[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12674]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                GOVERNMENT'S AUTO PILOT DOWNWARD SPIRAL

  The SPEAKER. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. 
Blumenauer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. For weeks now, we've faced the artificial Republican 
debt crisis, which was a crisis of Republican choice. And now with an 
agreement coming forward, we should ask the question: Is this worse 
than the default scare? Well, it's hardly clear. What about a 
government on auto pilot, locked into a slow downward spiral?
  First, this empowers the most reckless and extreme elements, not just 
in the House Republicans today but is a blueprint for mischief for 
either party in the future. Next, we are starting down a path of budget 
cuts that all experts assure us will weaken the economy at exactly the 
time we need to strengthen economic growth, not reduce demand. Clearly 
it is a step backwards from reforming how the country does business.
  The fixation on triggers, formulas, and supercommittees will make it 
easier for Congress to duck the difficult policy work and harder to do 
it, if Congress wants to try.
  Even as it would appear we avoid outright default, this agreement 
casts a long-term shadow over our Nation's reasonableness and our 
reliability for the next 2 years and beyond. And remember the drama 
over the continuing resolution earlier this year? There are still two 
potential government shutdowns over the next 14 months that will invite 
more legislative blackmail over an extreme agenda since it's clear that 
recklessness works.
  This is all the more frustrating because the path forward is clear. 
The public strongly supports a balanced approach which would include 
tax reform that would raise money while making the Tax Code more fair 
and simple.
  Everyone knows we must deal with health care costs; and until 
recently, there was bipartisan agreement as to how to do that. We 
should accelerate the health care reforms which are already enacted 
into law but do it faster to improve care and lower costs.
  Do we need to require a commission to implement bipartisan 
suggestions to right-size the military, both its mission and its 
budget? Absolutely not. There are ideas floating around and support on 
both sides of the aisle to do that now.
  Most important, perhaps, we should revitalize the economy by 
rebuilding and renewing America, financed by modest increases in user 
fees. One of the things that is actually the most simple would be to 
implement bipartisan suggestions to reform agriculture, to save money 
while helping people who farm and people who eat by reducing massive 
unnecessary subsidies to large agribusiness.
  This agreement delays the important work while it weakens both the 
economy and the decision-making process. Government on auto pilot in a 
slow downward spiral is not a victory.

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