Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 112 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION
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E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 112 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 157 WASHINGTON, MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2011 No. 119 House of Representatives The House met at 10 a.m. and was Even as it would appear we avoid THE REPUBLICAN SOLUTION TO called to order by the Speaker. outright default, this agreement casts THE DEBT CRISIS f a long-term shadow over our Nation’s The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. MORNING-HOUR DEBATE reasonableness and our reliability for REED). The Chair recognizes the gen- the next 2 years and beyond. And re- tleman from Oregon (Mr. DEFAZIO) for The SPEAKER. Pursuant to the member the drama over the continuing 5 minutes. order of the House of January 5, 2011, resolution earlier this year? There are Mr. DEFAZIO. Well, here we are, the Chair will now recognize Members still two potential government shut- after a long weekend of hyperbole and from lists submitted by the majority downs over the next 14 months that backroom deal cutting at the White and minority leaders for morning-hour will invite more legislative blackmail House, and here’s the product right debate. here. The Chair will alternate recognition over an extreme agenda since it’s clear that recklessness works. If you look through it, it’s pretty in- between the parties, with each party teresting. There’s no balance. There limited to 1 hour and each Member This is all the more frustrating be- are no revenues. God forbid we would other than the majority and minority cause the path forward is clear. The ask, as the Republicans call them, ‘‘the leaders and the minority whip limited public strongly supports a balanced ap- job creators,’’ the millionaires and bil- to 5 minutes each, but in no event shall proach which would include tax reform lionaires, to pay anything toward fur- debate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. that would raise money while making ther supporting our country, to close f the Tax Code more fair and simple. some of the tax loopholes that allow GOVERNMENT’S AUTO PILOT Everyone knows we must deal with hedge fund managers to pay taxes at DOWNWARD SPIRAL health care costs; and until recently, half the rate of their clerks, you know, The SPEAKER. The Chair recognizes there was bipartisan agreement as to things like that. No, that would be a the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. BLU- how to do that. We should accelerate reach too far to ask them to share in MENAUER) for 5 minutes. the health care reforms which are al- the sacrifice. Mr. BLUMENAUER. For weeks now, ready enacted into law but do it faster What we do see here is that there will we’ve faced the artificial Republican to improve care and lower costs. be cuts, and very few are specified. But strangely enough, there’s one that the debt crisis, which was a crisis of Re- Do we need to require a commission publican choice. And now with an Republicans always go after because, to implement bipartisan suggestions to agreement coming forward, we should you know, they hang out at the coun- right-size the military, both its mis- ask the question: Is this worse than the try club, and at the country club, no- sion and its budget? Absolutely not. default scare? Well, it’s hardly clear. body’s worried about putting their kid What about a government on auto There are ideas floating around and through college. But the one specified pilot, locked into a slow downward spi- support on both sides of the aisle to do cut in here is in graduate school finan- ral? that now. cial assistance. First, this empowers the most reck- Most important, perhaps, we should Now, that’s kind of peculiar. We have less and extreme elements, not just in revitalize the economy by rebuilding a doctor shortage looming, and medical the House Republicans today but is a and renewing America, financed by school is phenomenally expensive. But blueprint for mischief for either party modest increases in user fees. One of I guess it’s just going to be the rich in the future. Next, we are starting the things that is actually the most kids who are going to go to medical down a path of budget cuts that all ex- simple would be to implement bipar- school in the future, not the middle- perts assure us will weaken the econ- tisan suggestions to reform agri- class kids, not the struggling kids. omy at exactly the time we need to culture, to save money while helping Just the rich kids. So that’s the one strengthen economic growth, not re- people who farm and people who eat by specified cut, the ‘‘one’’ specified cut. duce demand. Clearly it is a step back- reducing massive unnecessary subsidies The rest, we don’t even know. Talking about a pig in a poke, this is wards from reforming how the country to large agribusiness. does business. a pig in a poke. Where’s that $1 trillion The fixation on triggers, formulas, This agreement delays the important of cuts going to come from? First and supercommittees will make it easi- work while it weakens both the econ- round, second round, another $1.5 tril- er for Congress to duck the difficult omy and the decision-making process. lion, and not one penny in revenues. policy work and harder to do it, if Con- Government on auto pilot in a slow And the grand result is about $2.5 tril- gress wants to try. downward spiral is not a victory. lion of deficit reduction. b This symbol represents the time of day during the House proceedings, e.g., b 1407 is 2:07 p.m. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. H5815 . VerDate Mar 15 2010 06:23 Aug 02, 2011 Jkt 099060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 7634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A01AU7.000 H01AUPT1 pwalker on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with HOUSE H5816 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE August 1, 2011 If we just let all the Bush tax cuts We can’t make investments because debt ceiling, as has been done 17 times expire—all of them—if we went back to the Republicans say everything govern- for the President of the United States, the bad old days of the Clinton tax ment does is bad. So we can’t even President Reagan and other Presidents rates that the Republicans claimed make investments. We can’t discrimi- who have asked to have that done, and would destroy the economy—except ac- nate between wasteful spending, con- then begin to look long term. As Mark tually what happened was, we had 3.8 sumptive spending, and investments Zandi has indicated, and a number of percent unemployment, and we paid that will put people back to work, as economists have said, immediate cuts down debt with the Clinton tax rates. they claim government can’t put peo- will be damaging to this economy. But, yes, ‘‘the job creators’’ had to pay ple back to work. But I rise today to speak of the vul- a little bit more. Those were really bad That’s funny. I wonder who built our nerable persons who really can’t speak times, the Republicans would have us national highway system. I don’t think for themselves. Many people think sen- believe. So we don’t want to go back it was the private sector. I don’t think iors have lobbyists in one of the major, there. We want to stay in the current it was the financiers on Wall Street. largest, if you will, lobbying group for day. The billionaires and the millionaires seniors, and they do a great job. We have been cutting taxes now for are escaping any meaningful taxation But I know seniors who really are 11 years of Bush tax cuts, 3 years with at this point, seeing the lowest level of huddled in small apartments and old, Obama as a coconspirator on the Bush taxation on their incomes since, you old homes left to them by their de- tax cuts. Where are the jobs? Well, let’s know, forever, basically. ceased spouse, something they paid for just keep doing it, and maybe it will We can’t ask them to do anything. but has deteriorated over the years. create jobs. We can’t invest, we can’t create jobs, Because we are not helping seniors It’s not going to create jobs. There and we are going to cut student finan- with their rehab anymore, and many of are no jobs. There are no jobs in this cial aid for sure and a few other things. package. them got reverse mortgages that really At the least, at the least, they could f took them to the cleaners and left have extended the Federal Aviation DEBT CEILING them with nonperforming contractors Administration authority. Now, most The SPEAKER pro tempore. The who did a poor job on their homes, people think, what does that mean? Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from these are the seniors who don’t have Well, a week ago last Friday, authority Texas (Ms. JACKSON LEE) for 5 minutes. voices. to run the Federal Aviation Adminis- Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Mr. Or, maybe, the vulnerable families in tration expired. The air traffic control- Speaker, we will be gathering this Latino and African American commu- lers are working under emergency pro- morning in a number of conferences nities where the wealth distinction has visions, and they’re being paid out of and caucuses to assess the work over showed, where our majority Ameri- the trust fund, which is being drawn the weekend that addresses a proce- cans, white Americans, have a wealth down.