Concurrent Resolution On The Budget, Fiscal Year 2016 -- Continued
Floor Speech
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Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, this is an important moment in the Senate each year because we try to define what our values are and the way we spend our money.
If you want to know a family's values, take a look at the family budget. Are they putting some money away for their young son or daughter to go to college, making sure they can own a home, paying their bills on a regular basis, or are they wasting money on things they can't afford? The budget tells a story about values.
This budget presented by the Republicans tells another story. It tells a story about America's future.
I have a friend back in Springfield, IL. He has been a friend for years and years. Ten years ago, his wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. His life changed dramatically. He could no longer go to work on a regular basis. He devoted every waking minute to his wife. She is still alive today and struggling, but that family was different. Their lives were different. Across America, families just like his family learn about the diagnosis of Alzheimer's every day. Do you know how often we diagnose an American with Alzheimer's? Once every 68 seconds. The millions who are now afflicted by that disease--many of them have a very tough future ahead of them, as do their families.
What does that have to do with this political debate? It has a lot to do with it. It has to do with some basic things. First, should we continue to cut the money for medical research in America? The Republican budget says: Yes. We can't afford medical research.
Really? Well, last year, we spent $200 billion in Medicare and Medicaid on Alzheimer's victims alone--$200 billion. When we asked for $3 or $4 billion more for medical research in the hopes we can find a way to delay the onset of Alzheimer's or, God willing, even find a cure for it--we will more than pay back the money we invest in research. But the Republican budget says that is something we cannot afford in America today.
When it comes to those who are suffering from Alzheimer's, how do they get by? Many of them get by with Medicare, which, of course, is the insurance policy for the elderly and disabled. But this budget cuts Medicare. Many low-income victims of that disease and many others rely on Medicaid, but this budget makes dramatic cuts in Medicaid.
That is the vision the Republicans present to us in their budget--the vision of an America that cannot afford to do the research to find cures for diseases such as Alzheimer's, cancer, diabetes, and the list goes on. They see an America where we cannot afford to help people who are struggling to get by.
This budget proposes takes 26 million Americans off of health insurance. I will repeat that--26 million Americans off of health insurance. Is that the answer to America's future? Have you ever been the father of a sick child and not had health insurance? I have. I will never forget it as long as I live. I felt helpless and worried that my little daughter was not going to get the right care she needed. Thank God the day came when I was covered with health insurance and could get her the best. But I think about the millions of Americans who never saw that day and the fact that 26 million Americans would lose health insurance because of the Republican budget. We are a better nation than that. We should prepare for a better future than one where the have-nots are growing in number.
The sad reality is that the Republican budget, although it finally answers its political prayer and eliminates the Affordable Care Act, still collects all of the revenue from the Affordable Care Act. They will never be able to explain that one to us.
How will they explain to the millions of seniors who are under Medicare that they are eliminating the program that reduces the cost of prescription drugs? These are seniors on fixed incomes who are trying to stay healthy and independent at home and who depend on drugs that could be pretty expensive. The Republican budget eliminates that provision in the Affordable Care Act which helps those seniors pay for their prescription drugs--the so-called doughnut hole.
As I go through the lengthy list of what the Republicans have done in their budget, I have to ask, is this their vision of America--fewer people having health insurance, fewer seniors being able to afford the prescription drugs they need to get by, cutting Medicaid, where we provide prenatal care for moms so the babies are healthy? For goodness' sake, it is not only the right thing to do, it is the economic thing to do. A sick baby is a tough challenge for any family, but it is a challenge for all of us. The medical bills a premature baby might incur far exceeds the cost of good prenatal care so the mom and baby are healthy. But that is just another area of cutbacks when it comes to this Republican budget.
This budget is certainly not going to become the law of the land. I believe even some Republicans will have a struggle trying to vote for it or explain it.
More, importantly, though, I hope this budget is a chance for us to have a conversation about what middle-income America is going to look like in the future. I think that is the key to America's success.
We talk a lot about income inequality. To put it in a few words, it means that a lot of families are working hard every single darn day and they cannot make ends meet. They are living paycheck to paycheck. What are we doing for them? This Republican budget cuts the available college assistance for their kids to go to school. That doesn't help that middle-income family. This Republican budget doesn't invest in America when it comes to education. This Republican budget cuts back on the help to schools to make sure they are producing graduates with the skills to compete in the 21st century.
If we really want to focus on helping middle-income families, we cannot vote for this Republican budget. It is a set of priorities for them which America really cannot accept.
As Senator Sanders has said--our ranking member on the Budget Committee--we need to work to give middle-income families in this country a fighting chance. This bill does not do that. Sadly, this bill makes too many cuts in too many critical areas.
I am going to offer an amendment to this bill. See if you like this idea. I think it is a good one. My colleagues will get to vote on it. Here is what it says. We have a tax code full of provisions to encourage businesses to do certain things. We give them deductions, credits, incentives to do things, such as drilling for oil, building wind turbines, so many things--some good, some bad; it depends on your point of view.
I suggest that we put a provision in our Tax Code that says we will provide a tax credit to companies that stay in the United States and don't bail out and head to a foreign country, companies that invest in American jobs by maintaining or increasing the number of workers in the United States compared to the number of workers overseas.
Secondly, those companies will get a tax credit if their corporation pays fair wages by paying most employees a wage so that a family of three doesn't have to depend on the government for a safety net program. That is about $15 an hour.
If a company keeps jobs in the United States and pays about $15 an hour as a minimum, we will give them a tax credit.
Those companies should also provide quality health insurance for their employees. Who would disagree with that one? They should also prepare their workers for retirement by providing a pension or 401(k) with fair employer contributions.
The last point is that those companies should support our veterans, our troops, and people with disabilities by giving them a chance to work there.
How about those companies? From where I am sitting, those are patriotic American companies that deserve a break in the Tax Code as much, if not more, than any other company.
I will bring that amendment to the floor and let my colleagues vote on it. I hope we can get a bipartisan consensus. We ought to create incentives for companies to stay in the United States, employ Americans, pay a good wage, provide health insurance and pensions, and give a break to veterans and people with disabilities who are applying for jobs.
Let's have some priorities that reflect the future of a growing, solid America--an America with a growing middle class.
I yield the floor.
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