BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I rise to express my opposition to the fiscal year 2010 Supplemental Appropriations Act. It represents what is reprehensible about the conduct of the Federal Government: unchecked, unpaid for, deficit spending. After a trillion dollar ``stimulus,'' a trillion dollar health care bill, and huge increases in the budgets of the bureaucracy, Americans are fed up with Congress's out-of-control spending. Our constituents have had enough, and they have asked us to rein in spending. Unfortunately, rather than listen to their cries, we have another appropriations bill that represents the same old, same old.
Of the nearly $59 billion of spending in this bill, all but $103 million is designated ``emergency'' spending. What does ``emergency'' spending actually mean, and what are these emergencies the Nation is facing?
Emergency spending means deficit spending. It means we are spending money that we as a nation do not have. An emergency designation relieves Congress of the burden and the responsibility of coming up with ways to pay for the spending. We are continuing to make purchases on the taxpayer's credit card, knowing full well we have no plans to pay back the loan. We have already maxed out the credit card. The company just has not found out yet.
Some programs under this bill may be considered true emergencies. There are unforeseen disasters, such as flooding and oilspills. But there are also disasters that occurred years ago that would receive funding under this legislation. Funding may be needed for those programs, but the lack of funding was certainly not unexpected and should have been in last year's and this year's regular budget and appropriations process. But appropriations and budgeting have been so disfigured, contorted, abused, and ignored by lawmakers in recent years that the system is broken, and you have a series of omnibus and ``emergency'' or supplemental bills. It is not the way to do it.
Even in the writeup of this legislation, the Senate Appropriations Committee noted that the $5.1 billion for the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund is necessary to pay for known costs for past disasters, such as Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Ike, and Gustav, the Midwest floods of 2008, and the California wildfires, as well as needs that emerge with new disasters.
The bill also provides $13.4 billion in mandatory funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs for disability compensation to Vietnam veterans to implement a recent decision by the VA to expand the number of illnesses presumed to be related to exposure to Agent Orange. There is no doubt Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange should be properly compensated, but Congress and the administration must find a way to pay for these programs without spending money we do not have and do not intend to pay back. There is no plan to pay back.
I want to make very clear my strong support for our Nation's veterans and the current members of our Armed Forces and the vital work they are doing in the world every day. I have the greatest admiration for today's service members and veterans for their commitment to preserving our freedoms and maintaining our national security. I must question, however, using their sacrifices to justify irresponsible spending by this Congress.
Congress must pass this bill to keep the necessary resources going to our military. America has deployed our young men and women to defend our Nation's interests, and they deserve no less than having the funding and equipment necessary to carry out their missions. But some in Congress do not see this as just about the military. They see it as an opportunity to add their pet programs to the shoulders of our Armed Forces. No one wants to leave our military operations unfunded, so our military needs are being used to leverage support for nonemergency, deficit spending.
To be fair, the Appropriations Committee found some offsets for the spending in this bill. Unfortunately, the offsets only account for .17 of 1 percent of the total cost of the bill--not even a quarter of a percent of the cost of the bill: .17 of 1 percent of the bill. You would think we could at least hit the 1-percent mark. Mr. President, .17 percent is all that is offset in this bill. That is wrong.
Senator Coburn and Senator McCain have offered amendments that would offset or pay for the larger costs of this legislation. Tomorrow morning we will get to vote on those, and I hope we will take them into consideration and make sure this is paid for. I hope all my colleagues will take a look at those amendments.
The funding cut proposals are reasonable. They are well thought out. They are ideas that will help us responsibly address the serious spending problems this Congress has. It is time for Congress to step up and start making the hard decisions of prioritizing Federal spending.
The American people have made it clear that Congress needs to be fiscally responsible. They have made it clear they do not support our spending billions of taxpayer dollars with little or no debate. We have been asking Americans to tighten their spending belts and take responsibility for their personal debt. It is about time the representatives of the people do the same.
In April 2009, when making an emergency supplemental appropriations request, President Obama said:
We should not label military costs as emergency funds so as to avoid our responsibility to abide by the spending limitations set forth by the Congress. After years of budget gimmicks and wasteful spending, it is time to end the era of irresponsibility in Washington.
End of quote by the President.
I could not agree more. Congress and the administration need to find a better way to fund current military operations. Most of these funds are expected and should be addressed in the regular budget process.
Again, I want to provide our troops with the funding and the resources they need to be successful as they work to protect America. I do not, however, want the brave men and women of the Armed Forces nor the families of America who have been truly impacted by unforeseen disasters to be used as justification for unchecked and, in some cases, unrelated spending.
The men and women of our armed services deserve better than this spending bill. The people of the United States deserve better.
I yield the floor.