On the recordMarch 25, 2015
Let me start with something, I think, Members who are listening to this debate should know already, which is that the Republican budget does not balance, not by a long shot. It assumes the revenue from the Affordable Care Act even though they claim to repeal the Affordable Care Act. It doesn't account for the costs of additional tax cuts that are coming through this House as we speak, and, if the revenue from that were lost, their budget would be even further out of balance. In fact, just today, in the Ways and Means Committee, they are increasing the deficit by over $250 billion over 10 years by giving a huge tax cut to 5,500 families in getting rid of the estate tax. Now, everyone should understand that the estate tax only applies to couples with estates worth over $10 million. They are saying that people with estates worth $10 million, who have done really well, shouldn't contribute anything toward investments in our country, even toward deficit reduction. That increases the deficit right away and puts their budget even more out of balance, so this doesn't come close to balancing. While it is actually cutting special interest tax breaks for folks at the very high end of the income scale, it actually disinvests in the rest of the country. They dramatically cut the portion of our budget that we use to invest in our kids' futures, in early education, in kindergarten through grade 12. They make it harder for students to afford college.…
