Chuck Grassley: “I thank the Senator for what he thinks is a clarification. But he, I think, makes my point. They have reserved some…”

“I thank the Senator for what he thinks is a clarification. But he, I think, makes my point. They have reserved some money, but when you add all of their proposals, and when you take into consideration the AMT, and when you also take into consideration their votes on bipartisan tax proposals, there is no way that you are going to squeeze that into their numbers. Let me tell you, we have had problems on this side of the aisle. Even if we go at $1.6 trillion, there is going to be a difficulty squeezing everything in. But we have a problem of having the greatest amount of flexibility that we can. Now, as has been said, the Democratic budget number of $900 billion does not even accommodate their own tax priorities. I believe Senator Breaux knows that. I think those who have proposed numbers in the range of $2 trillion to $2.4 trillion are also pushing the wrong number. That tax cut number doesn't balance our priorities in paying down debt and targeted spending increases. Senator Breaux's number is better than the Democratic number because it allows more tax cuts to be addressed. However, it does not have enough room. Unlike the Democratic number, Senator Breaux's number might be enough to cover Democratic priorities, plus a little bit more; but it would ignore the President's priorities. So I believe the number that the President has proposed is appropriate but not just because he proposed it.”