Saxby Chambliss: “I don't take that as a sign of weakness, but I appreciate the comment from my fellow Senator from the great State of…”

“I don't take that as a sign of weakness, but I appreciate the comment from my fellow Senator from the great State of Iowa who, like myself, comes from a strong agriculture production State. I will have a little bit more to say about that in a minute. Madam President, I rise today to make a few remarks, first, about S. 1932, the Deficit Reduction Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 2005, that is being considered by the Senate this week. According to the Congressional Budget Office, this bill would reduce mandatory spending by a total of $39 billion over 5 years as compared to current law. As chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I know very well that restraining the growth of Federal spending is a very challenging task. It is a difficult job that most Senators, including myself, would prefer we not tackle, yet we must tackle. We must reduce growth of mandatory spending to get the deficit under control because that is increasingly where the bulk of Federal spending occurs. This is the first bill in 8 years that reduces the growth of such spending. Most importantly, this bill achieves these savings mainly by reforming mandatory programs rather than cutting benefits to low-income individuals families.…”