Pete Domenici: “Let it be clear this was not a Senate budget resolution on which we voted. It was an attempt to address just a small…”

“Let it be clear this was not a Senate budget resolution on which we voted. It was an attempt to address just a small portion of the Federal spending that indeed will take place between now and the end of next year. Let it be clear that this is not a budget resolution because it only applied to appropriations, and budget resolutions go well beyond the appropriations bills which constitute about one-third of the spending of our Nation. Two-thirds are subject to other approaches to spending, mandatory approaches--they are automatic, like Social Security, like Medicare. And the sum total of all those--Federal pensions, military pensions and on and on--the sum total of all of those mandatory, obligatory ones is two-thirds of the spending. A real budget would address the other two-thirds, that which we call generally entitlement spending. I think we are now beginning to see firsthand what it means not to have a budget resolution as we are here on the floor debating adding new spending to one of the largest Federal entitlement programs, the Medicare Program. The process does matter. An updated budget resolution would have updated our spending estimates and we would now be debating these prescription drug amendments to the current Medicare Program in a more honest and transparent manner. I think it is important that we listen up and we pay attention. This is a very serious situation.”