i thank the gentlewoman from new york for yielding me the time .  mr. chairman , this budget of course is a clear statement of the economic objectives of the people who have put it together , and it is illustrative of where they want this country to be over the course of the next year .  in understanding that , it is important for us to look back at previous budgets that they have constructed and the effect that those budgets have had on the economy of our country .  we have here in washington today , and have for the last 4 years , a monolithic government .  in other words , the republican party controls both houses of the congress , the house and the senate , and the white house .  so they are in complete control of the budget operation , how we take in money , and how we spend it , allegedly , on behalf of the american people .  let us just take a look at the effects of their budgets and economic policies over the course of the last several years .  first of all , the economy has endured the most protracted job slump since the 1930s .  last year we had some increase in jobs .  government payrolls , in fact , have expanded .  and it is interesting , because our colleagues in the republican party talk about shrinking government .  but what their budget policies have managed to do is to expand government .  at the same time , there were 544 , 000 fewer private nonfarm payroll jobs and 2.8 million fewer manufacturing jobs .  their budget policies have cost us nearly 3 million manufacturing jobs over the last several years .  the official unemployment rate is now 5.4 percent .  but many more people than that would like to go to work if there was an opportunity for them to do so .  when you include the 5 million people who have stopped looking but who would take a job if one were available to them and the 4.3 million people who have been forced to settle for part-time employment , when you consider all of those , the unemployment rate jumps to 9.3 percent .  four years ago america enjoyed a $ 5.6 trillion 10-year projected budget surplus .  today our country is facing a $ 3.3 trillion 10-year projected budget deficit .  that is a heroic accomplishment over the last 5 years by these republican budgets , nearly $ 9 trillion in negative results .  the public debt has almost doubled and will probably reach $ 5 trillion before the end of this year , all of that as a result of these budgets , and this particular budget that we are addressing tonight continues these same policies .  one consequence of the low national savings associated with large budget deficits is that we are running now a very large trade deficit .  in january , for example , the last month for which we have figures , it was $ 58.3 billion in trade deficit just for the month of january .  last year we accomplished a record trade deficit .  the trade deficit for the year 2004 was a record $ 617 billion .  this budget continues those same policies .  but those deficits are unsustainable .  our economy will not survive if we continue along the same road .  american workers are becoming more productive , but that productivity as a result of these budgets is not showing up in their wages .  private nonfarm industries ' wages have fallen .6 percent , after being adjusted for inflation .  this year , this past year alone , typical households will make $ 1 , 500 less than they did 4 years ago as a result of the economic policies reflected in this and the previous budgets of the republican party .  since november 2001 , output per hour has increased from the average worker by an average of 3.9 percent per year .  over that same period , the hourly wages and benefits of the workers producing that increased output has increased by only 1.6 percent per year .  the current account deficit , which measures the amount we have to borrow from the rest of the world to finance our international trade imbalance , reached a record of over $ 600 billion .  increasingly , foreign central banks purchase u.s. treasury securities , and that means that we are increasingly deeper and deeper in debt to other foreign countries .  that is also a result of these budgets .  if foreigners become nervous about the falling value of the dollar , they could stop buying our treasury debt , which would cause the dollar to plunge .  the consequence could be an international financial crisis , sharply higher inflation and interest rates , and also stop any economic recovery .  so the debate today on this budget resolution is critically important .  the question is , are we going to continue the policies that have put us in this very difficult position where we find ourselves today as a result of the previous four budgets passed by this monolithic government , or are we finally going to wake up , realize the consequences of these policies and begin to take a new course ?  that vote will come tomorrow .  