Earl Pomeroy: “this proposal would allow a vote on the Senate to reduce the House 302(b) allocation. A vote on the Senate reduces our…”

“this proposal would allow a vote on the Senate to reduce the House 302(b) allocation. A vote on the Senate reduces our allocation. This is an absurd idea on its face. But it perverts the name ``lockbox.'' Previously we all agreed on lockbox. Lockbox meant we did not spend Social Security, we did not spend Medicare revenues on anything but Social Security and Medicare. The deficit policies of the majority now spend every nickel of the surplus of Social Security and Medicare, every nickel; $500 billion this year alone. They want to get up on the floor of the House and talk about creating this Mickey Mouse lockbox of theirs to capture fruit fly spending. It is ridiculous. Let us talk about the real issue: blowing all the revenues of Social Security, all the revenues of Medicare, all of the surplus intended to strengthen these programs, gone because of runaway deficit spending, the absolute core result of Republican fiscal policies. Rather than pass a budget to deal responsibly with beginning to get us out of this hole, they put us through this charade tonight. Shame on my colleagues. Defeat this amendment.”