Russ Feingold: “this is a notable occasion. We are adopting a bipartisan budget plan, an uncommon event, made even more exceptional…”

“this is a notable occasion. We are adopting a bipartisan budget plan, an uncommon event, made even more exceptional because that plan outlines a path toward achieving balance in the unified budget. As others have noted, this budget resolution is not perfect. No one of us would have proposed precisely the same combination of provisions we have in this resolution, that is the nature of political compromise. The result, however, is a package of provisions that does provide the opportunity to reach balance. Mr. President, balancing our budget has been my highest priority as a Member of this body. I ran on that issue in 1992, and I am pleased that we will enact a budget outline that puts us on track to achieve that goal. Mr. President, it is important to note that this agreement would not have been possible without the President's deficit reduction package enacted in 1993. Some now estimate that package achieved approximately $2 trillion in deficit reduction between 1993 and 2002. By contrast, the deficit reduction achieved in this year's budget outline is much smaller, but it is still an important accomplishment. Mr. President, I think it also needs to be said this important accomplishment was achieved without amending our Constitution. Indeed, I am convinced that the lack of a constitutional amendment pushed both sides to get the job done right now.”