Kent Conrad: “today we begin a fundamental and critically important debate on the fiscal future of our country. We do it as our…”

“today we begin a fundamental and critically important debate on the fiscal future of our country. We do it as our country is poised on the brink of war. We do it when our country is now in record budget deficits. We do it at a time when we see challenges facing our country on many fronts. This is a debate of enormous consequence. This debate is about the fundamental question of where this country will go in its fiscal future. We will decide whether this country will continue down the dangerous path of deficits, debt and decline, or whether we will take a step back toward fiscal responsibility, balanced budgets, and economic strength. In the 2 years since the Bush administration has come into office, our Nation has suffered a dramatic and disturbing downturn in our fiscal and economic affairs. We went from a position of unparalleled growth, job creation, and opportunity to one of deficits, growing debt, growing unemployment, and doubt about our Nation's economic future.”