Senate Proceeding on Apr 29th, 2009 :: 3:20:55 to 3:32:50
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3:20:51 to 3:21:11( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: we get out from madam president, i yield the floor. mr. conrad: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. mr. conrad: i have presentation of my colleague, for whom i have great respect but on this presentation i found it highly entertaing but it bears almost no relationship to

3:20:55 to 3:32:50( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Kent Conrad

3:21:12 to 3:21:34( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: the document that is at that desk. very interesting. if you -- if you read the charts that the gentleman presented they all relate to the president's budget you notice they don't relate to the budget that is before us and the fact is, we made significant president's budget, because after the president presented

3:21:35 to 3:21:59( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: his budget congressional budget forecast that we were losing of revenue because of the economic slowdown over the next ten and so we made a series of very significant adjustments to respond to that reality. in fact, over five

3:22:02 to 3:22:22( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: we changed $555 billion. not one dime of that was reflected in the gentleman's charts. you know, they say if you're a lawyer and if you have the facts, argue the facts. if you have the law, argue the if you have neither, attack your opponent. that's whate've just heard. they don't have the facts, they

3:22:23 to 3:22:44( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: don't have the law, they certainly aren't talking about the legislation before u so they launch an ad hominem attack. let me just go back to facts because fac are stubborn things. on spending, let's be clear.

3:22:45 to 3:23:06( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: this discretionary spending as a percentage of g.d.p. from 4.4% in that is not a big-spending budget. that is a tough budget that reduces the share national economy going to

3:23:07 to 3:23:28( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: federal domestic on non-defense discretionary spending in dollar terms over the five years of the budget, spending is by that isess than inflation. that's why the share of domestic discretionary s

3:23:29 to 3:23:49( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: of our economy is going down under this budget. there's $180 billion tax increase in this budget where? i mean, he made this same assertion last year he said the budget last year was going to increase taxes.

3:23:50 to 3:24:10( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: year's budget? did it increase taxes no. it cut taxes by hundreds of billions of dollars. and that's what this budge does. this budget cuts taxes enbalance?? over five years by $764 billi

3:24:11 to 3:24:32( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: now, that is a that's not made up for convenience of a debate. that is a fact taxes are cut under this budget $7 now, on reconciliation, i must say, the speech by the gen

3:24:33 to 3:24:54( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: is really beyond the pale. he acts as though reconciliation is against the constitution of the united well, it's interesting what he had to say when the shoe was on the other foot. when the shoe was on the other use reconciliation, what did the

3:24:55 to 3:25:17( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: gentleman say then? well, unfortunately for the credibility of his speech here we have a record here know what he sd then. here's what he said then. "reconciliation is a rule of the senate set up under the budget act it has been used before for

3:25:18 to 3:25:43( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: purposes exactly like this on numerous occasions. the fact is, all this rule of the senate does is allow a position and pass a piece of legislation position. is there something wrong with

3:25:44 to 3:26:04( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: majority rule rules? i don't think so." so when they wanted to use reconc rule of the senate allowed the majorityo work their will wrong with it. now when we have a reconciliation instruction as a

3:26:05 to 3:26:25( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: backup, as an insurance policy, now it's somehow against the constitution. please. please. that not going to stand up against the gentleman's own record. the fact is, reconciliation's been used 19 party on the opposite side. and i didn't hear these

3:26:26 to 3:26:46( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: crocodile tears from them about how it threatened the constitution. in fact, the gentleman described it then as a simple senate that allowed the majority to rule. mr. president, the suggestion that this budget is made up i take great offense to.

3:26:47 to 3:27:09( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: this budget is not made this budget congressional budget office, which is nonpartisan budget does precisely have presented it as doing. it reduces the deficit two-thirds over five years as a share of gross it cuts the deficit by three-quarters.

3:27:10 to 3:27:30( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: the gentleman says, "ah, you've hidden t doc the doc fiks we know that doctors are scheduled to take major reductions who treat medicare patients. we have not hidden a thing. what we have said is after two

3:27:31 to 3:27:51( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: years, fixing spiral on doctors' reimbursement who treat medicare patients will have to be paid for. that's not hidden. that's very clear, very direct, and it's exactly what we should be doing here -- pay for things. when we found we were in a circumstance in which we had $2 trillion less than the

3:27:52 to 3:28:12( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: president had to write a budget, we had to make changes and we did make responsible changes. one of the changes we made was to say, no, the doctors should not be cut. we will provide the money this budget for the next two years so they're not cut, but after that, any additional fixes

3:28:13 to 3:28:33( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: would have to be paid for. that's what we've got to start doing around here is paying for things. on the alternative minimum tax, we've said in this resolution that the alternative minimum tax should not be imposed on anybody and for the next three years, it can be done without offset, without paying for it because we

3:28:34 to 3:28:54( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: don't want to raise taxes during a time of economic downturn. but after the three years, further moves to prevent the alternative minimum tax from being imposed have to be paid for, hav the same is true on tarp funding

3:28:55 to 3:29:16( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: the gentleman says we excluded tarp funding. yes, we did, because you could not pass $250 billion of tarp funding after the way tarp has been handled in the first round. you wouldn't pass. the president said put it in as an insurance policy.

3:29:17 to 3:29:37( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: it does not have a specific propos event. but we did not include it here because it could not pass this body. on health care, the gentleman suggests this is going to add $1 trillion to debt. not under this budget. again he failed to read the document. it makes very clear, if you're going to have health care

3:29:38 to 3:29:59( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: reform, it's g for -- it's got to be pa the reserve fund he kind of glossed over, very specific. i can only change the allocations to issue is paid for. i have no authority to change the allocation to committees unless health care reform is

3:30:00 to 3:30:21( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: paid for. i'm make -- on making work pay, the president's middle-class tax cut in addition to all the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts that are all included in this budget, over $500 middle class that are in this budget, the middle-class tax cuts that are

3:30:22 to 3:30:43( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: over and 2001 and 2003, the so-called "makeork pay" provisions, they're already provided the stimulus package. next two years. if it is to be extended this, budget says you've got to pay for it. yo

3:30:44 to 3:31:04( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: that's exactly what we're going to have to do to bring the deficit down. we're going to have to start paying for things. madam president, there are so many things here that that are in error about this budget, it's breathtaking.

3:31:05 to 3:31:26( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: but i just want to conclude on this note. if this budget is so bad, why did the gentleman offer no alternative? in 2001, when i thought the bush budget was fatally flawed, i offered an alternative on the floor of this this year the gentleman has

3:31:27 to 3:31:48( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: offered no alternative. all he offers are complaints and misrepresentations and a rewriting of history. the debt is on an course. why? becaus the previous administration doubled the debt,

3:31:49 to 3:32:11( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: debt, and put us on a course which we face the worst recession since the great depression. that's why the debt is burgeoning. it's not as a result of this budget document. this budget document moves the deficit two-thirds over the next five years.

3:32:12 to 3:32:32( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: we inherited a colossal colossal. and to suggest this president is responsible for this colossal mess after he's been in office of truth and will not stand any scrutiny. we all know how we got to where we are. the previous administration

3:32:33 to 3:32:50( Edit History Discussion )

Kent Conrad: doubled the debt of the country at a tim relatively good. unfortunately, when they left office, the economy was in the wors madam president, history -- history -- will not treat the