Frank Lautenberg: “It would be an ideal situation if we had the trust funds off budget, if we could deal with that in a quick moment like…”

“It would be an ideal situation if we had the trust funds off budget, if we could deal with that in a quick moment like this. But the reality is that we just can't do it, Mr. President. We have hammered out a budget. I used the term before. "Hammer" suggests the arduous effort that the budget agreement took to get 5 million children covered under health care, to make sure that impoverished seniors aren't further burdened by additional premiums because we have moved the home health care from part A to part B. There are a whole series of things. There are tax cuts for the middle class. There are tax cuts for education. This bill was put together with a lot of work and a lot of giving by many people, people who do not like every part of this budget. I am one of them, I must tell you, but I am determined that we see that we pass this budget.”