Sylvester Turner: “That is correct. All of the discussion currently ongoing about the Federal budget, the levels of spending, do not…”

“That is correct. All of the discussion currently ongoing about the Federal budget, the levels of spending, do not include the cost of a conflict with Iraq or the cost of rebuilding Iraq once the conflict is over. The President has said that is a separate item, that it should be treated as a separate item. He has promised he will send a supplemental request to the Congress to pay for that if and when it occurs. So we are actually talking about very conservative estimates of the size of the national debt, and the Blue Dog budget plan we are contrasting tonight with the President assumes the President's levels of total spending. There are a lot of folks around here who believe very strongly, as I do and the Blue Dogs do, that we spend too much money and we have to be conservative in our spending. The President has sent us a budget that calls for significant reductions in the levels of spending that we have seen over the years. But even if you abide by the President's spending recommendations, which our budget does, his tax cut policies will increase our national debt to the level to the tune of $10 trillion by the end of this decade. So, what we say is as long as we are facing war, facing growing deficits, those who are most blessed economically in our country should be willing to defer the future tax cuts they have yet to receive in order to help us dig our way out of this ever-deepening hole of debt and deficit.”