Shelley Berkley: “I thought when President Bush took office, he promised to maintain the projected budget surplus. He promised to pay off…”

“I thought when President Bush took office, he promised to maintain the projected budget surplus. He promised to pay off the national debt and help the middle class working Americans. Instead, what I have seen is his policies have led to record deficits, increased Federal debt, and have put a squeeze on the middle class. These failed policies burden all Americans and endanger the future of hardworking families in Nevada and throughout this Nation. When President Bush took office in January of 2001, the Congressional Budget Office projected a 10-year, $5.6 trillion surplus. Because of the irresponsible and failed economic policies of the Bush administration and the congressional Republicans, we can now expect a 10-year $3.5 trillion budget deficit. This is a $9 trillion, dare I say it, dare I use the word, flip-flop. This year's deficit alone is a record $422 billion, the largest deficit in this Nation's history. We have gone from one of the largest budget surpluses in our Nation's history to the worst deficit our Nation has ever seen. And it does not matter what these neoRepublican economists are now saying. The facts are deficits matter. Federal deficits directly affect every American. Higher deficits mean increased interest rates, higher car payments and rising mortgage costs.”