Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011

Floor Speech

SPEECH OF
HON. BETTY McCOLLUM
OF MINNESOTA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2011

The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1) making appropriations for the Department of Defense and the other departments and agencies of the Government for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2011, and for other purposes:

Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to H.R. 1--legislation introduced by the House Republican majority that would cut over $60 billion in essential funding to America's communities without making a significant impact on this year's federal deficit.

The number one priority for Congress is to keep America's economic recovery moving forward by creating jobs today and building a foundation for sustained, long-term growth. This will require strategic investments by the federal government in education, infrastructure, research and other areas that promote innovation and enable America to compete in the global economy. Tackling rising federal deficits are also part of the broader economic challenge. Federal deficits must be reduced with "smart cuts" to outdated or unnecessary federal programs including taxpayer-sponsorship of NASCAR, duplicative weapons programs at the Pentagon, and broadcasting to Cuba that never reaches its intended audience. I offered amendments to H.R. 1 to make some of these "smart cuts." Unfortunately, my Republican colleagues voted to protect taxpayer subsidies for NASCAR and instead slashed funding to homeless veterans, heating assistance for the poor, neighborhood schools, road and bridge repair, and hundreds of other critical community investments.

Because H.R. 1 undermines vital services and key long-term investments, professional economists believe the bill will put America's fragile economic recovery at risk. The Economic Policy Institute estimates that enactment of H.R. 1 would result in the destruction of 800,000 jobs nationwide. This week, Goldman Sachs economic forecaster Alec Phillips concluded that the Republicans' budget plan could slow economic growth by up to 2 percent.

If my Republican colleagues were serious about deficit reduction they would support amendments like mine to reduce wasteful programs wherever they occur in the federal government--including the Pentagon. They would end their political fixation on "earmarks" in annual spending bills that totaled $16 billion last year and instead focus on special interest earmarks in the tax code that cost the government more than $1 trillion in revenue every year. And if Republicans in Congress really wanted to reduce federal deficits they would not have voted in December 2010 for a bloated $858 billion tax cut package that included $140 billion in tax cuts for the richest 2 percent of Americans--every cent of this package was borrowed and added to federal deficits. I believe it is wrong to ask middle class families to sacrifice the quality of their schools, roads and health clinics so the richest Americans receive a tax cut they do not need.

America's economy recovery and serious federal budget challenges require difficult choices in federal spending and taxation. But difficult choices can be made without threatening economic recovery or undermining the future competitiveness of our nation.

I urge my colleagues to join me in rejecting H.R. 1 and instead, get to work on a budget that will create jobs and lead to renewed economic growth. I was unavailable to vote the following amendments to H.R. 1 because of a longstanding obligation with the Pentagon's National Defense University in the Middle East.

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