[House Hearing, 116 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
BUDGET PRIORITIES: MEMBERS' DAY
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
COMMITTEE ON THE BUDGET
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
HEARING HELD IN WASHINGTON, D.C., FEBRUARY 27, 2020
__________
Serial No. 116-22
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Printed for the use of the Committee on the Budget
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available on the Internet:
www.govinfo.gov
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U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
41-284 WASHINGTON : 2020
COMMITTEE ON THE BUDGET
JOHN A. YARMUTH, Kentucky, Chairman
SETH MOULTON, Massachusetts, STEVE WOMACK, Arkansas,
Vice Chairman Ranking Member
HAKEEM S. JEFFRIES, New York ROB WOODALL, Georgia
BRIAN HIGGINS, New York BILL JOHNSON, Ohio,
BRENDAN F. BOYLE, Pennsylvania Vice Ranking Member
ROSA L. DELAURO, Connecticut JASON SMITH, Missouri
LLOYD DOGGETT, Texas BILL FLORES, Texas
DAVID E. PRICE, North Carolina GEORGE HOLDING, North Carolina
JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY, Illinois CHRIS STEWART, Utah
DANIEL T. KILDEE, Michigan RALPH NORMAN, South Carolina
JIMMY PANETTA, California KEVIN HERN, Oklahoma
JOSEPH D. MORELLE, New York CHIP ROY, Texas
STEVEN HORSFORD, Nevada DANIEL MEUSER, Pennsylvania
ROBERT C. ``BOBBY'' SCOTT, Virginia DAN CRENSHAW, Texas
SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas TIM BURCHETT, Tennessee
BARBARA LEE, California
PRAMILA JAYAPAL, Washington
ILHAN OMAR, Minnesota
ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey
SCOTT H. PETERS, California
JIM COOPER, Tennessee
RO KHANNA, California
Professional Staff
Ellen Balis, Staff Director
Becky Relic, Minority Staff Director
CONTENTS
Page
Hearing held in Washington, D.C., February 27, 2020..............
Hon. John A. Yarmuth, Chairman, Committee on the Budget...... 1
Prepared statement of.................................... 3
Hon. Steve Womack, Ranking Member, Committee on the Budget... 4
Prepared statement of.................................... 6
Hon. Betty McCollum, A Representative in Congress from the
State of Minnesota......................................... 9
Prepared statement of.................................... 11
Letters and articles submitted for the record............ 16
Hon. Ted Budd, A Representative in Congress from the State of
North Carolina............................................. 46
Prepared statement of.................................... 48
Hon. Michael C. Burgess, A Representative in Congress from
the State of Texas......................................... 52
Prepared statement of.................................... 54
Hon. Ben Cline, A Representative in Congress from the
Commonwealth of Virginia................................... 57
Prepared statement of.................................... 59
Hon. J. Luis Correa, A Representative in Congress from the
State of California........................................ 61
Prepared statement of.................................... 62
Hon. Michael Cloud, A Representative in Congress from the
State of Texas............................................. 64
Prepared statement of.................................... 66
Additional statements submitted for the record............... 70
BUDGET PRIORITIES: MEMBERS' DAY
----------
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020
House of Representatives,
Committee on the Budget,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:06 a.m., in
room 210, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. John A. Yarmuth
[Chairman of the Committee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Yarmuth; Womack, and Hern.
Chairman Yarmuth. The hearing will come to order. Good
morning, and welcome to the Budget Committee's Members' Day
hearing.
I look forward to this annual hearing because it gives us
the opportunity to hear from our colleagues on the budget
issues of great importance to them. We appreciate everyone for
appearing before the Committee this morning, and look forward
to your testimony.
I will now yield myself five minutes, which I won't use,
for an opening statement.
Last year, with the support of both Republican and
Democratic Members of this Committee, and after months of
deliberations, Congress put in place bipartisan budgets for
2020 and 2021, complete with rational discretionary top lines
allowing strong investments in our national and economic
security.
