Budget
Congress must enact legislation every year to provide funding for the operations of the federal government. Unfortunately, Congress is deeply divided over two very different philosophies about the role of the federal government, and that conflict is playing out right now in the Fiscal Year 2013 budget process.
It boils down to a choice between a government working to guarantee freedom, opportunity, and security for all Americans and a radical proposal to drastically reduce government programs that help the poor and the Middle Class.
One approach (House Democrats') would cut spending to the level set in last summer’s debt limit agreement, make important investments in economic growth and job creation, extend expiring tax cuts for the middle class, end tax breaks for the wealthy, and reduce federal deficits substantially. The other approach (House Republicans') would make devastating spending cuts, make much deeper tax cuts, and very possibly double the national debt over the next 10 years.
The House approved its version of the Fiscal Year 2013 budget at the end of March after adopting a plan offered by Republican House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan - and rejecting a proposal offered by the top Democratic Member of the House Budget Committee, Chris Van Hollen - with the House dividing more or less along party lines.
The Republican Budget Approved by the House - Which I Opposed
In the broadest terms, the House Republicans’ budget plan would drastically cut programs that help the poor and the middle class – while increasing military spending and providing an average of $394,000 in tax cuts for millionaires.
Spending Priorities in the House-Passed Budget:
Cut essential domestic programs by $5.3 trillion over 10 years:
Slash K-12 education funding by $115 billion over ten years
Cut financial aid for college students by $104 billion
Cut funding for the federal Food Stamp program by $33 billion
Slash investments in scientific and medical research by $100 billion
Make older Americans bear more of the burden of Medicare costs
Raise the Medicare retirement age to 67
Cut Medicaid funding by $800 billion
Increase military spending by more than $200 billion over 10 years
Tax “Reform” to Shift More of the Tax Burden Onto the Middle Class:
Permanently extend the Bush tax cuts, adding $5.4 trillion to the debt.
Lower income tax rates, which combined with the Bush tax cuts would result in an average tax cut of $394,000 for those making over $1 million a year. These tax cuts would add $4.6 trillion to the debt.
Pay for some or all of this $10 trillion in tax cuts by eliminating or drastically reducing tax deductions that help the middle class - like the deductions for charitable contributions, state and local taxes, home mortgage interest, and employer-provided health insurance.
If Congress didn’t comply with this plan and offset new tax cuts with other revenues – as some House Republicans have recently suggested – the House-passed budget could increase the national debt substantially over the next 10 years. But in any case, in the short term, its massive spending cuts would reduce economic growth significantly and wipe out more than 4 million American jobs because of drastic spending cuts over the next 2 years, according to a report by the Economic Policy Institute.
Click here for a more detailed summary of this budget.
The House Democrats’ Alternative Budget – Which I Supported
I voted in favor of the House Democratic alternative budget, which was rejected by a vote of 163 to 262.
This budget had very different – and in my view much better – priorities. It would have preserved essential programs like Medicare and Medicaid in their current forms and made essential investments that would create jobs now and increase economic growth in the future – while reducing federal budget deficits in the years to come by requiring millionaires and special interests to pay their fair share.
Spending Priorities in the Alternative Budget:
Preserve Medicare in its current form
Phase out the Medicare Part D prescription drug donut hole
Preserve the new free Medicare preventative care benefits for seniors
Increase federal funding for K-12 education by $119 billion
Preserve college financial aid at current levels
Keep the interest rates on federal student loans steady at 3.4 percent
Make wise investments in infrastructure and research
Reduce defense spending as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wind down
Tax Reform that Would Ensure Everyone Pays Their Fair Share:
Permanently extend the expiring tax cuts for the middle class
End the Bush tax cuts for millionaires
Institute a “Buffet Rule” to ensure that the wealthiest among us pay their fair share of taxes
Close tax loopholes that encourage companies to ship jobs overseas
Close tax loopholes for big oil companies
This budget would have stabilized the national debt by 2015.
Click here for more information about these two very different budgets.
What Happens Next
The House and Senate will eventually have to agree on taxes and spending for fiscal year 2013 – either with a compromise budget plan or bill by bill. The House budget that passed earlier this year has virtually no chance of being approved in the Senate, so it’s very likely that this debate will continue through the summer and into the fall – and very possibly into next year.
I remain deeply committed to ensuring that the federal government provides the essential services the American people need and deserve – while cutting budget deficits and making sure that the wealthy pay their fair share. I will continue to work in Congress to enact fiscally responsible legislation without compromising our nation’s safety net programs or balancing the budget on the backs of the poor and the Middle Class.