Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2014
Floor Speech
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Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 2 minutes.
The underlying Republican budget dismantles the Medicare guarantee. It cuts Medicaid in the last year by 25 percent and includes unspecified cuts in a category called ``other mandatory spending.'' That category, of course, is Social Security and pensions for veterans and Federal employees. And then it cuts other essential Federal programs. It also repeals ObamaCare, but keeps in place the savings and tax increases that pay for it. The Republican budget also includes a $5.7 trillion tax cut that primarily benefits the wealthiest Americans and then somehow claims it will be revenue neutral by raising somebody else's taxes by $5.7 trillion, an average of about $2,000 for every man, woman, and child in America every year.
Mr. Chairman, the Congressional Black Caucus budget on the other hand is based on reality and uses real numbers. Our budget makes tough choices, but not at the expense of the most vulnerable Americans. The CBC budget calls for revenue enhancements of $2.7 trillion over the next 10 years. The budget shows that this is a real and achievable goal by highlighting approximately $4.2 trillion in revenue options that the Congress could use to achieve the $2.7 trillion in new revenues, such as limiting the deductibility of corporate interest payments, limiting the special tax breaks and corporate loopholes that are baked into our Tax Code, treating capital gains and dividends like regular income. And, incidentally, Mr. Chairman, this amount is less than half of the $5.7 trillion in tax increases assumed in the Republican budget.
The revenue enhancements called for in our budget will be used to totally cancel the sequester, to pay for a $500 billion jobs bill that will put more than 5 million Americans back to work, and to provide for an additional $300 billion in long-term investments in our economy through education, job training, health care, science, and research.
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Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I yield myself an additional 30 seconds.
Even with these additional investments, our budget is projected to put our Nation back on a sustainable path because the deficit reduction is more than the Simpson-Bowles deficit reduction commission 10-year goal.
Mr. Chairman, the CBC budget shows that we can create jobs, invest in education, transportation, and research, and avoid devastating health care cuts and achieve the 10-year Simpson-Bowles deficit reduction goal. I, therefore, urge my colleagues to support the Congressional Black Caucus budget.
I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 30 seconds.
Mr. Chairman, the Republican budget claims to be in balance, but it's only in balance if you assume they can raise $5.7 trillion in new taxes and they cut $2.5 trillion in health care and a trillion dollars more in a category that includes Social Security and pensions.
I'd also note that a great deal has been made about the capital gains and dividend benefits in 401(k)s. I would point out to the gentleman that in a 401(k) the people do not get the benefit of that deduction. They don't pay any tax at all as it grows. When they draw it out, they draw it out as ordinary income.
Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gen tle lady from California (Ms. Lee).
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Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 30 seconds just before I yield to the gen tle lady from the Virgin Islands.
First of all, the gentleman just complained about the ObamaCare taxes. What he didn't say is that the Republican budget keeps all the taxes; they just repeal the benefits.
The Republican budget also does not cancel the sequester. The sequester is estimated to cost 700,000 to 2 million jobs. They do not cancel the sequester. In fact, they have additional cuts that will even add to those job losses.
Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gen tle lady from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen).
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Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Chairman, the Congressional Black Caucus budget reacts to this chart which shows the recovery over past recessions.
This recession has been deeper and longer than any others. We still haven't gotten the jobs back. At the rate we're going, we're not going to get the jobs we lost in the 2008 recession for another 2 years. That's why it's important that the Congressional Black Caucus has a budget that has $500 billion in jobs. That will create about 5 million jobs as soon as we can get the money out the door, 5 million jobs, which will significantly reduce the impact of that recession. That's in stark contrast to the Republican budget, which maintains the sequester. The suggestion there is that 700,000 to 2 million jobs would be lost.
So we have a choice: 5 million jobs or lose jobs. We have a choice in terms of investments in education, transportation, scientific research, investments in our future, or cuts in those investments.
We have a credible path to achieve the Simpson-Bowles 10-year goal rather than a budget that depends on $5.7 trillion in unspecified tax increases to offset their $5.7 trillion tax cut that they say is revenue neutral. Also, it is a budget that requires massive cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, and other health care programs, pensions, and everything else that will adversely affect those most in need.
The one-third cut, 25 to 30 percent cut in Medicaid, we have to remember that two-thirds of the Medicaid expense goes to the elderly and disabled. What is their plans for them if you're cutting Medicaid by 25 to 30 percent?
We can do better. We can have a progressive, pro-people, pro-growth, pro-jobs agenda; or we can have the devastating cuts in the Republican budget, which has $5.7 trillion unspecified tax cuts in it if you believe they will come up with that kind of money.
I think we should make the right choice. That right choice is the Congressional Black Caucus budget.
I yield back the balance of my time.
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