Tom Udall: “I have two things I would like to talk about. First, I wish to deal with the resolution we have on the floor that we had…”

“I have two things I would like to talk about. First, I wish to deal with the resolution we have on the floor that we had a vote on today, which was this motion to proceed to S. 1323, a bill to express the sense of the Senate on shared sacrifice and resolving the budget. I think it is important that we realize what is in this sense of the Senate. The findings the Congress makes here are very important, and I would like to read these three findings. The Wall Street Journal reports that the median pay for chief financial officers of the S&P 500 companies increased 19 percent to $2.9 million last year. And then you compare that with the middle class over the last 10 years--the median family income has declined by more than $2,500. Mr. President, 20 percent of all income earned in the United States is earned by the top 1 percent of individuals. Over the past quarter century, four-fifths of the income gains accrued to the top 1 percent of individuals. So we conclude in this sense of the Senate--it is the sense of the Senate that any agreement to reduce the budget deficit should require that those earning $1 million or more per year make a more meaningful contribution to the deficit reduction effort.…”