I stand united with the President and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in our commitment to win the war against Iraq and take all necessary steps to defeat terrorism and preserve national security both at home and abroad.  However, despite the many new security and economic challenges confronting us, the war and our homeland protection efforts should not, and need not, shortchange our domestic priorities.  We can win the war against Iraq and terrorism without raiding Social Security and Medicare and without increasing the national debt.  Yet, this Republican budget resolution would accomplish just the opposite. 

Two years ago, the Administration and Congress were looking covetously at a staggering $5.6 trillion cumulative surplus through 2010.  At the time, Congress was continually reassured by the Administration that we could afford an enormous tax cut, ensure the solvency of Social Security and Medicare, pay down the national debt, fund our domestic priorities and still have a large reserve fund for unanticipated emergencies.  Like many of my colleagues, I cautioned the Administration at the time that its budget and enormous tax cut were based on unrealistic surplus projections that would never materialize. 

Earlier this year, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) confirmed that in less than two years the 10-year projected surplus has been erased.  While portions of this decline are a result of our efforts to defeat terrorism and preserve national security both at home and abroad, the depletion of the surplus to date was largely caused by the fiscally irresponsible policies of 2001.  The additional $1.3 trillion in tax cuts, much of which are due to excluding dividends from taxation, that the Administration and the Republican Leadership propose would only worsen our current situation and lead us further down the path of mounting deficits and escalating public debt. 

To pay for the additional tax cuts, the Republican’s budget resolution would raid the entire $2.2 trillion Social Security trust fund to cover deficits in the rest of the federal budget over the next ten years.  Moreover, the projections used to frame this budget are overly optimistic.  They do not include the cost of the Administration’s plan to permanently extend several expiring tax cuts, which would add $100 billion to the deficit between 2004 and 2013.  In addition, this budget omits the cost of extending relief from the swelling individual Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) beyond 2005.  Without AMT relief, the number of taxpayers subject to it will soar from two million today to over 43 million by 2013.  The projections also leave out an assessment of the enormous cost of the current war and the subsequent costs of occupation, which could last for a number of years. 

The disappearance of the 10-year surplus compels us to consider not just a one-year but also a long-term budget plan.  Congress and the American people have the right to know how the Republican Leadership proposes to restore fiscal discipline while enacting additional multi-year tax cuts, boosting spending for the military, and meeting commitments to a growing number of retirees.  Furthermore, I find it incredibly irresponsible that the majority continues to pursue large tax cuts while shortchanging important domestic priorities.  Congress should devise budgetary rules that make tax cuts contingent on the realization of specified targets for the budget surplus and the federal debt.  Unfortunately, this budget fails on all those accounts. 

Moreover, this budget would cut domestic appropriations by $244 billion over ten years below the amount needed to maintain services at the 2003 level.  Remarkably, the funding levels in this budget are $115.3 billion lower than the level in the President’s budget, which many Members -- on both sides of the aisle -- thought was too low.  Further, it would require cuts of $265 billion over ten years in programs such as Medicaid, veterans’ benefits, student loans, housing assistance and pensions and benefits for federal employees.  This budget also fails to provide funds for necessary infrastructure improvements or help hard-pressed states and localities.  Meanwhile, it provides an inadequate prescription drug benefit, and underfunds other key priorities without reaching balance until 2012.