Tom Harkin: “some of this week's news headlines and lead stories on the evening news, when looked at together, raise important…”

“some of this week's news headlines and lead stories on the evening news, when looked at together, raise important questions about our direction as a country and about key Federal Government policy--both economic policy and foreign policy. The economic issues raised affect the quality of life of every American family and the future of our children. The foreign policy issues touch on the reasons that thousands of Americans are deployed today in perilous circumstances in Iraq. As we all know, our soldiers are risking their lives daily in Iraq, and daily American troops are being killed. On the economic front, the front page of the Washington Post reported earlier this week that the White House now projects that the Federal budget deficit will top $450 billion this year: 'Budget Deficit May Surpass $450 billion.' That is 50 percent higher than the administration predicted just 6 months ago. In 6 months it has increased by 50 percent. The administration's Office of Management and Budget also predicts a $475 billion deficit for next year. Now, a couple times in my remarks this morning I will be talking about low-balling. I think the $450 billion budget deficit figure is a low-ball figure. I think the $475 billion budget deficit estimate for next year is also a low-ball figure. I think they are both going to be in the neighborhood of $\1/2\ trillion or more.”