we should make those cuts. We worked through the weekend to 
bridge that gap. We have made some progress, but we are not where we 
should be yet.
  There is another way in which the sides remain separated. Democrats 
have demonstrated throughout this process that we are willing to meet 
in the middle, but Republicans and the tea party continue to reject 
reality and insist, instead, on idealogy. Let me give a couple of 
examples.
  First, they refuse to recognize H.R. 1--that is the budget the House 
passed--isn't going to happen. The tea party pushed it through the 
House over the objections of some Republicans and all Democrats. Then, 
the Senate soundly defeated it. Even all Republicans didn't vote for 
this H.R. 1 in the Senate. We all know the President would never sign 
it into law anyway.
  So the Republican Party and the tea party need to admit the Democrats 
have proven what the country already knows--that neither party can pass 
a budget without the other party and neither Chamber can send it to the 
President without the other Chamber. Democrats stand ready to meet the 
Republicans halfway and the Senate stands ready to meet the House 
halfway. We hope our partners on the other side are willing to be as 
reasonable.
  Second, tea party Republicans refuse to recognize that their budget 
is simply an appalling proposal. They stomp their feet and call 
``compromise'' a dirty word and insist on a budget that will hurt 
America rather than help it. It slashes programs for the sake of 
slashing programs. It chops zeros off the budget for nothing more than 
bragging rights. The authors and advocates of the Republican budget 
either completely ignore the practical impact of their dangerous cuts 
or they know the damage they will do and simply don't care. Either way, 
it is not right.

[[Page 5026]]

  Their budget would not do a thing to lower unemployment. In fact, it 
will cost the country 700,000 jobs. That is not my estimate but the 
estimate of the head of Moody's, an independent economist who has 
worked for both Democrats and Republicans.
  It will also hurt seniors. It slashes funding from the Social 
Security Administration, which means seniors and disabled Americans who 
count on the benefits they have earned over a lifetime of hard work 
will have to wait for these benefits. In many cases, those Social 
Security checks are seniors' only source of income. In some cases, they 
are the only thing keeping them out of poverty, and those checks have 
nothing at all to do with the deficit--nothing.
  The Republican budget will hurt women and their families. It cuts 
nutritional programs for women, infants, and children. This program has 
nothing to do with the deficit. This program--the WIC Program, Women, 
Infants and Children--is a program for the very poor. Their budget 
makes cuts to Planned Parenthood based on ideology, not economics. 
Planned Parenthood doesn't contribute to the deficit, but it does 
contribute, in great measure, to the health and safety of women of 
every age in every State.
  Their budget will also hurt our veterans. There is a veterans program 
in this country that helps homeless veterans afford housing. Democrats 
think our Nation's veterans who are down and out deserve a roof over 
their heads, and we think it is a worthy program. The Republican budget 
nearly eliminates it.
  Their budget will also hurt students. The tea party plan kicks 
hundreds of thousands of impoverished boys and girls out of Head Start, 
a program to allow them to learn to read--little preschool kids. It 
cuts college students' Pell grants and slashes job training programs. 
That is no way to recover.
  Independent economists have analyzed the tea party's plan and found 
it will actually put the brakes on economic growth. The point of this 
whole exercise--of a budget--is to help the economy. Democrats will not 
stand for a budget that weakens our economy.
  None of the people I have just mentioned led us into the recession. 
Punishing innocent bystanders, such as seniors, women, veterans, and 
students will not lead us to a recovery. This is what we mean when we 
say their budget is based on ideology and not reality. This is what we 
mean when we say the Republican and tea party budget slashes 
irresponsibly. When they refuse to relent on those dangerous cuts--many 
of which have nothing to do with the deficit--that is what we mean when 
we say the other side simply isn't being reasonable.
  Our national budget reflects our values and the tough choices we 
make. Democrats have made many tough choices because we know sacrifices 
are the cost of consensus, and we believe they are worth it. But we 
have never forgotten that what we cut is more important than how much 
we cut.
  In addition to the many choices about what to slash and what to keep, 
the Republican leadership has another very big choice to make: It has 
to decide whether it will do what the tea party wants it to do or what 
the country needs it to do.
  I am hopeful it will make the right choice and we can come to a 
timely agreement. But the bottom line is this: At the end of the day, 
we are all on the same side. Time now is not on our side.
  I yield the floor.

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