mr. chairman , i yield myself such time as i may consume .  as a member of the joint economic committee , i am pleased to speak on the economic goals and policies reflected in the budget .  when it comes to the economy , this is a record-setting administration .  the problem is , the administration is setting records for debt and deficits .  we now have the largest debt , the largest budget deficit , and the largest trade deficit in the history of our nation .  republicans have become the party of debt and deficits .  even worse , the administration continues to repeat the same economic mantras even as experience continues to prove them wrong and more wrong .  this administration has turned a surplus projected in january of 2001 to be almost $ 400 billion by 2004 into a budget deficit of over $ 400 billion .  and , mr. chairman , there is no end in sight .  the budget deficit for last month set another record as the first time the budget deficit has gone over $ 100 billion in a single month in the history of our country .  the administration has raised the debt limit three times to a record $ 7.6 trillion , which means $ 26 , 000 of debt is owed for every man , woman , and child in america .  this week the lead story is our nation 's trade deficit ; and to no one 's surprise , this deficit is breaking records too .  data released today by the department of commerce shows that the trade deficit in 2004 was at an all-time high , nearly $ 666 billion , 5.7 percent of our gdp .  another unfortunate record .  the all-time monthly trade deficit of more than $ 59 billion was set in november , and the total for january was just barely shy of setting a new record .  the administration keeps saying that the ever-weaker dollar will correct our trade deficit for the last several years , and this has proven to be wrong .  our deficits are soaring because it is the policy of this administration to spend money we do not have and to borrow from foreign sources to cover ourselves .  since the administration is content importing money lent by foreign banks to cover the cost of foreign goods , we are increasingly at the mercy of our overseas benefactors .  as of january , foreign governments own $ 1.2 trillion of our public debt , the highest it has ever been .  what if one day they decide to stop propping up our spend-and-borrow habit ?  we had a tiny taste of that recently when south korea hinted that they would not buy more dollars and the markets trembled .  america is the greatest economic engine in the world .  we should never build our economic system on a foundation of foreign loans .  any day that foundation could become a house of cards .  there is absolutely no evidence in the budget resolution before us in the house or in the policies of this budget that the majority understands or even cares about these risks to our economy .  this budget uses smoke and mirrors to give the allusion of cutting the deficit in half , but it leaves out necessary actions such as fixing the alternative minimum tax , which is hurting the middle class more and more and must be dealt with sooner rather than later .  this budget is also mean spirited .  in order to preserve the republican tax cuts , the budget cuts programs for americans who are struggling just to make it in what for them is a very difficult economy .  mr. chairman , this president continues to have the worst job record since president hoover and the great depression .  even worse , the gains the economy has made benefit the bottom line of large corporations at the expense of ordinary hard-working americans .  the gap between the haves and have-nots is growing , and that should be of great concern to everyone in america .  the administration continues to say the economy is recovering , but how good a recovery can it be if ordinary american families can buy less and less with their paychecks ?  over the period of job gains since may of 2003 , the average hourly earnings of workers in nonfarm industries has actually fallen by .6 percent after inflation .  the administration 's budget does not even address the biggest and largest budget buster of them all : the president 's plan to privatize social security .  as a new study by the joint economic committee democratic staff shows , the president 's plan for private accounts would create $ 5 trillion of new debt in the first 20 years , but it would do absolutely nothing to address social security 's solvency and would do nothing to increase national saving .  in fact , it would weaken the solvency of social security and probably reduce national saving , exactly the opposite of what is needed .  mr. chairman , i think the president 's plan for social security is a perfect example of what is wrong with the economic goals and policies of this administration .  it manufactures a false crisis around a real , but manageable , problem and then offers a proposal that makes things worse without even addressing the original problem .  as i have seen in my own town meetings , americans understand that privatization of social security is a bad idea .  we need honest budgeting and an honest economic policy if we are to foster true economic prosperity to ordinary hard-working americans .  mr. chairman , i reserve the balance of my time .  