Cornyn Proposes Amendment To Reform Runaway Entitlement Spending

Press Release

Cornyn Proposes Amendment To Reform Runaway Entitlement Spending

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the Senate Budget Committee, proposed four amendments to the Senate Budget Bill being addressed in committee on Thursday. Sen. Cornyn's amendments would reform runaway entitlement spending, take steps to prevent an income tax rate hike, establish an employer verification reserve fund and make sure SCHIP places a priority on children.

"Runaway entitlement spending is one of the greatest threats to America's long-term fiscal security that we face today," Sen. Cornyn said. "We absolutely must address it. If we do not, we will leave our children and grandchildren with an immeasurable amount of debt."

Sen. Cornyn added: "As people live longer and the baby boom generation begins to retire, entitlements will continue to eat up a larger and larger share of our budget and will consume more of the economy. If we do nothing over the next 30 years, we won't have a dime to pay for anything else except four things-Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and a part of the interest on the debt. We will not have the resources for other important priorities, including fighting the war on terror, securing our borders, veterans' health care and education. So the time to act is now."

The entitlement spending reform amendment reduces the debt by instructing the Senate Finance Committee, through the reconciliation process, to find approximately $34 billion in savings in entitlement programs over the next five years.

In the most recent long-term projections prepared by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), outlays from Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid combined are projected to increase to 10.5 percent of GDP by 2015-an increase of approximately two percent of GDP in less than a decade. By 2030, according to the CBO, they will reach some 15 percent of GDP.

Sen. Cornyn also introduced the following three amendments:

* Preventing Income Tax Rate Increase. An amendment to prevent an increase in income tax rates. It requires a super-majority of the Senate, or 60 votes, to pass an income tax rate hike on the middle class, college students and entrepreneurs.

Sen. Cornyn said: "This amendment puts a safeguard in place to protect the pocketbooks of middle-class families, college students and entrepreneurs. The tax relief enacted in the past four years has proven to work. It boosts the economy, creates jobs and lets Americans keep more of their money. The last thing we should do is raise taxes on the American people by letting that relief expire. This amendment is an insurance policy if some in Congress decide to look to the pocketbook of taxpayers for more revenue, when we really should be eliminating government waste, fraud and abuse."

* Immigration Reform / Employer Verification Reserve Fund. An amendment to establish a reserve fund for comprehensive immigration reform, which includes an effective electronic employment verification system. The amendment also provides for increased border security and enhanced technology.

Sen. Cornyn said: "An effective immigration enforcement system must include electronic employer verification and a clear worksite enforcement strategy. This amendment establishes a fund, in a budget-neutral way, to pay for the costs of this critical initiative. Adequate funding will ensure that the Department of Homeland Security receives the additional personnel and resources needed to implement an effective, mandatory employer verification system."

* Reserve SCHIP Fund to Cover Children First. An amendment to establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund to allow the Senate Judiciary Committee to pass legislation making sure that State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) covers children first. Democrats have offered legislation that would expand SCHIP beyond its original intention of helping low-income children.

Sen. Cornyn said: "We need to make a clear statement that SCHIP is a program for children. I am concerned that using SCHIP dollars to provide coverage to childless adults diverts limited resources from covering children. This amendment makes clear that in the SCHIP program our priority is coverage for kids. In addition, my amendment will allow states to continue to use innovative strategies to cover kids and will improve and strengthen the oversight of the SCHIP program to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse."

Sen. Cornyn serves on the Armed Services, Judiciary and Budget Committees. In addition, he is Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Ethics. He serves as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee's Immigration, Border Security and Refugees subcommittee and the Armed Services Committee's Airland subcommittee.

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