Mike Levin: “the Senate has begun debating the Federal budget for next year and the years ahead. We are fortunate after years of…”

“the Senate has begun debating the Federal budget for next year and the years ahead. We are fortunate after years of large budget deficits, to finally enjoy a projected budget surplus, a real surplus separate and apart from the Social Security surplus. While this new ``on-budget'' surplus provides us with many possibilities, it also requires us to balance how best to use our resources within a framework of fiscal responsibility. If we choose the wrong path we could return to the days of big Federal deficits and all the damage they did to our economy. In approaching our Federal budget, I believe we should divide the projected surplus among four budget goals: giving the American people fair and fiscally responsible tax relief, paying down the debt, protecting Social Security and Medicare, and responsibly investing in key priorities such as education, prescription drug coverage for seniors, environmental protection and national defense. In deciding how to allocate the new surplus, we should first and foremost remember it is a projection for ten years downstream, so it is highly speculative.”