U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett on March 1 Spending Cuts

Full text of Rep. Doggett'sstatement follows below:

Youonly need to look at the weekly reports on voting records here in Congress tosee the dramatic contrast between where I stand in expressing our values andthose of others who are elected in districts in the central and south Texasarea, as well as our United States Senators. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office">

Ijust don't believe that we can grow American through cuts alone. Yes, Iwant to see our budget achieve better balance and fiscal responsibility.But across the board cuts that will total some $85 billion beginning nextFriday, seem to me not the way to do it.

Ithink we should be looking at a combination of revenue and more reasonedspending cuts instead of slashing everything from the Border Patrol toeducational assistance so students can achieve their full potential and so ourpublic schools have a little bit of help after the devastating cuts of GovernorPerry and those that are pending in the Legislature now. I'd say let'sget a little revenue from the giant oil companies, by closing some of their taxloopholes. Let's recognize that corporations as a whole didn't add a dimeof new revenue back on New Year's Day when we reached agreement over the"fiscal cliff." In fact, some of them received some major tax cuts. So I believe closing tax loopholes, ending some of these egregious offshore taxdodging schemes would help us with the revenues that we need to avoid cuts thatreally get into vital public services. I would use a combination ofrevenue and reasoned spending cuts.

Whydon't we go ahead and do that? Because as has been true in the past, wecannot consider any measure, we cannot vote or debate on the floor of the Houseany measure without the approval of the Republican House Speaker. From 2009 until New Year's Day, he wouldn't permit major legislation togo to the floor that relied on Democratic votes and a few reasonableRepublicans. We resolved the crisis on New Year's Day with just thatcombination and as long as Republicans insist on across the board cuts to givethem a little more leverage with the President, a little more bargaining roomand deny Democrats and some Republicans to come together in resolving thisproblem, we face some major economic challenges. I'd say we're lurching fromthe New Year's Day fiscal cliff to perhaps an April Fools fiscal cliff. It will take determined efforts to overcome Republican intransigence to solvethat problem and we need the continued input and counsel and demands of aconcerned public to get Republicans to work with us to resolve the economicchallenges we face in a balanced way where everyone participates in resolvingthe problem.