[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 26, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4398-S4399]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               THE BUDGET

  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, 100 years from now, none of us will be 
here. I guess that is the bad news. We will all be dead a century from 
now. But those who are interested in who we were, what we were, what 
our value systems were about, could take a look at what we are doing 
here and determine a little something about what we thought was 
important.
  Someone once asked the question, if you were charged with writing an 
obituary for someone else and knew nothing about them but had to write 
it from their check register--the only information you had about 
someone was their check register--how would you write their obituary? I 
suppose you would find out what they spent their money on, what they 
thought was important, what was their value system.

[[Page S4399]]

So, too, could you evaluate the value system of this country and this 
Congress by this budget we are voting on today.
  I am going to vote against this budget. I will tell you why. Because 
I think in the rearview mirror, this budget represents a value system 
that misses much of what is important about what our obligation is 
today.
  We are at war. We are at war with terrorists. We are at war in Iraq. 
We have a responsibility to protect our homeland. We have a serious 
threat with respect to North Korea, apparently now building additional 
nuclear weapons.
  What does this budget document tell us is the most important element 
in the Federal Government? They say the most important element is to 
give those who have the highest incomes in America more tax cuts.
  Let me turn to page 6 and tell you what this budget document says. 
This budget document says, assume all of the President's proposed tax 
cuts, most of which go to wealthy Americans--assume that. This is the 
result on page 6: By the year 2013, this country will have a nearly $12 
trillion Federal debt--this country will have a nearly $12 trillion 
debt. The gross debt will be $11.919 trillion--almost $12 trillion.

  We are saying to those men and women fighting for this country today, 
you go ahead and pursue this battle on behalf of America and when you 
come back what we will do is burden you, we will saddle your shoulders 
with all of this debt because the priority in this budget is tax cuts, 
most of which will go to upper income Americans.
  We heard all day yesterday on amendments that this is going to hurt 
the growth package. What growth? Where is the growth? The only growth I 
see in this package is going from $6.6 trillion in debt to $12 trillion 
in debt. Yes, it is on page 6. That assumes all the tax cuts. This is 
the President's plan. The plan is to go to $12 trillion in debt. I 
don't think that is much of a plan. This grows the economy, does it? It 
produces new jobs, new economic opportunity? New tax revenues? I guess 
not, not if you are going to go to a $12 trillion gross debt. I do not 
understand at all what on Earth is happening here.
  About 2 years ago we had this debate about dramatically increased tax 
cuts. Some of us said let's be a bit conservative. The President said, 
no, there is no need to be conservative; let's pass all these tax cuts. 
Then we had a recession. The technology bubble burst. The stock market 
pancaked. We had 9/11. We had a war on terrorism. We had the largest 
corporate scandals in decades and decades--perhaps in this country's 
history. And the result, of course, was very large budget surpluses 
turned to very large budget deficits.
  Now we are told if we just pass this budget it will be better. But 
look on page 6. Assuming all the President wants, assuming all he asks 
us to do, on page 6, they say, in the year 2013, our gross debt will be 
nearly $12 trillion. Explain that. Explain this. It makes no sense. 
That is why I am going to vote no.

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