Kent Conrad: “I yield 5 minutes to myself off the resolution. We have heard from the other side that we have proposed additional…”

“I yield 5 minutes to myself off the resolution. We have heard from the other side that we have proposed additional spending in the committee. Yes, we did. The difference between our spending and the spending the other side offered--and they have offered, repeatedly, amendments to increase spending--is that we paid for ours. We paid for it. The Senator has a list that shows we offered in committee amendments that have increased spending $126 billion. Let me explain where almost all of that spending was. One amendment. One amendment to say that veterans of our country should have their spending considered mandatory rather than discretionary--mandatory rather than discretionary. I think most Americans would say spending on veterans is not a discretionary matter. We asked them to go to war, asked them to put their lives on the line. In many cases, they have come back wounded, injured, and in need of care. Is it discretionary to fund those accounts, to take care of their medical needs? We don't think so. We think it should be on the mandatory side of the ledger. That is scored as $104 billion of our $126 billion of spending. Now, yes, I will look anybody in the eye and say that was spending that was responsible, to keep the promise made to our Nation's veterans. And we paid for it. We didn't just run up the debt the way our colleagues do. Over and over, they have voted for spending. We have shown the lines. Spending has gone up under this administration.…”