Dan Coats: “I wish to thank the Senator from North Dakota for allowing me to go first. I will be relatively brief. I have spoken on…”

“I wish to thank the Senator from North Dakota for allowing me to go first. I will be relatively brief. I have spoken on the floor on a number of occasions regarding my frustration about the Senate not spending enough time debating what I think is the key, essential issue and challenge facing us, probably greater than any other challenge facing this body in a long time. My frustration only grew yesterday as we voted down four budget proposals. You know, it has been 757 days since we have passed a budget in this body, and so far, no budget has been proposed this year out of the Budget Committee for us to examine. The President offered up a budget earlier this year that would have spent more, taxed more and borrowed more. It was voted down last night in what I think probably was a historic vote. I did not go back and check the records, but I am not aware of any budget that has ever been presented by the executive branch to the Congress for approval that has not received at least some votes. The vote last evening was 97 to 0 against the President's budget. It is almost unthinkable that a President--the executive branch--would send a budget to the floor to be debated and voted upon and not achieve one vote. I think what it tells us is that, obviously, that budget was not designed to gain any kind of bipartisan support. But it didn't even obtain any partisan support.…”