Bill Bennett: “Mr. President, the senior Senator from Texas has a great line. He says: Don't argue about facts; look them up. You can…”

“Mr. President, the senior Senator from Texas has a great line. He says: Don't argue about facts; look them up. You can argue about opinions, but do not argue about facts. The former senior Senator from New York, Mr. Moynihan, used to say: Everybody is entitled to his own opinions but not to his own facts. That is why I went to the Treasury Department to try to get the facts on the debt. I have heard people quote this, quote that. I went to the people who manage the debt. They said to me, as they began the conversation: We have been managing debt for over 200 years. We know how to do it. I have the numbers. I will be glad to discuss them with any Senator. Fundamentally, this is what it comes down to: The amount in the next 10 years of national debt that cannot be paid off without paying a premium, factually, is roughly $800 billion. Alan Greenspan, before the Budget Committee, talked about 70-something. I round up to $800 billion. The Treasury agrees with that number. However, they say we cannot go to that absolute number because we have to have some debt to help cash management.”