Chris Dodd: “I am concerned about this budget process coming right on the eve, if you will, of significant, major conflict, and the…”

“I am concerned about this budget process coming right on the eve, if you will, of significant, major conflict, and the fact we are debating the budget needs and priorities of our Nation and excluding from this debate the cost of this conflict and the cost of the reconstruction that will come afterwards. For the life of me, it is almost as if we are engaging in an Alice-in-Wonderland world here. On the one hand, the entire world is anxious about what may happen within hours of this debate, and on the other hand, we are debating a budget process that locks us in for a decade, and there is no discussion about what is going to become a major issue for us: the cost of this conflict and the cost of the reconstruction period afterwards.”