John Spratt: “Mr. Speaker, this year we mark the 25th anniversary of the congressional budget process and there is a lot to be proud…”

“Mr. Speaker, this year we mark the 25th anniversary of the congressional budget process and there is a lot to be proud of here because the budget process has helped us get to where we are, to the best fiscal position we have been in in 25 to 50 years, but this is not a very auspicious way to market because the budget before us is not realistic. It has been hastily prepared, hastily presented. We have been able to cobble together what it meant in the last couple of hours when we received a copy of it this morning, but let me say what it means. First of all, take discretionary spending because we will be dealing with that shortly as the appropriations come. It has been capped for the last 10 years. We have to adjust a cap of $6.5 billion reduction this year and then over the next 10 years, between now and 2009, this budget would lower discretionary spending by $16 billion. Last year we spent $299 billion. In 2009, if we follow the pattern of this budget, we will spend $284 billion, a $16 billion reduction. Once we take the total of inflation off that amount of money, that means we will have one-third less to spend for discretionary programs. While this budget is not very specific, it uses big numbers and very few details, there are some harsh realities in it. Veterans, for example, we have the swell in the World War II population pressing greater demands than ever on the Veterans Administration.”