Patty Murray: “I have risen tonight to express my deep concerns about the budget that is before us. I am concerned that the budget that…”

“I have risen tonight to express my deep concerns about the budget that is before us. I am concerned that the budget that this Senate is now considering does not pass the test of protecting our homeland. It does not pass the test of promoting fiscal responsibility. And it does not pass the test of fighting for our middle-class families. Let me start by putting this discussion in the right context. The budget decisions that we make now will either empower us or tie our hands when we turn to write the appropriations bills this year. That means you cannot vote for an unrealistic budget now and then act surprised in the summer and fall when painful cuts are required. Just look at what happened last year. The logjam that we experienced at the end of last year was not a surprise. It was the logical outcome of decisions that were made regarding the budget. Starting last March, many of us saw that there was no way we could meet our obligation to our veterans, honor our commitment to America's working families, enact huge cuts in entitlement programs such as Medicaid and Medicare, enact another round of tax cuts, and continue to cut our Nation's deficit. And when you added the growing cost of the war and Hurricane Katrina, the legislative train wreck was entirely predictable.…”