As that work was underway, I used this Chairmanship to
revitalize the Committee with the goal of providing much more
aggressive oversight of the budget. We have held hearings
addressing some of the biggest economic issues facing our
nation, including the benefits of immigration reform, the costs
of climate change, aging infrastructure, income inequality, the
potential costs of debt, the federal government's vital role in
mitigating economic downturns, tax policy, and more. These
issues will continue to impact and, in some cases, dictate our
nation's economic outlook and fiscal health.
So, while we already have a budget in place for this year
and the next, as the--at the pace Congress moves, it is never
too early to start preparing for 2022. With the expiration of
the Budget Control Act of 2011, the budget resolution will once
again be Congress's primary tool for developing and enforcing
our fiscal policies. This hearing will provide us with an
opportunity to hear the budget priorities of our colleagues as
we move forward with those discussions.
At the same time, and in the face of a President who has
flouted our budget laws, and repeatedly trampled the lines of
executive budgetary power, this Committee will fight to enforce
and strengthen Congress's power of the purse, provide oversight
of the people's budget, and ensure that the warped vision the
President presented in his 2021 budget does not come to
fruition.
Good governing and responsible budgeting requires smart,
often difficult, choices. This process begins by evaluating the
tradeoffs our choices require while taking into consideration
the long-term effects and benefits. It includes considering
both revenues and spending, and our goal must be to better
serve the American taxpayers, and prepare our nation's budget
for the future. It is my hope that this hearing will provide
insight into which issues and longer-term budgetary challenges
this Committee should examine as we work to build an economy
that works for all Americans, not just the wealthy and
corporations.
I thank Members for taking time out of their busy schedules
and speaking before the Committee today. I look forward to
hearing from each of you.
[The prepared statement of Chairman Yarmuth follows:]
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Chairman Yarmuth. I now yield five minutes to the Ranking
Member.
Mr. Womack. I thank the Chairman. Each year this hearing is
an important step in the Budget Committee's task of crafting a
budget resolution for the fiscal year. It provides Members of
the Committee the opportunity to hear from our colleagues from
across the country. Historically, their diverse voices have
been an important part of the conversation to map out the
nation's fiscal blueprint.
But this year is a bit different. Why are we having this
hearing, when we aren't doing a budget resolution?
I don't think a single Member of this Committee would deny
the importance of gathering input from our colleagues to help
inform decisionmaking in the budget process. However, we didn't
do a budget last year. We are not going to do a budget this
year. So I have to question the point of the exercise today.
This Committee's failure to execute its central
responsibility and put forward a budget should be deeply
unsettling to everyone here and at home. Why? Our fiscal
trajectory, it is not sustainable. Unless we take significant
action, this trend will soon begin to impact every aspect of
American life, from the strength of our economy to national
security efforts.
Last month CBO director Phill Swagel told us that, in
Fiscal Year 2020, the deficit will be over $1 trillion--that is
with a T. That is an increase of $31 billion from last year,
the first year since Fiscal Year 2012 that the deficit will
eclipse $1 trillion.
It gets worse. On the current path the deficits are
projected to eclipse $1 trillion every year over the next 10.
That is more than $13 trillion over the budget window by fiscal
2030.
So what is driving these deficits? The answer is pretty
simple: out of control, unchecked mandatory spending.
Today mandatory spending accounts for 70 percent of the
federal budget. It is on track to reach an alarming 76 percent
by fiscal 2030. Because our country's mandatory spending
continues to balloon, federal spending will consume an ever-
expanding share of economic resources. It will rise from 21
percent of GDP this year to 23.5 percent of GDP in 2030. Now,
that is far in excess of the 20.4 percent annual average of the
past 50 years.
Now, what do these numbers mean for hardworking American
families and workers? Simply put, it is not good. It means that
the programs they are paying into today and are counting on for
tomorrow may not be available when they need them the most. It
also means that there will be fewer dollars for essential
government operations such as defense, homeland security,
education, maybe even COVID-19.
