Kent Conrad: “I believe deeply in the need to balance the Federal budget. We have a responsibility to do that because just over the…”

“I believe deeply in the need to balance the Federal budget. We have a responsibility to do that because just over the horizon, even with all the progress that has been made here, we have the demographic time bomb lying out there, and that time bomb is the retirement of the baby boom generation. When they start to retire, they are going to dramatically increase the number of people who are eligible for our major Federal programs. In fact, in very short order, they are going to double the number of people who are eligible for Social Security and Medicare and other programs like veterans' benefits. So, while enormous progress has been made, we have to do more. Some say the answer is an amendment to the Constitution. Properly crafted, I would support an amendment to the Constitution. But the one before us is not properly crafted. Let me just give three reasons why I believe it is not properly crafted. First, the balanced budget amendment before us in this Chamber will not balance the budget at all--not at all.”