Fundamentally Skewed Priorities in Republican Budget Would Hand More Tax Breaks to Wealthy at Expense of Middle-Class Families

Washington, D.C. – Nevada Senator Harry Reid spoke on the Senate floor today regarding Republican attempts to go back on an August budget agreement in order to protect multi-millionaires and corporate defense contractors at the expense of ordinary Americans. Below are his remarks as prepared for delivery:

Yesterday Republicans continued to filibuster Democrats’ plan to protect 7 million students from skyrocketing interest rates on federal student loans.

What’s worse, they seem proud of it. Not a single Republican voted to allow the debate on this bill to go forward.

But this fight is not over. Democrats have not given up efforts to keep college affordable for almost 30,000 Nevadans and more than 7 million students nationwide.

I hope Republicans will come to their senses, and work with us toward a compromise.

As Democrats work to create jobs and make college affordable, our colleagues on the other side of the aisle are operating under a different set of priorities.

In the House, Republican efforts are underway to undo a hard-fought August agreement to cut more than 2 trillion from the deficit over the next decade.

But the Republican budget and their so-called reconciliation bill don’t just renege on that bipartisan, bicameral agreement to reduce spending.

They reflect fundamentally skewed priorities. They hand out even more tax breaks to multi-millionaires and shield corporate defense contractors, all at the expense of hard-working, middle-class families, the elderly and those in greatest need.

They would slash investments that strengthen our economy and shred the social safety net.

President Dwight Eisenhower once said: “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.”

In a balanced world – one where a strong national defense and a strong social safety net are both valuable pillars of a successful society – that need not necessarily be true.

But the Republican plan would enshrine into law a set of truly unbalanced priorities – and ensure the kind of terrible math Eisenhower envisioned.

Unlike defense contractors and billionaires, ordinary Americans don’t have high-priced lobbyists to protect them. That’s our job.

But Republicans are going after those who can’t fight back – hard-working Americans and struggling families.

Let’s review a bit of history. The sequester isn’t the first bipartisan agreement to reduce the deficit.

Over the years there have been many efforts to reach comprehensive, bipartisan solutions to our deficit.

There was the Fiscal Commission, Bowles-Simpson, the Gang of Six and the Supercommittee. They all failed.

Although President Obama was willing to make difficult concessions to achieve meaningful deficit reduction, Republicans and Speaker Boehner could never go against Grover Norquist.

This is a Grover Norquist Congress.

So we’re left with the threat of almost $500 billion in cuts to domestic programs and almost $500 billion in cuts to defense programs.

Democrats agree the sequester – which includes across the board cuts both to domestic spending and the defense budget – is far from the ideal way to solve our nation’s fiscal problems.

It’s a tough pill to swallow. But that was the point.

Those cuts were designed to be tough enough to force lawmakers to compromise.  They were designed to be tough enough to force the two sides to reach to a balanced deal.

But Republicans refused to be reasonable. They refused to raise even a penny of new revenue, or ask millionaires to contribute their fair share to help reduce our deficit and our debt.

I’d like to read a short excerpt from a piece by Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein from the Washington Post.

They eloquently describe the GOP’s unwillingness to compromise here:

“We have been studying Washington politics and Congress for more than 40 years, and never have we seen them this dysfunctional. In our past writings, we have criticized both parties when we believed it was warranted. Today, however, we have no choice but to acknowledge that the core of the problem lies with the Republican Party.”

They went on to say:

“The GOP has become an insurgent outlier in American politics. It is ideologically extreme; scornful of compromise; unmoved by conventional understanding of facts, evidence and science; and dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition.”

Republicans insisted on balancing the budget on the backs of the middle class, seniors, students, single mothers and so many others who could least afford it.

And it is their intransigence – their refusal to compromise – that leaves us facing the threat of the sequester, and its difficult but balanced cuts.

Going back on the August budget agreement now in order to protect wealthy special interests is no solution.

Neither is refighting the battles of last year.

Democrats agree we must reduce our deficit and make hard choices.

But we believe in a balanced approach that shares the pain as well as the responsibility.

Is the sequester the best way to achieve that balance? Absolutely not.

But Republicans refuse to consider a more reasonable approach – one that asks every American to pay his fair share while making difficult choices to reduce spending.

And Democrats won’t agree to a one-sided solution that lets the super-wealthy off the hook while forcing the middle class, and those in greatest need, to bear all the hardship.

Democrats believe we can protect Americans’ access to health care, create jobs while investing in the future and protect the poor and elderly.

