Judd Gregg: “I rise to respond to some attacks relative to my integrity which were run today in a New York newspaper--I think it was…”

“I rise to respond to some attacks relative to my integrity which were run today in a New York newspaper--I think it was the Daily News--which I presume were energized and orchestrated by the staff of the leadership--the Senate office of the senior Senator from New York. The editorial could not have had the fact pattern that it had, had it not been fed that information from the senior Senator's staff. So I think it is appropriate to respond to it. It implies, obviously, that I am inconsistent in my views on how I approach spending in this Congress. I think that will come as a surprise to most people in this Congress because I doubt anyone in this Congress--I am sure there are a few--does not think my record in trying to control spending and having some resistance to spending which I feel is inappropriate is fairly strong. As chairman of the Budget Committee, I tried to discipline spending. I tried to make our Government more affordable for our children. I tried not to pass on to our children debts which they should not have to bear so our children can have the opportunity to live as fulfilling a life and have as high quality a life as we have had. There is in this bill a proposal to spend $1.6 billion on an air train to Kennedy Airport. That is not an aircraft issue. It is clearly an add-on. This proposal is, ironically, paid for using the Tax Code in a very ingenious way.…”