John Sarbanes

The European Union, when they made the economic agreement with respect to all the European Union countries, set as a requirement that the deficit that a country was running could not be greater than 3 percent of GDP; and countries had to…

When this administration came into office, it was my recollection that the Federal budget was running a surplus. Therefore, there was not only no increase in Federal interest costs, but we were, in fact, year to year, reducing Federal…

As I understand it, if we didn't do that, that $2.7 trillion would be in the Social Security trust fund to help us take care of the extra stress on the system that will come from the retirement of the baby boomers, this upsurge in people…

As I understand it, because of the tax cut and also because we are constrained to do these programs for the war and for homeland security, over this 10-year period we are going to be using $2.7 trillion from the Social Security trust fund…

There is all this focus about this $550 billion figure being the amount of the tax cut. But as I understand it, the $550 billion figure is only part of the tax cut that is in the budget resolution. This is the part that would proceed under…

If you count in the additional interest costs which would have to be incurred to do this tax cut because of the borrowing that would be necessary to fill the deficit gap created by the loss of revenues from the tax cut, what would the cost…

I understand that the budget deficit for this year is now projected to be twice as much as it has ever been before--an absolute record budget deficit.

I would like to address an inquiry to the Senator from Nevada who indicates he intends to live and fight another day on this amendment. If and when he does so, I hope he will also address the question of how much cooperation he anticipates…

I ask the ranking member of the Budget Committee, with these record deficits and this incredible buildup of debt which would flow out of the administration's policy, who is going to carry the burden of that debt? Will not the same men and…

I want to be very clear. The Senator is saying the budget deficit for the next year will be close to $600 billion, more than double the highest deficit we have ever run previously; is that correct?

This is directed to providing additional funding for the State revolving fund dealing with clean water and safe drinking water. There is an overwhelming need. The Federal involvement is a leveraging involvement for State and local…

The bill has room in it for $726 billion worth of tax cuts. Obviously, this raises the question of priorities. Is it more important to give these particular tax cuts, which, of course, I believe strongly are heavily weighted towards the…

The amendment has another $3 billion for these purposes, both for the Clean Water and the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Funds. These are the moneys that go into the State Revolving Funds. Then, of course, they have to be matched by…

I wanted to make that point because some are arguing that somehow we are giving over to someone else the decisionmaking authority, in case we are confronted with an imminent danger, to respond. That is not the case at all. So as we see…

Actually, the U.N. Charter grants the right of self- defense, which would in fact entitle us to act on our own accord if confronted with an imminent danger.

Let me ask the Senator one final question and be very clear. I take it the Senator would agree with me that none of us questions that if we were in imminent danger of being struck, we would be warranted in taking measures to protect…

Yet Pakistan, which has been trying to work with us, has already announced that at best they will abstain at the Security Council with respect to the coming vote because it is applying such tremendous internal pressure in Pakistan that…

Isn't that a dramatic example of the kind of problem the Senator is talking about that is being created for us around the world?

On the al-Qaida front, we have just captured supposedly the third ranking person in al-Qaida.

Just to underscore the Senator's point about the necessity of having the cooperation of other countries to deal with the terrorism threat.

What is happening here--my perception, at least--is that what the Senator is now complaining about is a tactic which was instituted by the other side of the aisle in the very recent past. Now we are being told this isn't the right way to…

At a minimum. Of course, that was assuming we would not have this kind of devastation out there that might be possible if the weapons of mass destruction were to be utilized.

And you have an estimate for the reconstruction that was $30 billion, roughly speaking.

So the deficits projected in the President's budget, which are now going up toward the $300 billion level--and which have broken us out of the situation we were in only a couple of years ago where we were running surpluses--do not…

I point out that taxes have been paid into the unemployment insurance trust fund for the purpose of paying unemployment insurance in an economic downturn. That fund has close to $25 billion in it. About $7 billion was used in the last…