Bob Kerrey: “this amendment addresses the need to keep the budget in balance over the long haul. The budget resolution we are…”

“this amendment addresses the need to keep the budget in balance over the long haul. The budget resolution we are considering today will bring us into balance by 2002. I support that budget resolution, that budget effort. But after that work is done, there is some additional work and very difficult work that we need to do. There are four sets of numbers that I want to bring to my colleagues' attention. The first set of numbers deals with where we are headed in terms of how much of the budget goes to discretionary spending and how much goes to mandatory spending, that is entitlements and interest on the debt. In 1963 our budget was approximately 70 percent discretionary, 30 percent mandatory spending. At the end of this budget agreement, it will be over 70 percent mandatory and less than 30 percent discretionary spending. And about 10 years beyond that it will be nearly 100 percent mandatory spending. What my amendment says is we ought to fix it at 70 percent, we ought to do what we can to fix it at 70 percent, that at some point we have to stop the movement toward this budget becoming 100 percent mandated spending. The second set of numbers, Mr. President, illustrates that this problem is not caused by liberals; it is not caused by conservatives. It is caused by a very difficult demographic fact, and that demographic fact is the baby boom generation: 77 million people born between the years 1945 and 1965.…”