Bob Kerrey: “I come to the floor and offer what I would call my reluctant support for this budget agreement. Today, the subject at…”

“I come to the floor and offer what I would call my reluctant support for this budget agreement. Today, the subject at hand is the spending portion of this bill. And I wish it was completely different, I must say, than what is in here. Yesterday, I spent most of the day in mourning for the loss of the provisions relating to structural changes in Medicare that would have added $8 billion to the HI hospitalization trust fund by imposing very reasonable and progressive change in the premium--it would have added $40 billion a year in spending relief in the year 2030 by accommodating this tremendous change in the baby-boom generation between 2010 and 2030--and other provisions. I spent the day grieving those. I have overcome my grief, and I am prepared to support this because I believe it does balance the budget by the year 2002. I believe it finishes the job that we started in 1990 and 1993. I voted for both of those bills, and I find myself compelled once again to come and vote for a bill that I am not altogether pleased with.”