Kent Conrad: “I will oppose that expansion of the debt limit because there is no plan to reduce the deficits and the increase in the…”

“I will oppose that expansion of the debt limit because there is no plan to reduce the deficits and the increase in the debt we are now facing. I think it is a mistake for this body to extend the debt limit by $800 billion without a plan to get the deficits under control, to get the debt under control. Instead, what we are doing here is writing another blank check and saying to this administration: Go ahead, continue to run record budget deficits. Continue to increase the national debt. Do not worry about a plan to reduce this increasing dependency on foreign governments, on foreign citizens. Forget about fiscal responsibility. An $800 billion increase in the debt. Now, make no mistake, we need to extend the debt limit. We have to pay the bills of the United States. So there is no question that we need to extend the debt limit. The question is, by how much. The question is, should we not only do it with a plan to reduce this dependency on borrowing. I believe the answer to those questions is absolutely. We ought to insist that there is a plan to get the deficit under control.”