Pete Domenici: “it has been the history of the Senate that we authorize legislation and we appropriate or pay for legislation that has…”

“it has been the history of the Senate that we authorize legislation and we appropriate or pay for legislation that has been adopted. In this case, this sense-of-the-Senate resolution stands that on its head and says, whatever it is we voted on to be authorized, we shall fund. The appropriators shall pay for it. Now, historically we always authorize more than we can afford. We are doing the same thing in this bill. As a matter of fact, if that sense of the Senate were adopted, we would increase education 100 percent in the first year--not 10, not 20, not 30, but 100 percent. Over the next 7 years, we would increase it by $300 billion. This has nothing to do with the President's commitments. It has to do with the Senate taking a typical authorization bill and adding all kinds of nice, good, wholesome, wonderful amendments that we are not going to pay for because we don't have the money. The appropriators will pay for what they can afford. We cannot tell the appropriators in advance; they have a myriad of programs to look at in terms of priorities, and we would be telling them it is the sense of the majority of Members saying: Appropriators, you will; you shall; there is no escape; you will pay for every amendment that has been adopted as if it were appropriated.”