Barbara Mikulski: “I rise in support of a patriotic pause amendment to the budget resolution. America stands on the brink of war. Yet this…”

“I rise in support of a patriotic pause amendment to the budget resolution. America stands on the brink of war. Yet this budget resolution ignores the war and ignores the costs of war. We need to take a patriotic pause and not proceed with huge permanent tax breaks when we don't yet know the cost of this war--or the costs that come after the war, in the rebuilding of Iraq. This budget resolution calls for a $1.4 trillion tax cut. These are permanent tax breaks that would add to the structural deficit even without war. The patriotic pause amendment states that before we consider tax cuts, we need to ensure the Federal budget addresses our very real national security needs. That means the cost of deploying our troops; the cost of fighting the war; the cost of keeping troops in the region afterward and the cost of rebuilding Iraq. The budget must also provide for the continuing war on terrorism. It must cover the costs of other conflicts and potential conflicts, such as standing sentry on North Korea. The budget must ensure that we can help our troops and their families face the hardships of deployment. And it must meet the costs of homeland security--and hometown security. I supported a multilateral approach to confronting Iraq--to enable the world to share the costs and the burden. I believe that because Saddam Hussein is a danger to the world the world should share the burden of defanging him.”