On the recordJuly 13, 2011
Madam President, I want to echo some of the remarks made by my colleague from Alabama regarding a budget. He is the ranking Republican member on our side on the Budget Committee. It is ironic that we are on the floor of the Senate this week, as we were last week, debating a nonbinding sense-of-the-Senate bill that states ``those earning $1 million or more per year make a more meaningful contribution to the deficit reduction effort.'' It doesn't specify what that is. It doesn't say there should be tax increases or spending cuts that should have an impact on these high- income earners. I echo what was stated by my colleague, which is that this is no substitute for a budget. Congress's job is to pass a budget. That is why we are here. That is why the taxpayers elected us. It is to set priorities and make decisions about where we are going to allocate their hard-earned tax dollars. The Democrats have not passed a budget for 805 days. Now, this sense- of-the-Senate bill--which is vague, ambiguous, and meaningless--does not do anything to address the fiscal challenges our country faces or achieve any level of budgetary savings.