Despite these very real fiscal challenges and warnings from
outside experts, we continue to hear about Democrat proposals
with astronomical price tags: Medicare for All, the Green New
Deal. They will propose budget-busting policies, but they won't
produce a budget.
So I will continue to ask my colleagues on the other side
of the aisle, how will you reconcile your party's desire to
uncontrollably spend with a pressing need to address the
exploding national debt?
How will you do this without crafting a budget for the
second straight year?
We have a moral obligation to get our fiscal house in
order. If we don't act, the burden of our irresponsibility will
be left on the backs of our children and our grandchildren.
And, as I often say in my meetings at home, our grandchildren's
grandchildren. The most logical step toward reversing course is
this Committee to do its most basic job: pass a budget, take it
to the floor, and let's have a robust discussion about the
priorities of our country. I trust and hope that my colleagues
will reflect on this point.
And Mr. Chairman, I, before I yield back the balance my
time, recognize the fact that you were with me when we were
trying to do process reform that would actually lead to this
Committee--strengthen this Committee, and get this Committee
back on the path of doing its job. And it is high time that we
get back to that business.
[The prepared statement of Steve Womack follows:]
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Mr. Womack. I yield back the balance.
Chairman Yarmuth. I thank the Ranking Member for his
comments and, as--yes, we tried. We can continue to try.
So as--I will now begin to recognize the Members in order
of their arrival here.
As Member--as a reminder, Members appearing before the
Committee will have five minutes to give their oral testimony,
and their written statements will be made part of the formal
hearing record.
In addition, Members of the Committee will be permitted to
question witnesses following their statements. But out of
consideration for our colleagues' time, I would ask that you
please keep your comments brief.
And with that, I recognize the gentlewoman from Minnesota,
Ms. McCollum.
STATEMENT OF HON. BETTY MCCOLLUM, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS
FROM THE STATE OF MINNESOTA
Ms. McCollum. Good morning, and thank you, Chairman Yarmuth
and Ranking Member Womack. I want to thank you for this
opportunity for Members to bring our legislative priorities
before the Budget Committee today.
I am here to speak with you about H.R. 1128, the Indian
Programs Advanced Appropriation Act. As Chair of the Interior
Environment and Appropriations Committee, I have heard from
tribal leaders for many years about the difficulties of
operating essential government services in the areas of health
care, education, and public safety under the uncertainty of
continuing resolutions and shutdowns.
It was at the request of those tribal leaders that I
introduced H.R. 1128, which has 48 bipartisan cosponsors, along
with Republican and Democratic appropriators who are our
cosponsors. We did this in order to provide much-needed
stability to tribal governments and to Native American
communities.
Providing federal funds for Indian programs a full year in
advance will ensure that the federal government can better meet
its commitment to uphold trust and treaty responsibilities
throughout Indian country. It is an important issue of pressing
importance for all tribal nations. And I am proud to say that
the congressional effort on this issue has truly not been just
bipartisan, but non-partisan, as Mr. Womack can attest to the
work that we do on our Committee on this issue.
The 35-day government shutdown last year put a tragic
spotlight on the clear need for advanced appropriations for the
Bureaus of Indian Affairs, Indian Education, and for Indian
Health Service. Access to insulin, physical therapy was
compromised when clinics had to close or cut back services that
help at their clinics. Basic everyday needs like tribal justice
services, social services for children, families, and seniors,
when unfunded, putting Native American communities at risk--
emergency maintenance staff for tribal schools were
unavailable. And roads went unplowed in the snow, impacting
public safety.
The federal government has a legal and moral responsibility
to ensure funding for our trust and treaty responsibilities,
and that is not interrupted by delays in appropriations. H.R.
1128 provides advanced appropriations to ensure that a future
shutdown would not disrupt the critical funding for native or--
that native communities rely on.
