Deficit Reduction Act of 2005
DEFICIT REDUCTION ACT OF 2005 -- (House of Representatives - November 08, 2005)
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Mr. CASE. I thank my colleague.
Watch out, watch out, America, because the majority's and the President's spin machine is in overdrive on this bill. Yes, the majority's budget reconciliation bill brazenly and erroneously entitled the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, what a laugh, is hitting the floor, or we think it is going to hit the floor.
We will hear in coming days what a brave and revolutionary bill this is. Wrong. This is a cowardly bill, a hurtful bill, and it continues the majority's policies which, in the course of 4 short years have wrecked a once strong budget.
We will hear that this bill is the only way to go. Wrong. This is the way to go if your goal is to help the few at the expense of the rest of us and without regard to basic fiscal responsibility.
We have heard that this bill will decrease the budget. Watch the numbers on this bill. This bill does not decrease the budget deficit. This bill worsens the deficit, worsens it substantially.
This bill is really about credibility. It is a matter of credibility, of who has the best overall plan to balance our Nation's books and restore fiscal stability. Is it the same people who over the last couple of years told us that ``deficits do not matter''? I do not think so. Is it the same people who are presiding over the most rapid increase in Federal spending in 40 years? I do not think so. Is it the same people who keep raiding the Social Security trust fund for non-Social Security purposes, and then turning around and saying it is okay, saying do not worry about it, but also introducing a bill to radically reduce benefits in order to make up for the stolen amounts? I do not think so.
Is it the same people who pretend that a 1-year deficit of over $300 billion, almost $500 billion if you are counting the Social Security trust fund monies that were raided to boost up the revenues, is it those people? I do not think so. Is it the same people that increased your debt, your total debt, from $6 trillion when I joined Congress just 3 years ago to $8 trillion today and now another almost $1 trillion in this bill itself? I do not think so.
We want to balance the budget. We know that this will take careful and painful balancing of revenues and expenses. But we do not trust the majority and the administration with this bill because we do not believe that you have shown you can be trusted with America's books, that you will not put all of your sacred cows on the table just as we are willing to put our sacred cows on the table.
When you are truly ready to put everything on the table with us, then I believe that we can have a constructive discussion. Until then, your bill is junk in, junk out. When you are ready to get real about what it is going to take to truly balance our books, let us know.
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