Max Baucus: “I strongly support the Kerrey amendment for several reasons. First, the funding mechanism provided for in the manager's…”

“I strongly support the Kerrey amendment for several reasons. First, the funding mechanism provided for in the manager's amendment to the underlying bill, while creative and it meets the technical requirements of the budget rules, it is also very misleading. The rollover provisions in the managers' amendment do raise $8 billion in the first 5 years that the provision will be in effect, but that same provision loses $7 billion in the second 5 years--a clear revenue loss. Here we are in the underlying amendment saying, ``OK, early on, we'll raise the revenue,'' but we don't tell the rest of the world, particularly the Congress and Senators who are voting on this, that we are going to lose $7 billion in the next 5 years. Part of our efforts in the Congress, I hope, have been truth in budgeting not just in the first 5 years, but also beyond, in the next 5 years. Too often, this Congress has, unfortunately, hoodwinked people-- the President has been part of it, both administrations, in the last 10 to 15 years--by saying, ``OK, we will meet the budget requirements in the first 5 years, but we won't tell everybody what we are doing in the next 5 years,'' and often in the next 5 years, if not disastrous, it is inimical to the American people because it tends to increase deficits rather than decrease. That is a fact.…”