Russ Feingold: “I rise with regret to oppose this conference report on the budget resolution. I regret this Congress appears willing to…”

“I rise with regret to oppose this conference report on the budget resolution. I regret this Congress appears willing to turn its back on 8 years of fiscal responsibility and prudent stewardship of our Nation's resources. The favorable surpluses that we enjoy today did not come quickly or easily. Many of our citizens experienced cuts in their benefits, and many Members of Congress took some hard votes to get there. Regrettably, this Congress seems all too willing hurriedly to dissipate that achievement. The fiscal responsibility over the last 8 years has allowed the Government to pay down hundreds of billions of dollars of Federal debt, and it has allowed interest rates to remain lower than they otherwise would have been, saving so many Americans billions of dollars on their mortgages, car loans, and student loans. We should continue to pay down the debt. Yes, taxpayers deserve tax relief. The surplus does give us a golden opportunity to cut taxes. I supported Senator Conrad's proposal to cut taxes by $745 billion over the next 10 years. With its associated interest costs, that package would have devoted roughly $900 billion to tax relief. The tax cut in this conference report is too large and not responsible. It seeks to devote $1.35 trillion to this one purpose. Interest costs could add another $400 billion to the cost. The budget resolution tax cut is thus almost twice the size of Senator Conrad's more measured approach.”