Kent Conrad: “I wanted to report briefly to our colleagues on the budget circumstances, because we have seen misreporting in the…”

“I wanted to report briefly to our colleagues on the budget circumstances, because we have seen misreporting in the press, and it needs to be made abundantly clear the budget circumstance we face. The conference report on the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act that was overwhelmingly supported on a bipartisan basis in both the House and Senate is fully paid for over both the 5- and 10-year periods. That is not my determination; that is the determination of the Congressional Budget Office. They say over the first 5 years, it saves $67 million; over 10 years, it saves $110 million. The farm bill is fully pay-go compliant. It is fully paid for. It does not add a dime to the debt. The bill is identical to the conference report already passed and scored by CBO. The spending contained in the original bill has already been assumed. Therefore, this legislation has no additional cost. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. We have passed it overwhelmingly before. I wanted to make certain that this is in the Record so it is understood that this bill is fully paid for. It adds nothing to the debt.”