Jack Reed: “Today I joined 49 of my colleagues in voting to waive the Congressional Budget Act in support of Senator Dorgan's…”

“Today I joined 49 of my colleagues in voting to waive the Congressional Budget Act in support of Senator Dorgan's amendment to restore the pre-1993 tax treatment of Social Security benefits. In 1993, I joined a majority of Congress in voting for the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, which combined with subsequent similar laws, eliminated the deficits of the early 1990s and the debt that had grown exponentially under Presidents Reagan and Bush. Included in this 1993 Act was a provision that changed the way Social Security benefits for individuals making over $25,000 and couples with income over $32,000 were taxed. Like many of my colleagues at that time, I believed there were more appropriate ways to eliminate the deficit, but budget procedures prevented them from being considered, and, while there were partisan amendments offered at later dates to reverse this policy, they did so by increasing the deficit, so I and a majority of my colleagues opposed these proposals. Today's vote was different. It was different because the President and the Republican majority have brought about a striking reversal in our Nation's fiscal policies.”