Cord Byrd: “No, I am not ready to yield just yet. Let us say we are against tax cuts; just vote them both down. This is no time to…”

“No, I am not ready to yield just yet. Let us say we are against tax cuts; just vote them both down. This is no time to talk about tax cuts while balancing the budget. We are all concerned about budget deficits. We are concerned about passing this huge debt on to our children and grandchildren. Let us do something about it. Let us do it now. We have heard the advertisement on TV, ``Do it here. Do it now.'' Let us vote down both proposals for tax cuts. Why do we not consider a tax increase? Let us increase taxes. Surely, we could sit down and, working together, could come up with a reasonable tax increase that would be calculated and directed toward reducing the deficits. We have operated on a national credit card now for 14 years. During the 12 years of the Reagan and Bush administrations, we were on a national credit card binge: Enjoy today, pay later. Let our children and grandchildren pay for our profligacy. Live for today. One can only cry so much over spilt milk, and it does not do any good after awhile. So why do we not just get on with balancing the budget? Let us help this President. Let us help him to balance the budget. First of all, vote his $83-billion tax cut down. I have been somewhat critical of the tax cut that the President has advocated. I try to be constructive about it. But I think we also ought to be critical of the more-than-$200-billion tax cut that is being advocated by our Republican friends. That is not going to balance the budget.”