Max Baucus: “I again commend the chairman for his able work in bringing this budget to the floor. He has done a superb job. The…”

“I again commend the chairman for his able work in bringing this budget to the floor. He has done a superb job. The budget resolution before us leaves a surplus of $132 billion in the year 2012. The amendment I now offer on behalf of Senators Landrieu, Pryor, Bayh, and Bill Nelson would state the Senate's will on what we should do if that surplus materializes. In sum, our amendment says that the Senate's highest priority for any surplus should be American families. Our amendment would put children first. It would take $15 billion out of that $132 billion and devote it to improving children's health care coverage under CHIP, the Children's Health Insurance Program. The budget resolution already recognizes this priority in a deficit-neutral reserve fund. Our amendment would also reduce the amount in that reserve fund. So we are not increasing the net amount of spending on CHIP. It will be the same. We are just making that work on CHIP more likely. We are saying if we have a surplus in 2012, then we ought to spend some part of that surplus on children's health, and we are saying if we have a surplus in 2012, we should not raise taxes to pay for all of the Children's Health Insurance Program. If we have a surplus in 2012, we should not cut Medicare to pay for all of CHIP. Rather, we should use some of that surplus to fund children's health; that is, put children first.”