Washington, DC - Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) delivered the following statement on the Senate floor today regarding H.R. 1 and the Inouye Substitute Amendment to fund the federal government for the remainder of the current fiscal year.

(As prepared for delivery)

"Mr. President, the amendment I introduced on Friday cuts $51 billion from the discretionary spending request submitted by the President for fiscal year 2011.  If this amendment were agreed to as written, it would mean that we would appropriate $51 billion less than the President felt was necessary for the government to carry out its duties.  I do not agree with every item this President, or any President, requests in their budget, but I also know that the President's budget request did not contain $51 billion in frivolous or wasteful funding.  The cuts necessary to reach the $51 billion level required difficult choices.

"My amendment makes real cuts to real programs. Tens of thousands of Americans will feel the direct impact of the proposed cuts.  But the cuts included in this amendment are based on hearings, testimony and a thorough analysis of the current needs of every agency and department that the Committee funds. 

"By contrast, the Republicans in the House have thrown together a proposal based not on budgets, not on hearings, not on the demonstrated needs of agencies and departments, but rather based on the campaign promise to reduce spending by $100 billion.  H.R. 1 shows clearly what happens when you write a bill based not on analysis, but on campaign speeches.

"Therefore, today the Senate finds itself responding to draconian cuts that would lead to furloughs, disrupt the delivery of government services, and harm America's children, our students, our working class and our Seniors.  An estimated 700,000 jobs would be lost.  All of this pain delivered in the name of deficit reduction and growing the economy.  Yet the facts are clear.  This is the wrong direction for our nation.

"Mr. President, we face our current fiscal situation primarily because of falling revenues brought about by unpaid for tax cuts, especially for the wealthiest Americans, and because of ever-rising entitlement costs.  Every non-partisan report on finding a solution to our current fiscal crisis stresses the need for a comprehensive solution.  A solution that includes cuts in discretionary spending - both defense and non-defense, as well as cuts in entitlement spending and yes, the need for additional revenues.

"Just yesterday the New York Times published a story about the efforts of the junior Senator from Virginia and the senior Senator from Georgia to honestly examine what it will take to solve our fiscal challenges.  According to the story, even if Congress cut discretionary spending to zero, the senior Senator from Georgia was quoted as saying 'we still couldn't solve the problem.'  I could not agree more.  The solution to deficit reduction will not come from huge cuts to a small portion of the federal budget, but that is what the House is proposing.  What H.R. 1 will do instead is jeopardize the economic recovery we are starting to see.

"Mr. President, this Democratic alternative attempts to make the best of a very bad situation.  The topline numbers tell the story.  In my amendment, we are $23 billion dollars below the President's request for non-security spending, and we are $28 billion below his original request for spending related to our nation's security. 

"For the Department of Defense alone, we have reduced spending by $19.4 billion, including a reduction of $2.1 billion for military construction and $17.3 billion for the rest of the Defense Department.  At this level the bill is nearly $3 billion below the amounts proposed by the House for these activities.  The recommended amounts will cover our Defense requirements in this constrained fiscal environment.  However, my colleagues should all understand that with our troops still serving in Iraq and Afghanistan this is not the time to be looking to Defense for additional reductions. 

"Mr. President, I fear that not all Members understand the depth of the cuts that we have had to take to get to $51 billion under the request.  They should be advised, for example, that the Senate amendment cuts $355 million for State and local law enforcement grants.  This will result in some 1,420 fewer local and tribal law enforcement and criminal justice jobs.  In addition, the amendment cuts $526 million from FBI salaries and expenses.  These cuts will halt new national security enhancements intended to improve our intelligence and counterterrorism capabilities, to protect U.S. information and technology networks from cyber attacks, and to assist in litigation of intelligence and terrorism cases.  

"The Senate amendment cuts science funding by $573 million at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and by $165 million at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).  As a result, the Nation will lose opportunities for promising research in emerging fields like cyber security and nanotechnology.  Instead of taking the lead, as we have always done, we will slow down, allowing the rest of the world to catch up.

"When it comes to the critical area of education, the Senate amendment eliminates 17 individual education programs totaling $370 million. It cuts all federal funding specifically targeted to education technology, gifted and talented instruction, and family literacy.
The list goes on and on, Mr. President, but as significant as these cuts are, they stand in strong contrast to the House Republican bill, which includes such severe measures that the bill would undermine our security and endanger our economy, while costing hundreds of thousands of American jobs.

"H.R. 1 would cut transit security grants by 66 percent despite the fact that there have been over 1,300 attacks, killing or injuring over 18,000 people worldwide on trains and subways over the last seven years.  The Senate bill would maintain the fiscal year 2010 enacted level of $300 million.

"The House Republican CR cuts discretionary funding for community health centers by $1 billion compared to the FY10 enacted level.  This cut would prevent any new clinic from opening.  It would eliminate funding for 127 clinics currently operating in 38 states and reduce current services at another 1,096 centers across the country.  More than 2.8 million people would likely lose access to their current primary care provider and over 5,000 health center staff could lose their jobs.  The Senate bill restores the $1 billion cut, preserving both the vital servicesbeing provided today and the planned expansion of centers estimated to treat over seven and a half million new patients this year.

"The House CR would eliminate all funding for the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery 'TIGER' grant program.  TIGER grants are highly competitive and fund transportation projects that make a significant contribution to the nation, a region, or a metropolitan area.  The House proposal would take funding away from 75 projects in 40 states across the country.  Based on information from the Department of Transportation, cutting a total of $1.2 billion from the TIGER program will put 33,360 jobs at risk.

"H.R. 1 cuts funding for the Social Security Administration's (SSA) administrative expenses by $125 million below the FY 2010 enacted level.  This would force the SSA to freeze hiring across the agency and possibly furlough employees, at a time when the number of Americans filing for disability and retirement benefits is at record levels.  The Senate bill, by contrast, provides $600 million more than the House Republican proposal.  Compared to the House CR, it will allow SSA to process about 300,000 more initial disability claims and 150,000 more disability hearings, and prevent delays in new beneficiaries receiving their retirement benefits.

"The House CR slashes Title I education funding by nearly $700 million, meaning 2,400 schools serving one million disadvantaged students could lose funding, and approximately 10,000 teachers and aides could lose their jobs.  At a time when schools across the nation are already struggling with budget cuts, the Title I grants program serves as the foundation of federal assistance to elementary and secondary schools across the country, providing financial assistance to more than 90 percent of the nation's school districts.  

"Finally, with regard to our nation's security interests, the devastating funding cuts in H.R. 1 undermine our ability to stabilize Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq and to support General Petraeus' counterinsurgency strategy.  H.R. 1 provides $5.71 billion for Economic Support Fund (ESF), a 27 percent cut from the FY 2011 request level.  As both Secretary Gates and Secretary Clinton have made clear in repeated testimony before Congress, cuts of this magnitude will seriously impede efforts to stabilize Afghanistan and to transition responsibility for U.S. operations in Iraq from the military to civilians. 

"Mr. President, there are many more examples of damage that would come should H.R. 1 be enacted into law, which is why the President has promised a veto, and why I know that my Democratic colleagues will reject it when it comes up for a vote.  The Senate amendment that I offer takes a responsible approach to funding the government for the remainder of the fiscal year, making difficult decisions but also ensuring minimal disruptions to the economic recovery. 

"We are now almost halfway through fiscal year 2011, and if we are to have any chance of avoiding another series of Continuing Resolutions for fiscal year 2012, we simply must finish our work on the current year and move past this issue.  Therefore, I strongly encourage my colleagues to support my amendment as a prudent alternative to the House measure."