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Politics

: The Gavel

House Debates FY 2009 Budget

By Jesse Lee

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Today the House has begun considering the FY 2009 Budget. The budget is fiscally responsible, returning to balance in 2012, and complies with the House pay-as-you-go rule that requires all mandatory spending and revenue provisions to be deficit-neutral. The budget resolution also provides reconciliation protection for a repair of the Alternative Minimum Tax that is fully paid for, contains initiatives to crack down on wasteful spending, and its deficit-neutral reserve funds will ensure that new initiatives are offset by reductions in lower priority spending. The budget relies on realistic economic assumptions from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office. Learn more from the Budget Committee and our current legislation section, or read the full text of the bill.

Reps. Jim McGovern (MA-03) and Lloyd Doggett (TX-25) spoke during debate on the rule:

Rep. Doggett: “showering tax breaks on the richest, the most privileged few while hemorrhaging $12 billion every month in iraq this administration has created more than a federal deficit. it has created deficits, opportunity deficits for billions of american families. the administration’s failure to address our educational needs means that there’s an opportunity deficit. that millions of young people are not able to achieve their full god-given potential because of the lack of support in both the public education level and for student financial assistance. the failure of the bush administration to address our health care problems means a health care deficit for millions of american families, the largest single cause of personal bankruptcy in america today, the health care crisis.”

Rep. McGovern: “mr. speaker, that for years we have had — we have been forced to accept the priorities of george bush and his republican colleagues who have controlled the congress. that is now changing. for nearly seven years we have watch as they have accumulated huge debt, historical debt. we have watched as they have chipped away at some of the most important programs that help some of the most desperate people in our country. the american people have had enough. that’s what the last election was about. they have had their chance, they have shown us their priorities, and the american people have rejected them. it is now time to create a budget that has a conscience, that responds to the needs of the struggling middle class in this country.”

Full post as published by The Gavel on March 12, 2008 (boomark / email).