J. Exon: “as we conclude debate, I cannot help but be struck by the futility of this Republican budget. It is a tragic repeat of…”

“as we conclude debate, I cannot help but be struck by the futility of this Republican budget. It is a tragic repeat of last year's Republican budget fiasco. It is a fool's errand twice over. A year ago, many of us stood on the Senate floor imploring our Republican colleagues to temper their harsh views and to join with us to create a bipartisan balanced budget. We predicted a train wreck otherwise. We got not one, but two train wrecks, including the longest Federal Government shutdown in the history of our Nation. We will soon vote on this so-called new Republican budget. But no one should be fooled as to its novelty. It is at best a hybrid of the old Republican budget grafted onto some slick parliamentary procedures. It will spin out not one, but three, reconciliation bills, because the Republican Majority wants to create a web of budgetary intrigue in which to trap the President. They want to amplify partisan confrontation over the summer and into the fall elections. Some call this the silly season. It would be silly, if it were not so sad for our Nation. Once again, the congressional majority is squandering an opportunity to balance the budget. Last year, all the Republicans wanted was for President Clinton to submit a 7-year, CBO-certified, balanced budget. President Clinton delivered with a fair and reasonable balanced budget.”