Bob Menendez: “Republicans who control the House denied the most responsible fiscally conservative Members of the Democratic Party the…”

“Republicans who control the House denied the most responsible fiscally conservative Members of the Democratic Party the right to their alternatives on this floor. You act as a big bully, and now you want to hold it out there as where is your alternatives, where is your suggestions. No matter how you want to paint it, a deficit is a deficit is a deficit; and the Republican budget is swimming in red ink and broken promises. President Bush and every Republican leader promised that they were committed to a balanced budget. President Bush and every Republican leader promised that they would put the Social Security surplus in a lockbox and never use it again for other spending, but today, no matter, one thing my colleagues do deny is that Republicans want to take a sledge hammer to that lockbox so they can bust it open and loot the money that hardworking Americans have spent a lifetime contributing. It is that bad and it is that ugly. The Republicans are doing this because they believe it is the only way that they can cover up the deficits they created as far as the eye can see, and that is why they are only giving us 5-year numbers instead of the 10-year numbers and that is why they are using the overly optimistic OMB estimates instead of nonpartisan CBO numbers. Democrats spent 8 years putting this Nation on a sound fiscal course, and it has taken Republicans 14 months to undo that.”