Mark Udall: “I cannot vote for this conference report. It not only is no better than the version of the budget resolution previously…”

“I cannot vote for this conference report. It not only is no better than the version of the budget resolution previously passed by the House, it is significantly worse in several ways. In my opinion, it reflects only the priorities of the Republican leadership, not the right priorities for our country. Over the last five years the federal budget has reversed a decade of progress that saw the budget go from the $290 billion deficit when President Clinton took office to a surplus of $236 billion in 2000, which was where things stood when the current President Bush came to office. Since then, we have gone from projected surpluses to undeniable deficits. The toxic combination of recession, necessary spending for defense and homeland security, and excessive and unbalanced tax cuts have taken us to the largest deficits in our Nation's history--a $375 billion deficit two years ago, a deficit of $412 billion last year, and for this year, according to the Bush Administration itself, a deficit of $427 billion. That is three record-setting years in a row. And, regrettably, this conference report reflects neither a serious effort to reduce deficits nor an attempt to increase fairness. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, following the path suggested by the Bush Administration and this budget resolution will add $5.135 trillion to our national debt over the next 10 years.…”