Marshall Sanford: “I thank the chairman. I would join in urging my colleagues to defeat this Democratic motion to instruct the conferees…”

“I thank the chairman. I would join in urging my colleagues to defeat this Democratic motion to instruct the conferees, and I do so very much tied to the working families that I talked to back home because working families back home believe in balancing the checkbook. They have to do it every day in their lives. What they say to me is, Why in the world can't you guys do the same up in Washington, D.C.? In that regard, if we were to go the other route--I mean, keep in mind, the President's budget proposed going from running structural $500 billion a year deficits to $1.1 trillion a year deficits. This is moving in the wrong direction if we go with the instructions. I think that when I talk to working families back home, what they tell me is we have got to deal with problems as they come along. Doing nothing is not an option. So when there is a hole in the roof, they are out there with tin or they are out there with shingles and they are, in fact, repairing the roof. When there is a problem with the septic tank, they are out there with a shovel, digging and trying to fix it. In the same regard, I think what the committee and what the conference have come up with with regard to looking at a way of saving Medicare could be very, very instructive. As has already been noted, within 15 years, the actuaries say that the Medicare fund will be out of money. Doing nothing is, indeed, not an option.…”