Dianne Feinstein: “I oppose this budget. This administration has chosen to continue down an unsustainable economic path. They have put…”

“I oppose this budget. This administration has chosen to continue down an unsustainable economic path. They have put forth an irresponsible budget that does not take constructive steps toward righting our Nation's fiscal course. I strongly urge my Senate colleagues not to follow suit. Our Nation is going in the wrong direction. The signals grow more evident each day. Deficits are at record levels. The debt is reaching astronomic heights. And we have fewer resources available for important domestic programs. Under President Clinton, we had 4 years of budget surplus. And, when he left office, we had a projected 10-year surplus of $5.6 trillion. But the economic policies of the past 5 years have produced a catastrophic turnaround. Record budget surpluses have given way to record deficits--projected at $1.6 trillion over the next decade. And the debt is projected to exceed $11 trillion. This budget resolution assumes that the deficit will decline from $359 billion in FY 2007 to $177 billion in FY 2011. Unfortunately, these numbers don't tell the whole story. This is a 5-year budget. This clouds the full impact of the administration's policies. The debt and deficit are set to explode in the out years--the end of the 10-year window. And, this does not even include the costs of ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan beyond 2007 and reforming the alternative minimum tax beyond 2006.…”