Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2009
Mr. CAMPBELL of California. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
You know, our friends on the other side of the aisle may not like and may have problems with our budget, but the one thing they canand#39;t say is that we are not doing what we say we are going to do. We have said that we are not going to raise taxes, and it doesnand#39;t. We said we will balance the budget in 5 years without raising taxes, and it in fact does that. We have said that entitlements are a big problem and that they will swamp this budget and the next generation with debt if we donand#39;t deal with them, and this budget begins to deal with it. They may not like that, but we are doing what we say.
And there is an old saying that says `do what I say, not what I do.and#39;and#39; That is what somebody who intends to have their actions be different than their words says, `do what I say, not what I do.and#39;and#39;
Letand#39;s take a look at this Democratic budget, which I would argue is the `listen to what I say, donand#39;t watch what I do budget.and#39;and#39; We have heard over the last year how PAYGO and all these other things were going to result in and lead towards a balanced budget and that is where they wanted to go. But yet this budget nearly doubles, actually more than doubles, the deficit from the last budget passed under Republican rule.
Our friends on the other side say that they want to eliminate the alternative minimum tax, at least they say for whatever they define as `middle-class taxpayers.and#39;and#39; But yet in this budget, this budget counts on and continues the revenues from the alternative minimum tax at its current rate or higher for the entire 5 years of the budget.
Our Democratic friends have always talked about how they want a tax cut for the middle class. But yet as has been mentioned, this budget counts on all of the money, all of the tax increases that have been described. It counts on eliminating the marriage penalty credit and the child care credit; it counts on raising the tax rates all the way from the 10 percent rate to 35 percent, raising them all.
They talk about health care, that they want to cover everyone with health care, universal health care and all of that. Is any of that in this budget? No. There are no changes to anything like that in the budget. They were offered the opportunity to put that in the Budget Committee and they didnand#39;t do it.
They talk a lot about the death tax, that the death tax is strangling farmers and small businesses. And it is. And what does this budget do? It takes the death tax back up to the rates it was 10 years ago. It increases the death tax over where it is now.
Then there is the big issue of entitlement reform. All of the analyses, liberal, conservative, in the middle, everyone agrees if we donand#39;t reform Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid, they will bankrupt this country. What do they do to reform those in the next 5 years in this budget? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Yes, my friends, Mr. Chairman, this is the `listen to what I say, but donand#39;t pay attention to what I doand#39;and#39; budget. It is like the Wizard of Oz. Watch the smoke in the front, but donand#39;t pay attention to what the man behind the curtain is doing. This budget, if you look at it, is what the man behind the curtain is doing and really wants to do, but it is not what is right or what is good for America or for taxpayers.