Within the interior appropriations bill we have already
dedicated resources over several years to achieve forward
funding in some parts--the Bureau of Indian Education budget.
That meant that tribal schools could keep operating during a
shutdown, successfully protecting Native American students'
education. But without this Committee, the Budget Committee's
help, we simply do not have the ability to provide advanced
funding for all of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian
Health Services budgets.
Each year the Interior Appropriations Committee holds two
days of public witness hearings with tribal leaders to hear
about funding priorities in Indian country. For the past two
years, we have heard overwhelmingly, over again and again,
about the priority of advanced appropriations for tribal
nations.
While government shutdowns are damaging to all of our
communities, they are disproportionately harmful to Native
Americans. We cannot allow the health and safety of tribal
communities to be put at risk because the House, the Senate or
the Administration can't finish their work on time. Because of
the federal government's past failures, tribal governments,
tribal organizations, and our fellow Americans representing
hundreds of individual tribal nations support advanced
appropriations for Indian country.
I would like to submit for the record letters and
resolutions from the National Congress of American Indians; the
Indian--the National Indian Health Board; Self-Governance
Communication and Education Tribal Consortium, and other tribal
governments and regional tribal organizations. They call on
Congress to act and pass appropriations for our basic trust and
treaty responsibilities.
Thankfully, this Committee already has a model to look to
where Congress provided advance appropriations to uphold its
obligations. In 2009, Congress overwhelmingly passed
legislation to provide Veterans Health Administration with
advanced appropriations. In every budget resolution the House
now provides an exception for allowing for advanced
appropriations for the medical services and the facilities
provided for the VA. We took steps to ensure that our national
commitment to care for our veterans was supported with a stable
budget, even in uncertain political times.
Our fellow citizens throughout Indian country deserve no
less when it comes to their health care and their safety.
Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member, I thank you for the time.
[The prepared statement of Betty McCollum follows:]
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Chairman Yarmuth. I thank the gentlewoman. And without
objection, her submissions will be included in the record. So
ordered.
[The information referred to follows:]
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Chairman Yarmuth. Are there any comments or questions of
Ms. McCollum?
Thank you very much.
Ms. McCollum. I thank the Committee.
Chairman Yarmuth. I now recognize the gentleman from North
Carolina, Mr. Budd, for five minutes.
STATEMENT OF HON. TED BUDD, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM
THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
Mr. Budd. Chairman Yarmuth, Ranking Member Womack, Members
of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify
today.
So, as a small business owner and someone who brings an
outsider's perspective to Washington, I want to sound the alarm
on our country's out-of-control fiscal situation. Right now the
national debt stands at more than $23 trillion, which is
roughly the equivalent of $70,000 for each man, woman, and
child in America. And the budget deficit is set to break $1
trillion this year.
We have to take action and reverse course. The path we are
on is simply unsustainable, and risks triggering a financial
crisis that would undermine the prosperity of the American
people. That is why I recently introduced a resolution, along
with my fellow Members of the North Carolina delegation,
calling for an end to Washington's spending addiction.
My resolution simply states that Congress should not raise
the debt ceiling without making significant fiscal and spending
reforms that would put us back on track toward a balanced
budget. More specifically, I launched a series called--and you
will enjoy this--``Budd's Budget Busters,'' to highlight
examples of government waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement,
along with common-sense solutions that Congress can act on to
save taxpayer dollars.
The first instance of government waste I highlighted is the
millions of taxpayer dollars being sent to individuals who are
not even alive. For example, a 2015 Social Security
Administration inspector general report found that 6.5 million
people in the system that are implausibly 112 years or older.
The Department of Veterans Affairs paid out an estimated $37.7
million to deceased veterans in 2016. Over $1 billion has been
paid to farmers who have been dead for over three years.
Medicare paid for $3.6 million in prescription drugs for dead
beneficiaries.
