Kent Conrad: “let me indicate, on the motion just adopted, the strategy in the reserve fund is not just one item, as the Senator…”

“let me indicate, on the motion just adopted, the strategy in the reserve fund is not just one item, as the Senator referenced, but involves all of these things--expanding production and use of alternative fuels and alternative-fuel vehicles to promote renewable energy development, to improve electricity transmission, to encourage responsible development of domestic oil and natural gas resources, and to reward conservation and efficiency. There is a production component of what is in the reserve fund. I want to emphasize that and thank the Senator from Michigan for her constructive proposal. I also want to take a moment to respond to a number of points made by my colleague from New Hampshire. Once again, there is no tax increase in this proposal. The fact is, what the President said his budget would produce in revenue is virtually identical to what is in this budget. In fact, there is virtually no difference between what the President said his budget would produce in revenue over the 5 years. He said his budget would produce $14.826 trillion of revenue. My budget produces $14.827 trillion of revenue, virtually no change. If you look at a CBO basis, there is a 2-percent difference. We believe that can be easily accommodated with no tax increase by going after the tax gap, by going after abusive tax havens and fraudulent tax shelters. When the Senator asserts there is no long-term savings, that is not accurate.…”