Pete Domenici: “I also object to the inclusion of directed scorekeeping language in this bill. If the Senator took language amending the…”

“I also object to the inclusion of directed scorekeeping language in this bill. If the Senator took language amending the budget resolution into account for determining budgetary levels, the budget resolution levels and our efforts to enforce a balanced budget plan would become meaningless. Instead of making the choices necessary to live within the budget resolution levels, committees could simply rely on a precedent to assert, or ``deem,'' that they had complied with the budgetary limits, even though they hadn't. Such action would undermine the budget discipline of the Senate. Since the directed scorekeeping language will not become effective until the bill is signed into law, and the conferees did not clarify that $700 million is included in the bill for land acquisition and priority land exchanges, I have no choice but to withdraw the additional allocation of funding provided in section 205 of the budget resolution for land acquisition and exchanges.”