The fact that the federal government is unable to
distinguish between the living and the dead is simply absurd,
especially when a simple fix is available. That is why I
applaud my colleague, Representative Gianforte, for introducing
H.R. 2543, the appropriately named Stop Improper Payments to
Deceased People Act. The bill grants federal agencies access to
Social Security Administration's death data base, and puts new
procedures in place that force agencies to consider death data
before making payments. Passing legislation like this is common
sense. It is simply a no-brainer.
Another example of government waste that I highlighted was
the fact that 75 percent of the federal government's IT funding
goes toward maintaining outdated legacy software. For example,
the Department of Justice and the Social Security
Administration still operate programming code from the 1950's
and 1960's. The Department of Treasury still uses a pair of
nearly 60-year-old systems. The Department of Veterans Affairs
maintains veteran's benefits on more than a 50-year-old system.
Most incredibly, the Department of Defense uses an over 50-
year-old system of 8-inch floppy disks to operate our country's
nuclear arsenal.
As the tech revolution continues to impact every aspect of
our lives, we have to make sure that our government isn't left
in the dust. The private sector can be a vital resource for
demonstrating how to effectively modernize cutting-edge tools
like cloud and blockchain and digital ledger technology. That
is why Congress should perform enhanced oversight in the form
of hearings and testimony that enact new legislation where it
would be needed. Agencies and departments should be held
accountable for the snail's pace of technological change in our
federal bureaucracy.
In the three years that I have been here, I have voted
against many budgets that ignore our national debt and kick the
can further down the road. But I look forward to working with
all of you to reverse course, and start pursuing policies that
will reduce our national debt for our kids and our grandkids.
The time is now to rein in Washington spending addiction. Thank
you again for the opportunity to testify. I yield back.
[The prepared statement of Ted Budd follows:]
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Chairman Yarmuth. Thank you for your testimony, and I
particularly appreciate your calling attention to the fact that
our--a lot of our technological capabilities in this country
are so outmoded. And that is, I think, an important thing that
this Congress ought to focus very intently on.
Mr. Budd. Thank you.
Chairman Yarmuth. Do any other Members have any comments or
questions?
Thank you again for your testimony.
I now recognize the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Burgess, for
five minutes.
STATEMENT OF HON. MICHAEL C. BURGESS, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF TEXAS
Mr. Burgess. I thank the Chair. Republican Leader Womack,
thank you for giving me the opportunity to present priorities
for Fiscal Year 2021.
I want today to discuss health care, technological
advancements on deployment, and energy solutions. Of course, I
sit on the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and these are the
priorities on the Republican side of the dais, at least in the
Committee on Energy and Commerce.
First off, we know Americans care about how much they are
spending on prescription drugs. They worry about their ability
to afford the medications that they need. Some patients ration
their insulin, while others choose between medications and
food.
There is a bipartisan consensus that Congress can act to
bring down prescription drug costs. We considered Medicare part
D reform, including capping seniors' out-of-pocket costs. The
Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means put out bipartisan
requests for information, and received more than 80 responses.
Unfortunately, these conversations were sidelined while
attention was wrapped up in the Speaker's bill, H.R. 3, last
October.
So I urge other Members to consider the provisions included
in H.R. 19, the Lower Cost, More Cures Act of 2019. This bill
includes bipartisan solutions to lower drug costs, and protects
access to new treatments and new cures. H.R. 19 does cap out-
of-pocket costs in Medicare part D, protecting seniors from the
high cost of prescription drugs, and caps set at $3,100 a year,
caps the cost of insulin at $50 a month.
H.R. 19 also contains provisions aimed at access to
prescription drugs in rural areas by reforming the so-called
direct and indirect remuneration fees largely administered by
pharmacy benefit managers.
There is a lot that Congress can be doing to the cost--for
the cost of drugs to deliver for the American people. H.R. 19
is an example of bipartisan policies that could become law and
directly impact drug costs that patients incur. The provisions
mentioned today are just some of the common-sense and
bipartisan solutions that should be considered.
