Bob Kerrey: “first of all, I say that the man who taught me about entitlements is the distinguished Senator from New Mexico. I recall…”

“first of all, I say that the man who taught me about entitlements is the distinguished Senator from New Mexico. I recall coming to the floor, I believe it was on a budget resolution that the distinguished Senator from New Mexico and the now- departed Senator from Georgia, Senator Nunn, when they had the famous Nunn-Domenici amendment that controlled the growth of entitlements. The first time he proposed it, I voted against it. I listened to the opponents of it and said, ``That makes sense to me; this is not a good amendment, so I will vote no.'' Then I started looking at the facts, and I was very uncomfortable to have to conclude that I voted wrong. The next time the Senator brought it up, I voted for it and I became interested in this issue as a result of both you and Senator Nunn and your elaborations and your education that you did 3 or 4 years ago. The point that I am trying to make, which I am afraid is sometimes lost, is that the longer you wait, the harder the choice is. This is not a problem that you can avoid forever. The more time you let expire, the more difficult the choice is--that is, on Medicare. The same is true on the budget item when it comes to Social Security. We have people under the age of 40 who will be beneficiaries out in the future, 26 and 27 years from now, under current law, for whom we have to say, are we going to be able to keep the promise that's on the table? We have to say no.…”