Zach Nunn: “I congratulate Senator Chafee, Senator Breaux, and others who have worked on this proposal. It is truly a bipartisan…”

“I congratulate Senator Chafee, Senator Breaux, and others who have worked on this proposal. It is truly a bipartisan proposal. This is the last train in town. If this does not go, if we do not get people to rally around this, then we are not going to get a deal this year. It does not have to be every word of this. But this is a framework, and I think our colleagues recognize that. Mr. President, I will add one other word. If we get the balanced budget for 7 years, as this proposal would do, we have still a long way to go. This Congress and this country has to look at a 20- to 30-year fiscal picture. We will have to set in motion things now that can be implemented very gradually and very slowly. We have to reform Social Security. We have to reform Medicare. We can do it very gradually where people do not get hurt, and also for those who are near retirement and certainly for those who are already retired. But we have to address it for generations. To balance the budget by the year 2002 is not enough because it can get out of balance right after that and be back in the same picture. I thank the Chair. I particularly thank Senator Chafee and Senator Breaux for their sterling leadership.”