Russ Feingold: “I certainly thank the senior Senator from Illinois for noticing the cartoon and for being one of the first people in…”

“I certainly thank the senior Senator from Illinois for noticing the cartoon and for being one of the first people in this body to come to me and say that we do need to prevent this tax cut frenzy if we are going to be serious about balancing the Federal budget. I think, Mr. President, now is the time to put the tax cut proposals out of their misery. Let us do it early on so the American people know that there is something real to all this rhetoric in Washington about balancing the Federal budget. It seems to me, ever since the tax cut frenzy started with the November 8 election, that I have had a hard time finding anyone who is really for it other than a few folks here in Washington. I have chosen this cartoon from December at Christmastime to illustrate how early the people of America were ahead of the politicians on this issue. It is a very simple cartoon. It shows a couple of parents holding a nice present, 'The tax cuts.' But their baby holds 'The bill.' The parents are enjoying this nice present, but passing its cost along to the next generation. So even before the 104th Congress convened, I feel that the American people were way ahead on this and felt that this just did not make sense and that it did not add up. I sort of felt as if maybe this issue would die pretty quickly, but I was wrong. In a way, this frenzy for a tax cut, which nobody supports, is the inevitable result of the November 8 election.”