The Fiscal Year 2021 budget should include funding to
ensure the United States' preeminence in fifth-generation
mobile technology. The 5G rollout will require rural broadband
deployment and a trained work force to install the necessary
infrastructure.
In addition, the National Institute of Standards and
Technology must have the resources to contribute to global 5G
standards, and the National Telecommunication and Information
Agency must manage the federal spectrum. This includes working
with the Federal Communications Commission and industry to
auction spectrum and protect current incumbents.
Additionally, consumers are concerned about their data
privacy. The Energy and Commerce Committee is currently
negotiating federal privacy law that will require the oversight
of the Federal Trade Commission to ensure that industry does
not engage in deceptive practices when implementing privacy
policies. The Federal Trade Commission will require technically
trained personnel to fulfill this responsibility.
Another technology, autonomous vehicles. The infamous self-
driving car will improve mobility and increase safety on our
roadways, and we should prioritize funding for the National
Highway Traffic Safety Agency to be able to certify the safety
features of these vehicles, allow testing exemptions when
necessary, but also issuing recalls and regulations where
necessary. This includes expertise within the Office of Defects
Investigations and a consumer-facing education campaign on
recall completion. The traveling public deserves adequate
resources to ensure their safety.
The President's budget funds important energy research
projects, including projects such as the Versatile Test
Reactor, the Energy Storage Grand Challenge, and artificial
intelligence capabilities. These smart investments in nuclear
power, energy storage, and advanced computing will ensure
energy independence and conservation for our future.
Congress must consider resources for energy efficiency,
including programs like the Energy Star. This has saved
Americans billions of dollars, and certainly should be
preserved to ensure consumers make informed energy decisions.
And let me just say I agree with Ranking Member Womack
about the absence of a budget. It is difficult to negotiate and
navigate these issues without that. And in fact, yesterday, in
our hearing that we finally had on COVID-19, there was a lot of
criticism about the President's budget. But it is difficult to
criticize the President's budget when we will not propose our
own budget in the people's House, and have not for the last
several congresses.
I appreciate the attention, and I will yield back my time.
[The prepared statement of Michael C. Burgess follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairman Yarmuth. The gentleman yields back. And I think it
is safe to say the gentleman from Texas and I have rarely found
areas of agreement over the years, but I find myself in
agreement with much of what you said, and I thank you for your
testimony.
But I will say it--actually, it is easy to criticize the
President's budget without doing our own. But thank you for
your testimony.
[Laughter.]
Chairman Yarmuth. Anybody else have a comment or question?
Mr. Womack. Was H.R. 19 subject to a markup?
Mr. Burgess. H.R. 19 was considered as a Republican
substitute to H.R. 3----
Mr. Womack. To H.R. 3.
Mr. Burgess. So it didn't have its own separate markup from
H.R. 19. But every one of those provisions had--at some point
had a legislative hearing and again, was included in the
Republican amendment in the nature of a substitute.
Mr. Womack. I thank the gentleman.
Chairman Yarmuth. Once again, Mr. Burgess, thank you for
your testimony.
I will now recognize the gentleman from Virginia, Mr.
Cline, for five minutes.
STATEMENT OF HON. BEN CLINE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM
THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
Mr. Cline. Thank you, Chairman Yarmuth, Ranking Member
Womack, Members of the Committee. I am back again this year.
I came last year to testify about the need to aggressively
pursue a path to a balance in our federal budget and begin to
address our exploding deficits and ballooning national debt. I
think it is important to reiterate that we need to reintroduce
four words to Washington that we use in Richmond and across
state capitals time and time again: We can't afford it.
Our federal debt is now over $23 trillion. It is
discouraging to my constituents back home that the last time a
federal budget with a surplus was signed into law was 1997, 23
years ago. As lawmakers, we need to restore confidence in
Congress and in our federal government by restoring fiscal
responsibility to our budget process.
