A Strategic Investment in America's Future

Press Release

A Strategic Investment in America's Future

On April 29, 2009, Congressman Joe Sestak (PA-07) voted in favor of S.Con.Res. 13, the Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Resolution, which passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 233 to 193. The Congressman supported this Budget because it institutes key strategic investments in education, energy, and health care needed to retool our economy to be competitive in the future, while continuing the necessary actions already underway to promote recovery from the present global economic challenge. The budget resolution provides a strong framework for overcoming our immediate financial crisis and laying the groundwork for our future prosperity, while also reaffirming Congress's commitment to PAYGO budgeting. The budget calls for health care reform, job creation in clean energy and energy efficiency, and college affordability to be completely deficit-neutral.

However, while Congressman Sestak did vote for the bill because of its needed priorities in reclaiming a competitive economy, he disagrees with—and has voiced his disagreement from the outset of this process—with the inclusion of the "reconciliation" procedure, which effectively means that a bill can pass on a straight party-line vote. In the resolution, reconciliation procedures may be used for votes on reforming health care and education. These issues are too important to be decided by a straight party vote, particularly in health care, which accounts for one-seventh of the Nation's economy. All parties deserve a substantive voice in the debate, which can only benefit from having both parties involved. Furthermore, if needed reform is to be long-lasting, a one-party decision will have neither the broad support of a significant number of citizens, nor will it be long-lasting as parties change control.

Ultimately, Congressman Sestak voted for the Budget because he believes it is important to focus this year primarily on ending the recession as quickly as possible by the beginning of next year, while strategically investing in the key reforms of health, education, and energy needed to make our economy competitive once the recession ends. This bill does this by adding only minimally to the deficit in FY 2010. However, as this recession ends, Congressman Sestak will work to address the long-term structural funding issues that cause America's budget to become unsustainable by 2019 if these problems are not addressed, which include the correct approach to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and other mandatory funding, without affecting the benefits provided. Specifically, the Budget:

• builds on the actions taken as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the Stimulus Bill) to prevent job losses and rebuild the nation's infrastructure and energy independence for the future;
• begins the strategic investment we must make on health care reform that is necessary to lower costs, improve quality, and expand coverage for the 46 million Americans who now lack health insurance and costs this country more than $100 billion annually in lost productivity;
• provides investment for rebuilding our educational system to provide an educated and skilled workforce able to function effectively in the future;
• reduces energy dependence and new jobs for the future by increasing investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency by 18% over 2009; and
• reduces the deficit by 50% over the next five years.

"I want to make it clear to my constituents that I view this Nation's economic priorities and strategic investments as a two-stage process," said Congressman Sestak. "First, we must be aggressive up front in confronting this economic crisis. If we do not act boldly now, we will face much larger—not smaller—deficits in the future. And our stimulus measures must take the form of strategic investments—as the President has advocated and Congress has included in the Budget—in education, energy, and health care. These investments now will pay tremendous dividends in the future, in the form of greatly reduced energy and health care costs and a healthy, productive, competitive workforce that will drive our economic prosperity in the future. The second phase is to address the longer term, ‘structural deficit' that the President has inherited, in the form of unsustainable spending for mandatory entitlements. We will take the necessary steps to revitalize our economy now and then focus our efforts and attention on entitlement reform to reduce the deficit, taking into account social security, Medicare, Medicaid and other programs without losing benefits for those who are recipients of these programs."

Source