Kent Conrad: “I wish it were not the case but, unfortunately, it is. We had, I think, hoped--certainly the Senator from South Carolina…”

“I wish it were not the case but, unfortunately, it is. We had, I think, hoped--certainly the Senator from South Carolina and I-- that we would be at a point where we really would reserve every penny of Social Security surplus for Social Security. We thought that is where we were headed. Unfortunately, what our friends across the aisle have done is indicate that that is what they are doing, but that is not what the budget document says. No, no, no, they have changed it all, and they have made it possible to continue the raid on the Social Security trust fund on a simple majority vote which, of course, their lockbox was intended to protect against. Unfortunately, what they say they have done and what they have done are two very, very different things.”