Thomas Daschle: “This budget, obviously, maps out this Nation's fiscal present and future in great detail, but this budget, as all…”

“This budget, obviously, maps out this Nation's fiscal present and future in great detail, but this budget, as all budgets, is more than about numbers. It is about choices. The choices we make in a budget tell us who we are and what we value as a nation. Unfortunately, the budget resolution brought to the floor by our Republican colleagues, like the budget proposed by President Bush last month, makes the wrong choices, sets the wrong priorities, and fails to prepare our Nation for the challenges we will face in the future. Since President Bush took office, 3 million private sector jobs have been lost. Today, 8.2 million Americans are out of work, and the number of long-term unemployed is at the highest point in 20 years. But even with so many Americans looking for work, the Republican budget fails to provide a strategy for creating new jobs. Nearly 60,000 veterans are on waiting lists for care at veterans hospitals. When our troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan return home, the lines could get even longer. But despite the extraordinary sacrifices our soldiers have made for us, the Republican budget offers veterans only longer waits and higher fees.”