Issue Position: Budget and Economy

Issue Position

Issue Position: Budget and Economy

John Spratt believes that every American deserves a good job and the chance to earn his own way. He has been on the front-lines of the fight to protect American workers against cheap-wage imports. He voted against the treaty that ends quotas on textile imports, against most favored nation treatment of China and admission to the WTO, and against the Caribbean Basin Trade Agreement, the Andean Free Trade Agreement, the Africa Free Trade Agreement, and the Central American Free Trade Agreement. He has authored laws to curb illegal imports, open foreign markets, and make the Pentagon "Buy American."

John Spratt believes one of the keys to a strong economy is a balanced budget, and putting the budget back in balance is Job 1. John led the fight for the first balanced budget in thirty years. He was one of four in Congress who hammered out the Balanced Budget Agreement of 1997, and put the budget in the black for the first time since 1969. President Clinton and Speaker Gingrich both saluted him, saying the Budget Agreement "would not have been possible without him."

As the Ranking Member on the Budget Committee, he has proposed a budget each year that runs a smaller deficit and reaches balance far sooner than the president's budget. With this year's deficit expected to be $372 billion and next year's deficit forecast at $348 billion, John is leading the charge for another balanced budget.

This year, John Spratt is proposing a budget that ...

* Returns to Balance. To help do this, John believes the "Pay-As-You-Go" rules should be restored. In the 1990s, these rules played a critical role in turning record deficits to record surpluses. When President Clinton left office, the budget was $236 billion in surplus.

* Invests in Education. This year, the budget John Spratt proposes provides $4.6 billion more than the House Republican budget for education, and over five years, $45.3 billion more. John's budget also helps make college more affordable by cutting student loan interest rates. John believes we can balance the budget without making deep cuts to education programs such as vocational education, Perkins loans, Safe and Drug-Free Schools state grants, and the GEAR-UP college readiness program.

* Keeps Our Commitment to Our Veterans. John's budget includes $6 billion more than the House Republican budget over five years for veterans' health care. His budget does not increase health care fees on military retirees who are enrolled in Tricare. John's budget does not ask for additional sacrifices from those have already served and sacrificed for our country.

* Provides More for Health Care, and Corrects the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit. John's budget calls for $18 billion more over five years to fund health priorities cut by the House Republican budget, including medical research at the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control, rural health activities, and graduate medical education for children's hospitals. John's budget also makes corrections to the Medicare prescription drug benefit, including extending the May 15 signup period deadline through the end of year and protecting seniors from any enrollment penalties. In addition, his budget also takes steps to help the uninsured, and creates a reserve fund to increase Medicare payments to physicians, which are currently scheduled to be cut.

* Protects the Environment. John Spratt's budget provides $2.9 billion more than the House Republican budget for environmental protection and conservation programs, and $25 billion more over five years. His budget does not make cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency (including the Clean Water State Revolving Fund), the Army Corps of Engineers, or the National Park Service.

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