mr. chairman , i rise today to oppose the republican majority 's ill-sighted budget resolution . 
this budget goes beyond bad all the way to dangerous . 
it 's dangerous for our country , and it 's dangerous for florida . 
this budget cuts the cops program by 96 percent , a program which has put over 7 , 000 police officers on florida streets . 
their budget cuts more than $ 40 million from homeland security formula grants in the state of florida alone . 
the president is clearly unaware there is more to defending our homeland than invading foreign countries . 
but the addled decision-making in the republican budget does n't stop there . 
the majority is proposing to decimate countless invaluable social welfare programs from medicaid to head start and even start . 
it cuts almost $ 200 million in funding for florida housing , employment counseling , transitional assistance , and small business loans . 
this budget also includes significant cuts to veterans ' health care . 
what a great message to send to our troops : thanks for serving your country , but now you 're on your own . 
the republican budget also fails our nation 's youth . 
the budget cuts trio funding by over $ 700 , 000 in my district , and over $ 10 million just in the state of florida . 
these costs will result in a loss of over 11 , 000 students to the trio program in the state of florida . 
without these programs , these students will not make it to college . 
this is not a prediction , it 's a fact . 
i meet with representatives from various organizations in my district every day . 
yesterday , i met with 31 people from different types of organizations . 
every one of them told me their programs are being cut , and they do n't know how they are going to survive because it is going to affect their programs ranging from children to the elderly to people without housing . 
i 've met with local officials telling me the same thing . 
these budget cuts are forcing them to seek alternative means of revenue . 
in other words , taxes . 
i do n't know if citizens will be taxed here in washington or in ft . 
pierce or riviera beach , but somewhere along the line we are going to have to learn to share the responsibility for giving our communities the support they need . 
where will all this money supposedly trimmed from the national budget go ? 
well , clearly not to balance the budget or solve the federal deficit crisis . 
the republican budget will result in a spending deficit of $ 376 billion in 2006 alone . 
unbelievably , this figure does not include the costs of several ill-conceived republican initiatives such as the costs of privatizing social security or the president 's war in iraq . 
we have all heard president bush tout his grand scheme to privatize social security , yet not only has he put forth no coherent plan to do so , but he has failed to include the financial requirements of such a plan . 
vice president cheney has suggested `` transition costs '' of up to $ 2 trillion or more . 
how can this cost not be included in any budget proposal ? 
but there are alternatives . 
both the congressional black caucus and representative spratt have suggested sane alternatives to the republican madness . 
both of these budgets represent an approach to meeting the needs of regular americans while maintaining the fiscal responsibility this nation needs . 
mr. chairman , i was going to stand here and tell you that the republicans are balancing the budget on the backs of the poor , but they are not balancing this budget on anyone 's backs because this budget does n't reach that far ! 
the people that are hurt by this budget are not only the poor but the average american . 
as members of congress , we have a solemn responsibility to protect the welfare of all our nation 's citizens , and the republican budget fails to meet that responsibility . 
i urge my colleagues to oppose this damaging and devastating attack on the social welfare of this country masquerading as a budget . 