Balancing the federal budget has become a challenge because
the federal government overreaches across a wide swath of
areas. I commend past and current champions who are committed
to undertaking the large job of balancing the budget by
negotiating across the aisle, across chambers, between the
House and the Senate, and with both Democrat and Republican
administrations. Such negotiations led to the deficit
reductions that created the 1997 surplus. I am committed to
being a champion for a balanced budget, and hope that the
Committee Members will make that same commitment.
The implications of failing to pass a budget, not even
considering one that leads to balance, are grave. It puts our
national security at risk. It steals opportunities from the
hands of future generations. And it is, ultimately,
unsustainable.
The bottom line is that we ask Americans to balance their
budgets and, as lawmakers who are entrusted by constituents to
use discretion and exercise discipline when spending their
hard-earned money, we must move to craft and pass a fiscally
responsible budget that balances to the forefront of our
legislative agenda.
And I thank the Chairman for his time, and I will be happy
to answer any questions.
[The prepared statement of Ben Cline follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairman Yarmuth. I thank the gentleman.
Any questions or comments from the Members?
Thank you very much for your testimony.
I now recognize the gentleman from California, Mr. Correa,
for five minutes.
STATEMENT OF HON. J. LUIS CORREA, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS
FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Mr. Correa. Thank you, Chairman Yarmuth, Ranking Member
Womack, and Members of this Committee. I thank you for the
opportunity to testify before you today on certain national
security priorities that I believe Congress should consider in
this Fiscal Year 2021.
To begin with, I would like to let you know that I chair
the Subcommittee on Homeland, Transportation, and Maritime
Security. The issue there the Coast Guard brought to my
attention is the Arctic and, essentially, our northern border.
That is our northern border. Now that the Arctic has
essentially melted, we have the Russians on the other side,
very close to us.
We have issues, priorities, of minerals, oil, fisheries,
and navigation. Currently, Russia has an icebreaker fleet of
over 50 icebreakers. We have two. The Coast Guard has said they
need at least six to begin to do their job adequately. And I
would ask this Committee to please consider funding the Coast
Guard's procurement construction improvement needs. It is,
essentially, to guard our best interests on our northern
border.
Second, I would like to turn to an issue of importance to
my district, and I think to the rest of the country, which is
the national network of fusion centers. These fusion centers
essentially serve a very important role of information sharing
of criminal activities and criminal threats. This network of 69
fusion centers do a really good job of working with the local,
state, and federal agencies in coordinating and disseminating
information when it comes to threats domestically, locally, and
internationally.
The President's proposal would cut these programs
significantly. I would ask that we instead increase funding for
these fusion centers, and make sure that we safeguard our
communities both at the federal, national level, and local
level.
With that, I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman and Ranking
Member and Members of this Committee for your time and
interest.
[The prepared statement of J. Luis Correa follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairman Yarmuth. I thank the gentleman for his testimony.
Any questions or comments of the Member?
Mr. Correa. Thank you, sir.
Chairman Yarmuth. Thank you very much, once again.
And now I recognize the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Cloud,
for five minutes.
STATEMENT OF HON. MICHAEL CLOUD, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS
FROM THE STATE OF TEXAS
Mr. Cloud. Thank you and good morning, Chairman. Chairman
Yarmuth, Ranking Member Womack, Members of this Committee,
thank you for having us here today.
This Committee is tasked with the important constitutional
obligation placed on Congress in article I, Section 8 to
determine how much revenue should be collected from the
taxpayers, and how much should be spent. The budget process is
vital, because it is within that budget framework that we
evaluate proposed legislation to ensure that we are spending
within agreed-upon spending limits. Or at least that is how it
is supposed to work.
Last year I came to talk to you about a bill I introduced,
H.R. 638, the Cost Estimates Improvement Act, which would
require the CBO and JCT to include debt servicing costs in
their estimates. I asked you to include it as part of the
Fiscal Year 2020 budget process.
