Russ Feingold: “The Concord Coalition said today that the Conrad-Feingold-Domenici bipartisan budget enforcement amendment provides a…”

“The Concord Coalition said today that the Conrad-Feingold-Domenici bipartisan budget enforcement amendment provides a strong and needed dose of fiscal discipline. It sets new discretionary spending caps for two years at tough but achievable levels, extends the pay-as-you-go (paygo) requirement for entitlement expansions and tax cuts, and renews important points of order that enforce discipline. The rapidly deteriorating budget outlook highlights the importance of this amendment. With sudden speed, budget deficits are back and the first time in several years there is no clear agreed upon fiscal goal. As a result, open-ended budgeting is back. Rather than setting priorities and making hard choices, Congress and the President are falling back on the old habit--cut taxes, increase spending, eat up the Social Security surplus, and run up the debt. It's a dangerous path to follow when looming just beyond the artificial 10-year budget window are the huge unfunded retirement and health care costs of the coming senior boom.”