Transcripts For CSPAN U.S. Senate Budget Committee Ranking M

Our fellow americans who would be unable to access government services. It would severely impact several employees who would not get the paychecks they expected. It would also have a very Significant Impact on our armed forces. In other words, we must do everything we can to prevent a government shutdown, which is exactly what will happen if a budget agreement is not reached by january 19, when the shortterm continuing resolution expires. I am very disappointed, therefore, that the republican party, which controls the white house, the u. S. House and the u. S. Senate, is pushing us closer and closer to a very dangerous government shutdown. The Republican Leadership in house,s, and the white must not allow this shutdown to take place. They have got to compromise. They cannot get it all. Theres Everybody Knows, in 2011, Congress Passed the budget the centerpiece of that Bipartisan Legislation was that there would be parity parity in defense and nondefense spending. That agreement continued in the american taxpayer relief act of 2012, the bipartisan budget act of 2013, and the bipartisan budget act of 2015. All of these bills provided equal amounts of funding towards defense and nondefense purposes. Any future efforts to increase mustudget control act caps continue to adhere to this principle of parity. In other words, we have had a bipartisan agreement now for six years, which has continued on four separate budgets. But now, threatening us with a government shutdown, the republicans want to break that agreement. Madam president , i was very disturbed to hear Senate Majority leader mcconnell on the floor yesterday say that, and i quote, since fiscal year 2013, defense cuts have outpaced domestic spending cuts by 85 billion. To fix this, we need to set aside the arbitrary notion that defense spending be matched equally by new, nondefense spending. Why fundingeason for our National Security and our servicemembers should be limited by an arbitrary, political formula that theres no relationship to actual need. Senator mcconnell, on the floor yesterday. Madam president , fortunately, what senator mcconnell said was inaccurate and misleading. His statement conveniently ignored the fact that mandatory spending on domestic programs, like medicare, have been severely cut over this time period. Thatso ignored the fact during this period, the Defense Department has also received tens and tens of billions of dollars in funding through the overseas Contingency Operations funding that is not capped at all. The oversease Contingency Operations funding, defenseity is, overall spending has gone up, not down, over this time period, while nondefense Discretionary Spending has been severely cut. Further, senator mcconnell ignores a very, very important reality. And that is that nondefense Discretionary Spending, as a percentage of gdp, is now at a 40 year low. 40 year low. Agreementstanding regarding parity of defense and nondefense spending is not some kind of inside the beltway, esoteric issue. Its an issue that will impact tens of millions of working families in this country, who today are struggling to keep their heads above water. Over the last 40 years, while the middle class of our country has been shrinking, the people on top, the top 1 , have been doing phenomenally well. The actions of the Republican Congress in the last year have only made a bad situation, an unfair situation, even worse. Today, somed states 28 million americans have no Health Insurance. Yet, over the last year, the republicans have attempted to throw an additional 32 Million People off of the health care they have, including proposed 1s for medicaid by up to trillion over a 10 year period. Madam president , tragically, the United States has the highest rates of childhood poverty, of any major country in the industrialized world. And instead of doing all that we can to end childhood poverty in this country, the republicans have proposed to once again make a horrific situation even worse by cutting nutrition programs for children, cutting the whip program for low income pregnant women, cutting the afterschool programs, and funding for public education. Madam president , there are millions of Senior Citizens in this country who can barely make it. And i sometimes wonder how in ons name they do make it, 12,000, 13,000, or 14,000 a year Social Security. How do you keep your house warm . How do you buy the food you need . How do you buy the prescription drugs you need to stay alive on 13,000 or 40,000 a year . And yet, there are millions of Senior Citizens in this country in that position. Yet, despite that reality, over the last year, we have had to fight off one republican effort after the other to cut Social Security, to raise the retirement age, or to even privatize this life and death program. Further, republicans have proposed massive cuts to the low Income Heating Energy Assistance program, which is keeping people form in vermont today, keeping people warm in vermont today when the temperature goes below zero. Often, Senior Citizens depend upon this program, yet President Trump in his budget proposed to wipe it out completely. They are also proposing cuts to the meals on wheels program, Senior Housing programs and medicare. Madam president , today in a highly competitive global, economy, when we need to have the best educated workforce in the world, when the new jobs that are being created require a higher education, hundreds of thousands of bright Young Students desperately want to get a College Education, but they are unable to do so because their families lack the income. But republicans, incredibly, want to make that situation even worse by proposing massive cuts passedbudget they theugh pell grants, major source of funding to help young people get a College Education and other Financial Assistance programs for colleges. In my view, we should be making dublic colleges an universities tuitionfree. Republicans are making it harder for young people to get the education they need. Madame president , during this budget process, when the republicans want to expand 100ary spending by some billion 100 billion over the next two years, by far the largest increase in military spending in american history, we will not turn our backs on working families, the elderly, the children, the sick and the p oor. The United States government must do more than greatly expand military spending and give tax breaks to billionaires. To protect the working families of this country and that is what the new budget must do. And that means we must have parity between defense and nondefense spending. And that is why this budget, the proposed budget that we are working on now, must address the many crises facing the working families of the United States. That is what the American People want, and that is what we must deliver. And among many other things that must be included in the new