Political Quotes

“Mr. President, amendment No. 436 is also cosponsored by Senators Warner, McCaskill, and Whitehouse. This amendment is very simple. It would strike section 405 of the chairman's mark. Section 405 eliminated a point of order against reconciliation legislation which either increases the deficit or would reduce a surplus. I see no good reason why we should be making it easier to increase the debt and deficit that the majority claims to care so much about. If their reconciliation legislation is so important, then they ought to pay for it. If this amendment fails to be adopted, we will find ourselves in the same situation we were in the early 2000s. In 2001 and 2003, the then-Republican majority used reconciliation to pass a $1.3 trillion tax cut in 2001 and then another $350 billion tax cut in 2003. Both of these efforts were entirely unpaid for. Not a single dime was offset. So much for fiscal responsibility. It was not until 2007, when Chairman Conrad took control of the Senate Budget Committee, when a point of order was put into place to stop reconciliation from being used as a tool to add to the deficit. Let's not use the reconciliation process to add to our deficit. I urge my colleagues to support my commonsense amendment. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia. Amendment No. 694”