George Voinovich: “I rise to comment on the reconciliation tax relief bill that will most likely come before the Senate next week. I felt…”

“I rise to comment on the reconciliation tax relief bill that will most likely come before the Senate next week. I felt it necessary to come and speak on this topic because I am thinking of not only our generation but of the generations of our children and grandchildren and the legacy we leave them. How do the decisions we make in the Senate today affect their lives after we have long left this body? That is a question I will be asking should the Senate, as I expect it will, begin debate on reconciliation for tax cuts. Last week, Alan Greenspan testified before the Joint Economic Committee and told Congress: We should not be cutting taxes by borrowing. We do not have the capability of having both productive tax cuts and large expenditure increases, and presume that the deficit doesn't matter. I do not know how anyone can say with a straight face that when we voted to cut spending last week to help achieve deficit reductions we can now then turn around 2 weeks later to provide tax cuts that exceed the reductions that we made in spending. It just does not make any sense, and I think it does not make any sense to the American people. Well, I for one am taking Chairman Greenspan's warning seriously. Last week, I voted to cut spending. And should tax cuts come to the floor next week, I will vote against them. I believe it is the only responsible course of action. There are three reasons we should oppose tax cuts at this time: No.…”