budget that we are working on, is full funding for Community Health services, which provide primary health care, dental care, Mental Health counseling, and low cost prescription drugs to some 27 million americans in every state in our country. It has been more than three months since funding for Community Health centers have dropped. Our nations 1400 Community Centers in roughly 10,000 communities throughout this country are deeply worried, right now, as to when they will get the funding they need. I just spoke to the leadership of Community Health centers in vermont the other day. And they have had a longstanding problem, as have Community Health centers all across this country, in retention and attracting new doctors and nurses into their programs. What we are seeing now is a situation where many people who might want to work in Community Health centers are saying, why would i want to go there . Republicans are delaying funding for this vitally important program. Not act in, 70 of Community Health Center Funding will be cut in 2800 Health Centers will close their doors. Community Health Centers must be funded at the levels contained in the Bipartisan Legislation introduced earlier this year, senator bluntlate and senator fabinho for their work on this issue. There are many republicans who are responsible for cosponsoring that legislation. We would pass it tomorrow if it was on the floor of the senate. Let us do that. The offset to the Prevention Program for the afford will care act that were included in the december 21 agreement are on acceptable and they must not be repeated. Are unacceptable and they must not be repeated. This bill represent a modest 5 at a cost ofunding just 2 billion over five years, the very least we can do to address the major crisis of primary health care in america, especially rural america. Madam president , as you know, federal funding for the Childrens Health Insurance Program expires on september 30, 2017. If the program is not reauthorized, 9 million children and working families will lose their Health Insurance. An you imagine that we have congress prepared and acting to give tax breaks to the richest people in this country, but somehow or another, they have not gotten around to reauthorize and refund the Childrens Health Insurance Program . That must be done immediately and once again, without regressive offsets, which take money from other Health Insurance programs. Madam president , we must keep our promises on pensions. If congress does not act soon, of earned pension benefits one million workers and retirees and millions of Pension Plans could be cut by up to 60 . We must not rescind the promise we made to 1. 5 million workers. Adam president , we must madam president , we must expand Social Security services for seniors. Since 2010, congress has cut Social Securitys operating republicans , and want to cut it by another 4 this year. These budget cuts have resulted n 10,000oss of more tha employees, the closing of 64 field offices, and reduced hours in many others. In vermont, one pill the office has seen staffing in vermont, one field office has seen staffing cut by 60 . 10,000 people died in the past year waiting for a decision on Social Security disability benefits. We need to increase funding for these Vital Services by at least 1. 4 billion, just to bring staffing back up to where it was in 2010. Madam president , we need to keep our promises to our veterans, the men and women who put their lives on the line to defend our country. Right now we have tens of thousands of vacancies in the v. A. Those vacancies must be filled. Veterans must be able to get high quality, Timely Health care. We must fight the opioid and heroin epidemic that is sweeping this country. We are seeing all over america, tens and tens of thousands of people, often young people, overdosing on opioids and heroin. States and communities all over this country need the resources for prevention if you cant be delayed. Has to be dealt with now. Madam president , Everybody Knows that in the last several months we have seen disastrous hurricanes impact texas and florida and puerto rico and the Virgin Islands. In puerto rico today, there continues to be many, many people who still do not have electricity. We must pass Disaster Relief right now which is adequate, which treats puerto rico and the Virgin Islands just the same as we will treat texas and florida. We cannot continue to delay, given the enormous suffering that is existing in puerto rico and the Virgin Islands. Madam president , let me very briefly touch on another issue of enormous consequence. Which simply cannot be ignored. There on september 5, 2017, President Trump announced that he would be rescinding president obamas executive order on daca. That decision means that some 800,000 young people 800,000 young people who have known the United States of america as their only home, this is where they grew up, this is where they went to school. These 800,000 people are on the verge of losing their legal status, in terms of education, in terms of employment, in terms of serving in the military if that program is not reestablished. Without the Legal Protection afforded by the daca program, these young people live in constant fear of being deported. Since the president s announcement in september, more than 11,000 people have lost the protections under daca, with approximately 22,000 set to lose Legal Protections by the march 5, 2018 deadline. Any spending agreement must address the fear and uncertainty unnecessarily caused by the administrations reckless actions, and a clean dream act must be signed into law as part of the budget negotiations. Madam president , protecting the dreamers and moving these young people toward citizenship is not some kind of wild and radical idea. It is precisely what the American People want. A recent quinnipiac poll shows that 77 of the American People support providing Legal Protections for the dreamers. This is an issue that must be dealt with, and it must be dealt with now. Madam president , when history looks back on this period, i do not want them to see the United States congress which worked overtime to protect billionaires and large corporations and a congress which turned its back on working families and the children and the sick and the poor. I do not want history to look back on this period and say that thought itcongress appropriate to spend hundreds of billions more on the military, but not be concerned about veterans who did not get the health care they need, or some 800,000 young people who are now frightened that they will lose their legal status. As the United States senate, we must get our priorities right, and we need a budget which deals not only with military spending, but with the needs of the middle class and working families of this country. And with that, madam president , i yield the floor. Part of that list of Funding Priorities you just heard from senator sanders was