Kent Conrad: “I wish my colleague a happy birthday. This is his birthday, and I hope it is a happy one for him. I hope what helps make…”

“I wish my colleague a happy birthday. This is his birthday, and I hope it is a happy one for him. I hope what helps make it a happy birthday is this amendment passing. This is a good amendment. This is reversing a tax increase previously imposed on recipients of Social Security. That was part of a deficit reduction plan back in the 1990s that helped get us back on track. We did that. Now in the context of this bill, since there will clearly be tax reductions, we ought to do it in a way that is fair and balanced and that recognizes a tax increase previously imposed that could be reversed at this moment. My colleague mentioned what is happening to the Federal debt under the President's budget plan. This chart shows it in graphic form. The debt of the United States is absolutely skyrocketing. It is over $6 trillion now, and it will be over $12 trillion in 10 years if the President's plan is adopted, including the overall tax bill before the Senate. All of this is at the worst possible time. Right now, the trust funds of Social Security and Medicare are running surpluses.”