David Minge: “the legislation now moving through this body is unsettling to most of us. It is marketed by many as the path to balance…”

“the legislation now moving through this body is unsettling to most of us. It is marketed by many as the path to balance the budget. Indeed, it appears we are more likely to balance the budget with this legislation than without it. However, I would like to emphasize, it is a close call. We should be humble when we talk about the legislation. To move the process ahead to conference, to show support for the President, to demonstrate bipartisanship, I will vote for the bill. But let me add some caveats. First, we need strong enforcement mechanisms in all legislation that affects the budget. Second, we must stop using the Social Security trust fund to mask the size of the deficit, and recognize the long-term train wreck that awaits us with the Social Security system if we do not aggressively move to fix it. Finally, we must try harder. We must avoid exploding tax cuts, we must not give blank checks to programs, we must limit our appetite for weapons systems. This legislation is one small step in the political process. Let us move the process ahead.”