Kent Conrad: “let me say this Senator agrees with the Senator on the need to deal with the fundamental defense needs of the country. I…”

“let me say this Senator agrees with the Senator on the need to deal with the fundamental defense needs of the country. I say to the Senator, I know it is his intention to be cutting travel and overhead, but the way function 920 works is these will be across-the-board cuts to the other domestic elements of the budget; that is, homeland security will take a cut. They will decide where it goes. The Committee on the Budget does not decide that. So homeland security, in the programs themselves, may take reductions. That will be up to the Committee on Appropriations. Law enforcement will be cut to pay for this increase in defense. Defense itself may well be cut to pay for this increase in defense. Veterans programs will be cut, or at least the veterans function will be cut. I want my colleagues to understand how this works. Although I know it is the stated intention to cut overhead and to cut travel, that may well not be the result here because the way function 920 works, there will be an across-the-board cut to discretionary programs, and those accounts--and this will be a decision by the appropriators, how they spread these reductions--will be the money used to pay for an increase in defense. I find it a troubling approach in terms of the pay for--not the plus-up. The Senator is correct to ask that we provide the funding the President has requested in defense.…”