Chris Van Hollen

Mr. VAN HOLLEN

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the 192nd anniversary of Greek Independence. On this day, we honor the memory and sacrifice of those who fought and died to free their nation from occupation. The revolution brought independence to the Greece and confidence to other oppressed peoples around the world who also yearned for freedom. The message the Greek people sent out to the world in 1821 continues to reverberate today as a beacon of hope to those who seek the right of self-determination. When we recognize Greek Independence Day we reaffirm the ideals and values that inspired Thomas Jefferson to say that Americans owe the ancient Greeks a great debt for showing us the light and helping to lead us out of darkness. Each year that we honor Greek Independence, we acknowledge that debt, and by our example, let oppressed people know that we stand with them in their quest for freedom.

Mr. VAN HOLLEN

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Over the last couple days, we've had a spirited debate on the budget. We have deep differences on this issue, but I want to commend Chairman Ryan for the way he conducts the business of the Budget Committee. The debate is lively but always civil, and I thank him for the way he has run the committee. I also want to thank all the other members of the Budget Committee for their full participation in this debate and to the staffs, both Republican staff and Democratic staff, who work so hard for their service to our country. I want to commend our team who has been working very hard and ask that their names be included in the Record along with the members of the Republican staff. Mr. Chairman, these budget resolutions are mostly comprised of lots of numbers on lots of pages, but we know that behind these numbers are key decisions about the future direction of our country and our priorities and values as a nation. I was disappointed that yesterday this House did not pass our Democratic budget alternative that presents a solutions-based approach to address our challenges instead of an ideological approach. Today, I'm going to ask the House to vote against the Republican budget because of its uncompromising ideological approach, and I will explain more about that in a moment. I reserve the balance of my time. House Budget Committee Minority Staff Abernathy, Sarah Ballis, Ellen Capstick, Kathleen Carasso, Adam Cummings, Ken Griffin, Jocelyn

Mr. VAN HOLLEN

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Chairman, I claim time in opposition to the gentleman's amendment.

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. No, we do not.

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Chairman, I rise to offer a substitute amendment.

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. I think the American people know full well that the best way to attack the deficit right now is to help put more Americans back to work. That's the sense in this country and that's what all the numbers show from the Congressional Budget Office. If you take the austerity approach recommended in either this budget or the main Republican budget, we know from the referees, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, that we'll see 750,000 fewer jobs just by the end of this calendar year. We also know you'll see 2 million fewer jobs next year, which is why we say let's focus on the jobs deficit and address the budget deficit in a sustained way where we bring it down in a balanced way, where we ask for shared responsibility and not another round of tax breaks for the folks at the very top. And yes, we achieve balance in the same year the Republican budget last year achieved balance, but our priority is getting the country fully back to work. We also believe that when we put together these budgets, we shouldn't pretend that you can have it all ways. And as I have said repeatedly, the Republican budget, including this RSC budget, is based, on the one hand, on the claim that it gets to balance in 4 years--one, in 10 years--but at the same time that they're repealing ObamaCare, and that just is not the case. It doesn't add up. So if you're in a race to fake balance, then you should vote for this one because it gets to fake balance in 4 years instead of 10 years. But if you're in a race to put America back to work, you should vote for the Democratic plan. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Chairman, today we are offering a budget with commonsense solutions that first focuses on the issue that's most pressing for the country and the American people today: kicking our economy into higher gear and putting more Americans back to work. We know from the Congressional Budget Office--the professionals--that one-half of this year's deficit is due to the fact that millions of Americans are still looking for work and that three-quarters of next year's deficit is because we're not at full employment. Our budget goes to the heart of the issue. It attacks the jobs deficit because we know we can't get the budget deficit under control until people are back to work and we take a balanced approach to long- term deficit reduction where we ask for shared responsibility. We do ask people at the very high end of the income ladder to give up some of the tax preferences and tax breaks they have in order to help reduce the deficit. It's very different than the Republican budget that doesn't close one tax loophole for the purpose of reducing the deficit. Theirs only lowers tax rates for folks at the very top by increasing the tax burden on middle-income Americans. We don't do that. We make sure that people can get back to work by replacing the sequester, which we know will result in 750,000 fewer Americans working at the end of this year. We also have a jobs program investing in this country, especially in the area of infrastructure, to help rebuild our aging infrastructure and build the modern infrastructure that's necessary to compete in the 21st century. Those measures will make sure that, compared to our Republican colleague's budget, we have 1.2 million more Americans working by the end of this year and 2 million more by the end of next year. We also make sure we keep our commitments to our seniors. Unlike the Republican budget, we don't reopen the prescription drug doughnut hole, which will mean seniors with high prescription drug costs will have to pay thousands more out of pocket over the period of this budget, and we don't turn Medicare into a voucher program that leaves seniors facing the risks and costs of escalating health care costs in the future. We make sure that students don't face a doubling of the interest rate in July, scheduled to go from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. The Republican budget keeps that doubling of interest rate in place. We don't. We fully fund the transportation program for the next 10 years. The Republican budget cuts it by 20 percent, even at a time when we have 15 percent unemployment in the construction industry. Mr. Chairman, we get at the budget issues by putting more people back to work, by dealing with this in a balanced way. We reduce the deficit way down so it's growing much slower than the economy. We stabilize the debt, and we balance the budget in the same time period that the Republican budget for the last 2 years had balanced the budget, but our focus is on jobs and the jobs deficit as a way to tackle the budget deficit. With that, I'm very pleased to yield 3 minutes to my colleague and friend, the distinguished whip from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer). (Mr. HOYER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman.

