Russ Feingold: “the point of that editorial is that although there is this opposition growing in the Senate, there is an effort going on…”

“the point of that editorial is that although there is this opposition growing in the Senate, there is an effort going on to change the budget rules in such a way that would allow these tax cuts in a way that would immunize, in effect, both entitlements and the defense budget, causing any cuts that might be made to pay for the tax cuts to come, essentially, out of the appropriations areas, out of discretionary funding. The Washington Post does a good job of criticizing this move, pointing out that it does not bode well for the future of deficit reduction. They commented on what it would mean, given the need for further cuts in discretionary spending, on top of the fair amount we did in the 103d Congress. And they noted that not all of those cuts are going to be applied to reducing the Federal deficit, but instead would be used to promote this tax cut that I am having a hard time finding anyone favoring other than those in Washington. So, Mr. President, despite the growing criticism of the tax cut around the country and in this body, the skids are being greased for a have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too approach, when it comes to balancing the budget and fixing the tax cut problem. Mr. President, I turn again to a cartoon that I think describes the problem we have here in Washington. This cartoon refers to a new illness called deficit attention disorder.…”