Russ Feingold: “I appreciate not only the comments of the Senator from Oklahoma but his leadership on the Budget Committee. I enjoy very…”

“I appreciate not only the comments of the Senator from Oklahoma but his leadership on the Budget Committee. I enjoy very much serving with him on the committee. I also appreciate the sort of change of tone from the opposition on this amendment. Everything we have heard about this amendment recently is how we need to have a weaker rule than the pay-go rule. Somehow we have to justify these exceptions that were put in the Budget Committee resolution. Finally the chairman is talking about what we really should be talking about, that we need a strong rule. What he has done is lay out some things our pay-go doesn't do. That is true. There may be some additional things we should do in this area. But what I am proposing, with the cosponsors, is let's at least go back to the rules we know worked, the rules that brought this country a balanced budget in the 1990s. They were proven to work. That is all this amendment does.”