And we can do all that while reducing the deficit in a responsible, even-handed way.

But we can’t do it alone. It will take hard work and compromise.

And so far Republicans have been unwilling to make a serious effort to achieve that compromise.

Republicans have rejected our balanced approach. Their one-sided solution to across-the-board cuts would take from the many to give to the few.

So, here’s what their plan would do:

• Cut Medicaid benefits, increasing the number of uninsured children, parents, seniors and people with disabilities by 300,000. It would also put seniors in nursing homes at risk.
• Punish Americans who receive tax credits to purchase health insurance when their financial circumstances change – causing 350,000 Americans to forgo coverage.
• Weaken Wall Street reforms, protecting big banks at the expense of consumers.
• Once again target middle-class workers, including food inspectors, air traffic controllers and border patrol, drug enforcement and FBI agents.
• Cut funding for preventive health care programs that fight chronic illnesses – such as heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes – that cause 70 percent of deaths in America.
• Slash Block Grant funding that allows states to help 23 million children, seniors and disabled Americans live independently and out of poverty.

No segment of the population is immune from the pain of this Republican plan – except maybe millionaires, billionaires and wealthy corporations.

The Republican proposal cuts Meals on Wheels for seniors.

It reduces food assistance for 1.8 million needy people.

And it cuts off 280,000 kids from free school lunches at a time when one in five children lives in poverty.

That’s why the U.S. Conference of Catholic of Bishops said the Republican plan fails a “basic moral test.”

This budget sets very clear priorities. The problem is, they’re the wrong priorities.

President Franklin Roosevelt once said, “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.”

Republicans would do well to remember our nation is judged not only by the strength of its military, but also by the strength of its values.

Democratic Senators Jack Reed, Tom Harkin and Sherrod Brown urge Republicans to join Democrats in supporting a bill to prevent student loan interest rates from doubling.

“Today, Republicans voted to hit students with an additional $1,000 in debt in order to protect wealthy tax dodgers. Republicans have paid lip service to the need to protect our students from this crushing debt burden, but their obstruction speaks louder than their words.

“We have different approaches on how to pay for this bill, but Democrats’ main goal is to move this bill forward. If Republicans want to have a vote on an amendment with their alternative way to pay for the proposal, they are more than welcome to have that vote if doing so would move this bill closer to the President’s desk.

“Unfortunately, it appears that Republicans appear more interested in obstruction than progress. For the sake of the seven million students who are at risk of seeing their payments skyrocket, I hope Republicans’ actions will start to align more closely with their words.”

Washington, D.C. – Nevada Senator Harry Reid spoke on the Senate floor today regarding a Republican filibuster of legislation to keep student loan interest rates low, and on the Republican proposal to cut preventive health care. Below are his remarks as prepared for delivery:

Over the last two weeks, Senate Republicans have repeatedly claimed they support efforts to keep interest rates low for federal student loans.

There is only one way to prove it: end the needless filibuster of Democrats’ plan to stop rates from doubling this summer.

Democrats have proposed legislation to freeze student loan interest rates at current levels for a year without adding a penny to the deficit.

Our plan creates no new taxes. It would simply stop wealthy Americans from avoiding the taxes they already owe.

And our legislation would prevent 7 million students from paying $1,000 more over the life of each loan.

Yet Republicans appear poised to filibuster this worthy measure.

They’re sending a clear message they would rather protect wealthy tax dodgers than help promising students achieve their dreams of higher education.

Republicans will try to explain away their “no” votes by claiming they oppose the way the legislation is paid for.

They propose radical cuts to a preventive health care fund instead – a proposal they know Democrats oppose.

The prevention fund is already helping states fight chronic illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes.

Chronic diseases like these are responsible for 7 out of 10 deaths in American.

And they make up three-quarters of the nation’s health care spending.

For example, treating 26 million Americans with diabetes – including a rapidly growing number of children – costs hundreds of billions of dollars every year.

And diabetes increases the risk of developing other costly, life-threatening chronic diseases, such as heart disease, stroke and kidney failure.

The prevention fund also pays for successful tobacco cessation programs that avert billions in healthcare costs to treat emphysema, heart disease and cancer.

And it finances immunizations for preventable, childhood illnesses such as measles and whooping cough.

Last year, measles cases reached a 15-year high.

After being nearly wiped out in the 1950’s, whooping cough has also resurged.

During a recent outbreak of whooping cough in California, the disease reached its highest rates in more than half a century.