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Chairman, I yield the gentleman another minute.

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I think, if you ask the American people, they know what the challenge is right now. It's getting the economy back in full gear, and they're struggling because too many of them can't find a job, and the Republican budget will make that even worse. That's not me saying it. That's not a Democratic economist saying it. Those are the professionals at the Congressional Budget Office saying it.

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. I now yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Israel).

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. I don't have enough time. On your time, I'm happy to, my friend, but I can't do it right now. Let me say another thing, Mr. Chairman, with respect to balance. It's really interesting. One of the reasons the Republican budget that last year came into balance in 2040 and the year before was able to balance this year is that the increase in per capita health care costs has come down significantly, in part because of the Affordable Care Act and the changes in incentives. In fact, if you applied much more reasonable assumptions to our proposals than the Congressional Budget Office applied to the Republican budget last year, you'd get balance. I know our Republican colleagues don't want to hear it. Now our focus and our priority is on dealing with the jobs deficit. That is the best way to reduce the long-term deficit and to do it in a balanced way. I now yield 2 minutes to the very distinguished assistant Democratic leader, my friend from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn).

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. The way to save Medicare is to bring down costs overall in the health care system, not give seniors a voucher that puts all the risk on the senior, which is what the Republican approach does. I now yield 1 minute to the distinguished ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman).

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Chairman, the gentleman from Indiana just made the point that under the current Medicaid system States have lots of flexibility, including Indiana, to help bring down costs. But when you have a tight program, cutting another $820 billion is not a lifeline; it's throwing them an anchor. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Chairman, it is now my privilege to yield 1 minute to the gentlelady from California (Ms. Pelosi), the very distinguished Democratic leader, who just returned from the Vatican and hopefully will bring some hope from the Pope, as I say.

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews). (Mr. ANDREWS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. May I inquire again how much time remains?

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Chairman, may I ask how much time remains on each side?

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Chairman, I now yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly).

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Chairman, I now yield 1 minute to a distinguished new Member from Florida (Ms. Frankel).

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The fundamental choice here is whether we want a budget like the Democratic budget that focuses on economic growth and strengthening the middle class or whether you want to take a budget like the Republican budget that imposes European-style austerity by more than doubling the size of the sequester on essential investments to help the economy grow. Investment in our infrastructure, when we know we have 15 percent unemployment in the construction industry. Investment in our kids' education, not doubling the student loan interest rate in July, as the Republican budget would do. Investment in science and research. If we don't make those investments, our global competitors are going to eat our lunch. And yes, we do ask the very wealthy to get rid of some of their tax breaks and loopholes to help contribute to the reduction of the deficit so that we can reduce the deficit in a balanced way that calls for shared responsibility. And no, we do not ask middle-income families to pay higher taxes in order to finance tax breaks for the wealthy. And yes, we get the deficit down in a steady way. We balance it in the same year the Republican bill balanced last year, and we don't pretend that we're going to balance and get rid of ObamaCare at the same time. That's fake balance, not real balance. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Chairman, our budget focuses first and foremost on jobs and getting the economy growing. It does balance in the same time that the Republican budget last year balanced. And unlike the Republican budget, the main one, we do not give tax breaks to the folks at the very top financed by increasing taxes on middle class taxpayers. I now yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Cardenas), a great new member of the Budget Committee.