Kent Conrad: “I voted against S. 2578, a bill that would increase the public debt limit by $450 billion. I support taking action to…”

“I voted against S. 2578, a bill that would increase the public debt limit by $450 billion. I support taking action to increase the debt limit, in order to protect the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Frankly, we have no choice but to raise the limit. The United States must pay its bills. What I cannot support, however, is increasing the limit without also putting in place procedures for arresting this dramatic downturn in our nation's fiscal health. I want to provide a little background on how we arrive at this juncture. You might remember that a little over a year ago, when the Bush administration submitted its first budget, we were told that, even with the enactment of the President's proposed tax cut, we would not hit the Federal debt limit until 2008. By August, with the tax cut enacted, the administration acknowledged it was wrong and that we would actually hit the debt limit in 2004. By December, that estimate was moved up again, with the Treasury Secretary admitting the debt limit would be reached within months and pleading with Congress to raise the limit so that the United States wouldn't default on its financial obligations.”