FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 10, 2003

CONTACT: Brendan Daly (202)225-0100

Pelosi: 'Republican Budget is a National Disgrace'

Washington, D.C. -- House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi gave the following statement late tonight on the House floor on the Republican Budget Resolution, which later passed the House by a vote of 216 to 211:

“Mr. Speaker, earlier today we gathered in Statuary Hall to honor our men and women in uniform and their families. In doing so, we were reminded of our own mission, to build a future for our children worthy of their sacrifice.

“To build a future worthy of them, we need a budget that is a statement of our national values. Instead, tonight we have a budget before us that is a national disgrace.

“We need a budget resolution that is a blueprint for investing in our children and for job creation. Instead, we have a road map to economic disaster.

“Instead of investing in our children, we are making them indebted. We are mortgaging their futures for a tax break that benefits those who need it least, the wealthiest in our country.

“It is no wonder that the Republicans want to bring this budget to the floor in the dark of night. It is 2 o'clock in the morning, just 11 o'clock in California, so hopefully people there will hear about this budget, that the Republicans do not want the American people to know.

“They do not want them to know, for example, that while we honor our men and women in uniform, we are also tonight cutting their benefits by $6.2 billion. They do not want the American people to see their charts, which will show, as the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spratt) indicated, that by the year 2013 they will double the national debt to $12 trillion.

“This is at a time where the Bush economic failed policies have taken us to consumer confidence being very low, retail sales moving at the lowest rate in a decade, and factory orders and manufacturing are down. The economic indicators are dismal. And the reaction of the Republicans? They offer more of their warmed-over stew: tax cuts that benefit the wealthy.

“Under President Bush, our country has lost 2.5 million jobs, the worst record of job creation since the depression. Under President Clinton, 22 million jobs were created, largely because of the sound fiscal policy that the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spratt) referenced in the budget vote that only Democrats supported.

“This Republican plan will cause more job loss. Job loss for American workers to give tax breaks to America's wealthiest. It simply is not fair.

“Not only is the Republican budget not fair, it is fiscally irresponsible. I ask you, my colleagues, where have all the budget deficit hawks gone? Are they an endangered species? It seems they are. The tax cuts in this budget, again, will double the national debt in the life of this budget to $12 trillion.

“We will pay more interest on the debt to pay for this reckless tax cut than we will spend on investing in education, than we will invest in protecting the environment, transportation, infrastructure, which grows our economy and protects our environment, and housing. The list goes on and on. Head Start, investments in our children, all of that investment will be exceeded by interest on the national debt. What a tragedy.

“Those big deficits will raise interest rates and have a negative impact on our economy. The President's and the Republican's tax plan irresponsibly piles up debt and makes a bad economy worse.

“But do not take my word for it. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has said recently that there is no question that as deficits go up, contrary to what has been said, it does affect long-term interest rates. It does have a negative impact on the economy. The Congressional Budget Office just last week said the ‘overall macroeconomic effect of the proposals in the President's budget is not obvious.’

“The office went on to say that the downturn in investment that will result from this plan will be a drag on the economy. More than 400 economists, including 10 Nobel Laureates said: ‘Passing these tax cuts will worsen the long term budget outlook, adding to the nation's projected chronic deficits.’

“Finally, the report by the Committee for Economic Development, a blue-ribbon organization of corporate CEOs stated, ‘The budget deficits, the President's plan, would be akin to `arsenic poisoning' for the economy.’ A vote for this budget is a vote for arsenic poisoning for the economy.

“If that would not be enough, just yesterday, the IMF sharply rebuked the Bush and Republican budget proposal. And they said, ‘Suppose for a moment we were talking about a developing country with a gaping trade deficit year after year as far as the eye can see, a budget spinning from black into red, open-ended security costs, and an exchange rate that has been inflated by capital inflows. With all of that, the IMF said, I think it is fair to say we would be pretty concerned if it were a developing nation.’

“‘The United States,’ it went on to say, ‘isn't a developing country but, nonetheless, for the global economy, the Bush tax cut is poor policy and ill timed. Whether we are talking about job creation for America's families or lifting up the global economy, this is a very bad idea.’

“Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to reject the Republican's reckless, irresponsible budget, which explodes the deficit, does not create jobs, and dishonors our commitment to our children. Do the right thing. Vote no, no, no on the ‘arsenic poisoning’ of our economy, the Republican budget.”

“ Democrats are united in presenting a New Direction for America, one that will make our nation as strong as its people, one that brings opportunity, security, and prosperity to all Americans. ”

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi