Frank Lautenberg: “I rise to support this amendment. The issue before the Senate today is not whether we support our troops. Of course we…”

“I rise to support this amendment. The issue before the Senate today is not whether we support our troops. Of course we do. And of course we should provide funds to cover the cost of these operations. All this amendment says is that we ought not do it by adding $1.2 billion to the deficit; instead, we should find the resources within the Pentagon's existing $260 billion budget to pay the bills. Mr. President, the real issue before the Senate today is whether the Defense Department should be subject to the same fiscal rules and constraints as all other agencies in the Federal Government. I believe it should be. The Defense Department should have anticipated that it would need to pay these $1.2 billion in bills and budgeted accordingly. But it didn't. It is unfair to ask the American taxpayers to excuse the Pentagon's mistakes by adding another $1.2 billion to the deficit. Mr. President, the criteria used by the Office of Management and Budget to determine whether spending qualifies for an emergency designation--and subsequently can be added to the deficit--are clear. One is that the expenditure be sudden--quickly coming into being, not building up over time. Another is that it be unforeseen--not predictable or seen beforehand as a coming need. The $1.2 billion in new spending included in this bill for the Pentagon doesn't meet these criteria by any stretch of the imagination.”