Byron Dorgan: “Right. This is an honest look. There are no games here; they haven't jimmied up the estimates on the baseline based on a…”

“Right. This is an honest look. There are no games here; they haven't jimmied up the estimates on the baseline based on a request by anybody. Here is the honest look, and what they say is: Having done your 13 appropriations bills, Republicans in Congress, you have now spent $17 billion of the Social Security trust funds this year, and you will require a nearly 6-percent, across-the-board reduction in all spending--all spending--veterans' health care, senior citizens, the WIC Program for infants and low-income women, the Head Start Program--you will require a nearly 6-percent, across-the-board cut in all spending in order to avoid your continued use or misspending of the Social Security surplus. This is today's letter. I want to make this point: Those who are spending the money to put the dishonest ads on television this afternoon in my State ought to be ashamed of themselves. They ought to be ashamed. They know it is dishonest. This proves it is dishonest. But money in today's politics is speech. If money is speech, there are a lot of speechless people in this country, and that is regrettable. But the folks with the money can put a television ad on and say down is up, black is white, grass is purple--whatever they want to say, and they can, as they have done, ask somebody with directed scoring adjustments, tell me my bank balance if you don't count the last 10 checks; or tell me the Earth is flat if I insist the Earth is flat in the assumption.…”