John Spratt

I have sat here all afternoon, and last week through the markup, listening to this mantra about tax increases, all of which is a fabricated argument, and could not and cannot avoid the conclusion that to some extent this is a red herring…

Instead of making the government bigger, we need to right-size government and reform government. Rather, this Democrat budget represents the efficiency and effectiveness of FEMA, the customer service of the IRS, and the real thoughtful…

Mr. Chairman, the President's proposed budget can mean only one thing, the lights are on down at the White House but nobody's home. He has the House Republicans carrying the water, but their budget is his will, make no mistake about it. If…

I can return all the compliments that Mr. Ryan paid to me. He's a pleasure to work with, and I have great respect for him. But there's one thing he didn't mention at all in his presentation all afternoon and that is his budget substitute…

Three times in recent months, officials of the Bush administration have come before our committee, and when asked about the AMT and its impact on middle-income Americans, for whom it was never intended, they have insisted that they could…

In South Carolina, 46,000 full- and part-time jobs are supported by agriculture. That is 22 percent of all the jobs in our State; $15.1 billion in income is attributable to agriculture, 17 percent of the State's total income. Our farmers…

Mr. Speaker, this is a good budget. I would be the first to say it is not a perfect budget, but I would be the first to argue that it is worthy of our support. Indeed, I think it requires our support if we don't want to see the budget…

This budget resolution which we present today did not come easily. It comes from months of hard work, hearings, and negotiations. The end product is a good budget, not perfect, I will admit. Not complete but worthy of support. Indeed, it…

When President Bush came to office in 2001, he had an advantage that few Presidents in recent history have enjoyed, a budget in surplus. I'm talking big-time surplus, $5.6 trillion by his estimate, over the next 10 years, $5.6 trillion…

If you listen to our friends on the other side of the aisle talk about ballistic missile defense, you'd never know that we have spent in today's money at least $125 billion since the days of Spartan and Sprint in the 1970s. This bill…

Mr. Speaker, this goes back to something that our President called fuzzy math. And if I seem hung up on the topic of math, it is because arithmetic is important when you are putting together a budget. What they are telling us is they can…

For the clarification of Members, let me give you my take on what is before us right now. This motion to instruct conferees calls for us to recede, back off the revenue levels in the House amendment and insist on, listen to this, policy…

It would have to be pretty substantial. Isn't the cost of these tax cuts in the first year $180 billion or more?

There was a provision that allowed for reserve accounts so that we could provide for these tax cuts. But basically we took the position that this decision does not have to be made now, and indeed it can be better made closer in time to…

I have here a copy of the President's budgetary proposals for fiscal year 2008 published by the Congressional Budget Office. If you turn to page 6, you will see that the cost of the tax cuts, extending the tax cuts, which the motion…

But let me refer to third parties, independent, disinterested third parties like the Concord Coalition. They took a look at our budget, and they said unequivocally, and I'm quoting, ``Thus, to be clear, the budget resolution does not call…

It's my understanding, roughly speaking, that the cost of these tax cuts, the revenue impact of these tax cuts, in the first year was about $180 billion. If you take that kind of charge against the surplus and still have a surplus left of…

on the other hand, if you look at the surplus you are claiming, $96 billion, and also provide for these tax cuts, my information is that these tax cuts have a revenue impact of at least $180 billion. That would mean in the year 2012 there…

But you haven't shown us the arithmetic. We are not sure your arithmetic is correct.

No. I'm talking about statements in our budget resolution which state emphatically and clearly, ``It is the policy of this budget resolution to preserve, defend and protect the middle-income tax cuts adopted in 2001 and 2003, which will…

The point, I am sure, is you are supportive of all of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. You are limited by procedural rules to only dealing with that which is in the scope of the two resolutions. But, in fact, I am sure you are supportive of…

If I could reclaim my time, it takes a bigger forum than the Budget Committee provides. It takes more participants than just the Congress. Everybody has got to be a player in this game to make it happen in a significant way because it has…

Well, the President's budget cut Medicare by $252 billion over a 10-year period of time and cut Medicaid by 50 to $60 billion over the same 10-year period of time.

Well, I can only surmise what happened to your budget resolution. One reason it didn't muster, besides the fact that you lost 40 votes, as you recall, is I am sure there are certain Republicans on your side of the aisle who did not want to…

Let me conclude by saying everybody should vote for this budget resolution if they want to see an orderly, fiscally responsible, disciplined process in the next fiscal year.