Dale Bumpers: “I did not enjoy voting to raise taxes in 1993 any more than I enjoyed cutting spending in 1993. But to set the record…”

“I did not enjoy voting to raise taxes in 1993 any more than I enjoyed cutting spending in 1993. But to set the record straight, that deficit-reduction package was intended to reduce the deficit compared to what it would otherwise be, by $500 billion over a period of 5 years. It was a very dramatic time in the Senate. Fifty Democrats voted aye. Every single Republican voted no. And Vice President Gore, who was seated in the chair that day, voted aye and broke the tie. And so the $500 billion deficit-reduction package became law. At least two Senators on this side of the aisle lost their reelection campaigns because they voted aye, a very courageous and responsible vote. The Office of Management and Budget estimates that rather than produce $500 billion in savings, but because interest rates came down as a result of that package and because economic activity went up, the 1993 Clinton budget bill will actually reduce the deficit by $800 billion over the same 5-year period, 1993 to 1998.”