Judd Gregg: “I will respond briefly--because I only have a minute, I will have to do it briefly--to the point of the Senator from…”

“I will respond briefly--because I only have a minute, I will have to do it briefly--to the point of the Senator from Iowa. What is happening is that we are suggesting that we should put approximately a $3 billion hole in the budget to pay for heating costs. Who is going to pay for that? Who is going to pay for it if we do not set the priorities here and offset the costs? I will tell you who is going to pay for it--our children are, because we have to go out and borrow that $3 billion. So what we are essentially saying is we are going to take $3 billion from our children to pay for heating costs this winter for seniors and other people who are on fixed incomes. We should be responsible for that here this year, not be passing it on to the next generation to pay that cost through a debt, financing it through debt. Clearly, offsetting this spending makes sense, and my amendment does exactly that. It offsets it in a reasonable way, less than a 1-percent across-the-board cut, less than 1 percent in order to fund a very important program, increase funding for a very important program to assist seniors and other folks who are on fixed incomes and low incomes. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island is recognized.”