Jack Reed: “I strongly oppose the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 Conference Report. This conference report and the Administration's…”

“I strongly oppose the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 Conference Report. This conference report and the Administration's budget are fiscally irresponsible and reflect misguided priorities. The dual reconciliation process this year illustrates these misplaced priorities, as middle- and low-income families are being asked to pay the price for tax cuts for the wealthiest. The second reconciliation bill, which will soon be negotiated by the House and the Senate, will contain a reduction of as much as $70 billion in tax revenue that will more than eliminate the effect of the spending cuts to critical programs in the conference report that we are considering today. With the enactment of the two reconciliation bills, there is a real effort by this administration and the majority to perform a bait and switch on the American people and at the end of the day the ``so-called'' deficit reduction bill along with the tax reconciliation bill will further increase the deficit by as much as $30 billion over the next 5 years. The President's claim at his news conference yesterday that his policies are focused on the priorities of average Americans belies the experience of most working families. The economy has grown this year, but the benefits of that growth continue to show up in the bottom lines of companies rather than in the paychecks of workers.…”