These diseases are completely preventable with the kind of proper immunizations the prevention fund supports.

Yet Republicans want to ax investments in preventive care that save the country money and save lives.

We have already made cuts – difficult cuts – to this program. We cannot afford to make more drastic cuts, which would put Americans’ health at risk.

But while we do not support Republicans’ plan to cut programs that combat diabetes, heart disease and cancer, we are happy to give them a vote on their alternative pay-for.

If Republicans stop filibustering our legislation, which would keep student loan interest rates low, we will vote on their proposal to pay for it.

The stakes of this debate are too high to let partisanship get in the way.

The average student graduates with $25,000 in debt.

Too many young people are putting off buying a house, starting a family or opening a business because they are saddled with crushing student loan debt.

Democrats are determined to protect millions of students from increasing interest rates.

If Republicans truly share our goal, they will vote to advance this legislation today.

“Democrats are opposed to shortchanging an important program that supports crucial efforts to prevent disease and protect against public health emergencies just so Republicans can continue protecting millionaire tax dodgers. The best way to pay for legislation that will keep student loan interest rates from doubling is to close a tax loophole that allows wealthy individuals to avoid paying the same income taxes that middle-class Americans pay.”

America has the best, brightest and most dedicated workers in the world. All those workers need is a fair shot to succeed.

But right now many workers in this country don’t enjoy the same rights as the wealthy CEOs they work for – to negotiate the terms of their employment.

A new rule from the National Labor Relationship Board will remove unnecessary obstacles to workers’ rights to form a union if they choose.

I solidly support this rule. And I urge all my colleagues to vote tomorrow against the resolution of disapproval that would strike down this common-sense rule.

The new rule doesn’t encourage unions, but it doesn’t discourage them either. It just gives workers the ability to vote yes or no, while minimizing the chances of intimidation.

Tomorrow the Senate will also vote on a number of amendments to a bipartisan postal reform bill.

This important piece of legislation will safeguard more than 8 million jobs that depend on a vibrant postal system.

It will also protect postal customers – particularly elderly and disabled Americans, and people who live in rural parts of the country.

I am pleased we reached an agreement to allow Senators to offer relevant amendments to this bill.

And I hope once we work through those amendments tomorrow we will see a strong, bipartisan vote to modernize the post office and save this important institution from insolvency.

Once we pass postal reform tomorrow, as I expect we will, the Senate will move on to consideration of another very important piece of legislation: reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.

Since its passage in 1994, the Violence Against Women Act has reduced the annual incidence of domestic violence by more than 50 percent.

Despite that incredible progress, we still have work to do to keep women and families safe.

Three women die in this country every day at the hands of abusive partners. And for every victim who is killed, there are nine more who narrowly escape death.

It would be unacceptable to step back from our national commitment to stop violence and abuse now.

VAWA was unanimously reauthorized by the Senate in 2000 and 2005. This effort should be – and traditionally has been – above partisanship. I hope that proves to be the case again in 2012.

This year it has 60 cosponsors and the support of 47 state attorneys general. I can’t imagine why my Republican colleagues would oppose such a worthy piece of legislation.

By joining Democrats to pass this legislation, Republicans can help us send a clear message that this country does not tolerate domestic violence of any kind.

If the Senate does not complete work on this critical legislation before we recess for the state work period, we will continue efforts to pass this measure after the break.

But the Violence Against Women Act isn’t the only pressing matter the Senate has to complete next work period.

We must begin work on a number of appropriations bills, consider additional judicial nominations, advance a cybersecurity bill and take up legislation to cut taxes for small businesses that expand and hire.

And we must address a looming crisis for millions of students in America: the July 1 deadline for interest rates to double on federal student loans.

With middle-class families struggling and fewer students able to afford the rising cost of higher education, we cannot afford to put college out of reach for more promising young people.

Doubling interest rates from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent – effectively socking 7.4 million students with $1,000-a-year in student loan costs – would do just that.

Today Americans have more student loan debt than credit card debt. The average graduate owes close to $25,000.

Getting a college education shouldn’t burden young people with unsustainable debt.

Unfortunately, many of my Republican colleagues have signaled they would rather cut taxes for the richest of the rich than invest in the next generation of American workers.

But the business community agrees making college affordable is key to keeping America competitive in a global economy. An investment in education is an investment in our economy.

I hope Republicans in the Senate will hear this message, and join Democrats to make that smart investment, and protect nearly 8 million students in this country when we take up this legislation next work period.