We do not have the luxury of ignoring the true cost of our
spending decisions. Our nation's outstanding debt is nearly
$23.4 trillion, and climbing. And by the time we meet this time
next year in this Committee, it will be over $24 trillion. In
fact, according to the most recent budget outlook from CBO,
over the next 10 years the annual deficits will reach $1.7
trillion. Our national debt will reach nearly $35 trillion, and
our annual interest payments will be $819 billion.
These numbers are so big that it is hard for the average
person to comprehend, but they represent a real threat to our
nation's financial future. And we are increasing the deficits
and debt at these alarming rates without a full and complete
picture of the legislation we are voting on, because we
regularly do not consider the interest cost.
As Maya MacGuineas of the Committee for a Responsible
Federal Budget explains, ``If the interest on the debt is not
counted, the official scores of legislation can be deceptively
low, especially when offsets would recur, year--would occur
years in the future.'' American taxpayers in future generations
deserve honest accounting, not more gimmicks that attempt to
paper over our huge and unsustainable deficits.
The folks back home understand this. If they were budgeting
for a monthly car payment, and only considered the list price
of the car itself, and didn't factor in the extra cost of the
interest payments, they might discover later that the actual
cost was more than they could afford. In essence, Congress does
this very same thing by not considering the comprehensive
budgetary impact of spending and taxing proposals. This
distorts congressional decisionmaking in favor of more spending
and debt accumulation than might otherwise be the case. Simply
put, the debt servicing costs and legislative cost estimates
would be--would better equip lawmakers to make informed
spending decisions.
My legislation also does one more important thing that
would help lawmakers make better spending decisions. It
requires cost estimates to include a list of duplicative
programs with the covered legislation. For example, the
President's budget documents released earlier this month noted
that there are 91 federal programs to train health care
professionals, and this is just one example of duplication
across the federal government.
If cost estimates were required to point out such
duplication, it might give Members pause before voting to spend
more taxpayer dollars on duplicative programs, and it would
give us a better awareness toward evaluating and improving
current programs.
But the good news that--is--the good news is that, while
legislation requiring consideration of interest costs is
preferred, we do not need it in order to--we do not need
legislation passed in order for us to begin counting the real
costs of proposed legislation. The CBO is already capable of
producing these numbers, and you have the power to ask for it
in this Committee.
Last month I sent a letter to the Chairman and Ranking
Member, as well as your counterparts in the U.S. Senate, a
bipartisan letter signed by myself and 56 of our colleagues. In
the letter we asked that you direct the CBO to begin including
debt servicing costs in all legislative cost estimates
produced.
Reining in our debt and our deficits only gets harder, the
longer we wait. And we owe it to our constituents, particularly
those of future generations, to make spending decisions with
the most accurate information possible. This isn't a red or
blue issue, a Republican or Democrat issue. This is just
simple, good governance. I hope that you will consider this
cost estimates reform as an important step toward improving our
budget process.
And I do thank you again for your time here today. I
appreciate it.
[The prepared statement of Michael Cloud follows:]
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Chairman Yarmuth. I thank the gentleman for his testimony.
Any questions or comments?
Yes, sir.
Mr. Hern. Mr. Chairman, thank you. My colleague is exactly
right. This isn't a red or blue issue. This is just common
sense that every American, every business has to go through
everywhere, every state, everywhere except the federal
government.
We found many of those kind of things. And I think, if you
polled everybody individually, they would tell you the same
thing. And why we can't do it, it is beyond me. I am going to
find the answer, though.
Mr. Cloud. Thank you, I appreciate it.
Chairman Yarmuth. All right. Any other questions or
comments?
Well, thank you very much, once again, Mr. Cloud.
And I want to thank again all the Members who appeared here
today, and the Members who attended the hearing. And that
completes our business for the day.
So without objection, this hearing is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 10:40 a.m., the Committee was adjourned.]
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