John Sarbanes: “I want to quote a couple of paragraphs from the column: Under the shadow of war with Iraq, the House and the Senate last…”

“I want to quote a couple of paragraphs from the column: Under the shadow of war with Iraq, the House and the Senate last week fought a series of skirmishes over the federal budget for next year. One big, overriding question was at stake: Would President Bush and the Republican majorities in Congress step up to the costs of battle, of homeland defense and of national obligations at home, or would they pass the costs on to future generations? The answer, sadly, is that youngsters yet to be born will see their choices limited and their prospects blighted by the decision of today's politicians to press ahead with an unaffordable tax cut even while the costs of war and reconstruction make earlier spending estimates wildly unrealistic. The possible doubling of the national debt in the next decade will drive up interest costs that must be paid every year--billions of dollars that will not be available for Social Security, Medicare or any of the myriad responsibilities of the government here and abroad. But the squeeze is not all prospective. Some dangerous economies are being forced this year--cutbacks that will have long-term damaging consequences for American society. He then cites conversations he had with a number of attorneys general of the States, pointing out that cutting back on programs for young people will have disastrous consequences. Once again, that is the connection that has to be made to giving these large tax cuts.…”