[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Page 589]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         CONRAD-GREGG AMENDMENT

  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, Dr. Laurence Peter, the educator who came 
up with the Peter Principle, once said:

       Democracy is a process by which the people are free to 
     choose the [person] who will get the blame.

  In a democracy, that is the people's right. In a democracy, the 
people elect us to represent them. And in a democracy, the people elect 
us to be accountable.
  But the chairman and ranking Republican member of the Budget 
Committee have come up with a process to shift the blame. They have 
come up with a process for Congress to punt our accountability away. 
They have come up with a process to outsource Congress's central fiscal 
responsibilities to a new budget commission.
  I can see that a commission may be attractive to some. It is the easy 
way out. Senators can blame everything on the commission. Senators can 
say: The commission made me do it.
  But we should not shirk our responsibility. Rather, we should do the 
job our constituents sent us here to do. We already have a process for 
doing so. It is called the budget process.
  The chairman and ranking Republican member of the Budget Committee 
have proposed a new budget process. No one has shown greater zeal in 
taking on the budget deficit than the chairman and ranking Republican 
member of the Budget Committee. I commend them for their good 
intentions. But we should reject their new process--not their 
intentions but their new process.
  Senators Conrad and Gregg have said: Everything needs to be on the 
table, including spending and revenues. But why stop there? If Congress 
is going to outsource its central fiscal responsibilities, why stop 
there? Why not cede to this commission all of our responsibilities? Why 
don't we outsource all of this year's work and then adjourn for the 
year?
  Come to think of it, if we do cede all of our powers to this 
commission, what is to stop them from inserting anything and everything 
they choose into the commission's one, nonamendable, omnibus vehicle? 
They can insert anything they want--anything.
  That is the catch with this commission. If we were to cede all of our 
responsibilities to this commission, and we were to tie our hands so we 
could not amend its recommendations, then we would risk setting in 
motion some truly terrible policy.
  Under the proposed fast-track procedures, we would not be able to 
amend the proposal. But what if we did not like the committee's 
recommendations? We would not be able to replace the commission's 
recommendations with our own.
  It is clear from the statements of Senators Conrad and Gregg that 
they have painted a big red target on Social Security and Medicare. 
That is what this commission is all about. It is a threat to Social 
Security and Medicare.
  That is why the first amendment this Senator offered is to protect 
Social Security. Senators Conrad and Gregg have proposed a system that 
will not allow Senators to offer amendments to protect Social Security 
later, after the commission has come up with its recommendations. That 
is why we have to vote to protect Social Security now, while we still 
can offer amendments.
  We already have a process to address the budget. It is called the 
congressional budget process. Anytime we wanted to, we could use the 
budget process to address the budget deficit. Since the creation of the 
budget process, it has been the process that Congress has usually used 
to address fiscal challenges.
  The chairman and ranking Republican member of the Budget Committee 
should skip the commission. They should go straight to their 
recommendation. They should bring it up in their committee. That is 
exactly why Congress created the Budget Committee, the budget 
resolution, and the reconciliation bill in the first place. That was 
the purpose.
  We do not need a commission to do our work. We do not need a new 
process to shift the blame. Rather, to address our fiscal challenges, 
let us get to work on it now. Let us do the job the people sent us here 
to do. Let us reject this commission.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, what is the pending business?

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