(Washington D.C.)- U.S. Rep. Sander Levin (D-Royal Oak), a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee, opposed the Republican budget proposal early this morning stating the Republican budgetary policy was "unsustainable and morally indefensible." The Republican budget proposal passed in the dead of night on a vote of 218 to 210.

However, U.S. Rep. Levin voted in support of the Democratic budget substitute, offered by U.S. Rep. John Spratt of South Carolina. The Spratt alternative would balance the budget by 2012, requires Congress to return to pay-as-you-go budget rules, and rejects another round of painful spending cuts for education, medical research, and environmental protection.  Unfortunately, the House rejected the Spratt budget on a vote of 184 to 241. 

Mr. Levin's statement on the Republican budget follows:

"Since the Bush Administration took office in 2001, we've swung from balanced budgets to massive annual budget deficits.  In 2002 -- the year after the Congress adopted the Administration's tax policies --  the federal government posted a $128 billion deficit.  In 2003, the deficit rose to $378 billion.  In 2004, the deficit soared to an all-time high of $412 billion.  In 2005, the deficit was $318 billion.

"The Majority's budget simply digs the deficit hole deeper.  The Republican budget proposes a $348 billion deficit for 2007.  If you add in the borrowing from Social Security and Medicare -- money that, by law, must be repaid -- the total deficit for 2007 soars to $543 billion.  The hard truth is that under the Majority's budget, the federal budget never comes into balance.  The tide of red ink rises forever.  This policy is unsustainable and morally indefensible. 

"The Majority's budget also contains irresponsible cuts in critical domestic programs.  In this regard, the Majority has mirrored the Bush Administration's budget, which included deep cuts in education, critical medical research, environmental protection, veterans' health care, to name only a few areas.  There has been an attempt tonight to place a fig leaf over some of these cuts with a vague half promise of perhaps adding an additional $7.1 billion for domestic programs later.  All this fig leaf does is acknowledge that the funding shortfall exists in the Republican budget without taking any action to actually address it.  
 
"Tucked away in this budget is a provision to raise the government's borrowing limit another $653 billion.  This would be on top of the $3 trillion in debt limit increases already approved since President Bush took office.  At the very least, there should be a straight up-or-down vote on a debt limit of this magnitude, but evidently the plan is to try to sneak this through.

"The Spratt budget pays down the deficits over the next five years and achieves balance in 2012.  We restore fiscal discipline by bringing back the pay-as-you-go budgeting rules and we force a degree of accountability by requiring the House to take a separate up-or-down vote on measures to increase the national debt limit.  In addition, the Democratic budget alternative provides $150 billion for future tax cuts, and requires that any further tax cuts meet the pay-as-you-go rules.  Lastly, our budget alternative rejects yet another round of spending cuts to key domestic programs that have been cut repeatedly in recent years." 

To view U.S. Rep. Levin's complete floor statement, please visit: http://www.house.gov/apps/list/speech/mi12_levin/fs051806.html

(####)

Home Page  |  Press Releases