Stephanie Herseth Sandlin: “Mr. Chairman, let us balance our budget. Let us pay as we go. Let us pay off our debt and pay off the deficit. Let us…”

“Mr. Chairman, let us balance our budget. Let us pay as we go. Let us pay off our debt and pay off the deficit. Let us support the Blue Dog budget. Following the plan offered by the House Republican leadership will succeed in balancing the budget by balancing it on our Nation's senior citizens, the veterans, the students, the farmers, the teachers, the economically disadvantaged. How in the world can the majority propose spending cuts in veterans health care during a time of war? And the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and virtually every national veterans service group shares my amazement. The Blue Dog substitute will cut the record deficit in half in 2 years, not the 5 proposed by the Republican leadership and balance the Federal budget by 2012 without relying on the Social Security surplus and without sacrificing our Nation's veterans and seniors. At the same time, the Blue Dogs provide both immediate and long-term tax relief to middle-class American taxpayers, small businesses, and family farmers. We need to pay for our war effort. We need to take care of our veterans, and we need to be honest in our budgeting and make sure we budget for the war effort. The Republican budget does not budget one dime for the war. That is the reason it is a trick.”