Frank Lautenberg: “I salute what he says he wants to do to get the debt reduced more than anybody else: Get it lower, bring it down. It…”

“I salute what he says he wants to do to get the debt reduced more than anybody else: Get it lower, bring it down. It doesn't matter how we get it there, if we have to burn the house down to get it. There isn't anybody here who doesn't know we are terribly short of funding for programs we need to have in place, that even the Republican budget resolution--and I serve on the Budget Committee--was passed by the majority without any support from the minority. None of the Democrats voted for this resolution. I think it is fair to say the principle of paying down the debt was established by President Clinton and his administration when they said, ``Save Social Security, pay down the debt.'' They were almost simultaneous acts. Some disagree and say it is another IOU from the Government. But it is an IOU from a much stronger balance sheet. I come from the business world, and that is the way I look at things. I ask the Senator from Colorado, if he will indulge me, what is the total savings he hopes to have or the total debt reduction he plans to have over the 5-year period?”