Kent Conrad

Mr. CONRAD

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, might I thank both Senators for their courtesy and their graciousness.

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Pennsylvania. Next, we have the Senator from North Dakota, Mr. Dorgan.

Mr. CONRAD. We can do that perhaps momentarily. We have worked out what we would like to be the order. Amendment No. 4204 I send an amendment that is the side by side to the Bunning amendment to the desk.

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Menendez.) Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. CONRAD. With one alteration, if I could, that we would--if you recall, we talked about this--I would then discuss the side by side to Bunning, then the Alexander group would be recognized.

Mr. CONRAD. After I give brief remarks on the side by side I have sent up. Senator Dorgan can offer his amendment. Amendment No. 4198

Mr. CONRAD. Let me add to that, after Senator Kennedy, then Senator Biden be recognized for 10 minutes, not to offer an amendment but to talk about an amendment.

Mr. CONRAD. By the sequence we have gone through, we have gotten you in the queue. And so that will be--as we work down the amendments that have already been in order, yours is now in order. And that will be the order that is followed. So the Senator can expect when we turn to amendments, yours will be in line. We very much appreciate the extraordinary courtesy of the Senator from North Dakota, who, as I know, has had to wait a couple of times here because of various snafus. We apologize to him and thank him.

Mr. CONRAD. That is precisely correct. I thank my colleague. I will take a few minutes to describe the side by side to the Bunning amendment earlier offered. The Bunning amendment would repeal the 1993 increases on Social Security benefits--tax increases on Social Security benefits. The amendment would offset the $89 billion 5-year cost with reductions to function 920. What does that mean? Mandatory 920 offsets would lead to an across-the-board cut in all mandatory programs, programs such as Social Security and Medicare. I do not think that is the intention of the Senator. If discretionary 920s were offset, it would reduce programs affecting education, veterans health, homeland security, and law enforcement. In addition, the amendment would remove a dedicated source of revenue through the Medicare trust funds, adding to the financial problems of that key program. Our alternative, the alternative I have sent to the desk, would provide for a reserve fund that would allow for the repeal of the 1993 increase on Social Security benefits in a way that would protect Social Security and Medicare, and not increase the deficit over the period of the resolution. The budget resolution already includes a reserve fund with the primary purpose of providing a mechanism for enacting tax relief, provided it is paid for. This alternative would establish a new deficit-neutral reserve fund that specifically highlights repeal of the 1993 tax increase on Social Security benefits. Over the 5-year period covered by this resolution, the cost of repealing the 1993 tax increase is about $89 billion as I earlier referenced. We have already acknowledged in the course of the debate on the resolution we have to limit ourselves when it comes to additional spending or additional tax cuts, because we need to balance the budget. There are places we can go to cut spending or to raise revenue. I have addressed those repeatedly in terms of the tax gap, the offshore tax havens, and abusive tax shelters. I ask my colleagues to support the alternative that I have sent to the desk that would not lead to a cut in Medicare or Social Security or other elements I identified. With that, we would be prepared to go to Senator Alexander for the presentation of his amendment. I see Senator Alexander is in the Chamber. Would the Senator like a moment, or would the Senator prefer to proceed?

Mr. CONRAD. I thank the Senator and indicate that the intention would be, after Senator Alexander and Senator Domenici--Senator Alexander, do you have anyone else whom you wish to speak on your amendment?

Mr. CONRAD. I wish to indicate that after you have presented, the intention was to go to Senator Kennedy for the purposes of offering an amendment. Senator Salazar is here.

Mr. CONRAD. Very well. I offered it in the Senator's name. It is very appropriate that he is here to speak on it. Senator Alexander, could you tell us how much time you and Senator Domenici may consume?

Mr. CONRAD. Could we then have an agreement that those two Senators have up to 40 minutes combined, 20 minutes to Senator Alexander, 20 minutes to Senator Domenici; at the end of that time, which would be at 1:40, that Senator Salazar be recognized. How much time does the Senator want?

Mr. CONRAD. Yes, so that the Senator from Colorado be recognized for 15 minutes at that time. That would take us to roughly 1:55, and Senator Kennedy be recognized for 15 minutes at that point.

Mr. CONRAD. Might I ask the Senator to withhold for 1 moment for a unanimous consent request?

Mr. CONRAD. I appreciate the Senator's courtesy. Senator Salazar's amendment was earlier sent to the desk. He wishes to modify his amendment. It has no effect on the policy, on the numbers, or the effect of the amendment. It is just language. I wonder if we would allow that to go forward?

Mr. CONRAD. That is correct. He is asking unanimous consent to modify the amendment.

Mr. CONRAD. We will provide up to 15 minutes off the resolution, and whatever the Senator consumes. I would say to the Senator, at the end of her remarks, if she would withhold actually sending the amendment to the desk, that will allow Senator Sununu to come to the floor so that we maintain the back-and- forth order. Then, if the Senator is not here after her remarks, I will just enter her amendment so that it will be in the queue, but we will do this in a way that is fair to both sides.

Mr. CONRAD. I thank my colleagues. I again thank Senator Alexander for his courtesy.

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, is Senator Kyl seeking recognition?

Mr. CONRAD. I thank the Senator very much. I thank her for all she has done to help us form this budget. I very much appreciate the effort and the energy she has brought to it.

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I thank Chairman Kennedy especially for his passion and commitment to educating the children of our country. I was raised by my grandparents. My grandmother was a schoolteacher and was only 5 feet tall. We called her Little Chief. She told us, as we were growing up, there were three priorities in our household: Education was No. 1, No. 2 was education, and No. 3 was education. We got the message. I deeply appreciate the absolute passion and commitment that the Senator from Massachusetts shows to the education issues. It is inspiring that he is able to maintain this level of commitment over these many years and has achieved such extraordinary results, including last year. I thought one of the greatest accomplishments of the budget resolution was the education package that Senator Kennedy brought before the body and that passed and became law. It increased Pell grants, which reduced the cost of getting a college education by enhancing and improving the loan program. I thought it was one of the two most significant accomplishments of last year. I thought the other one was the expansion of assistance for veterans health care. That, too, became law, and it did so because it was included in the budget resolution. No one had more to do with that package than the Senator from Massachusetts, and we thank him for his leadership.

Mr. CONRAD. I thank the Senator very much. Next, we have Senator Lincoln, and I would just like to ask Senator Lincoln how much time she would seek.

Mr. CONRAD. Madam President, the order is that we will go to Senator Nelson of Nebraska, and we will reserve the side-by-side for Senator Alexander that I will offer on behalf of others at a subsequent moment. We will go to Senator Nelson, and I will ask Senator Nelson not to send his amendment up because in order to maintain the back-and-forth, we need to send a Republican amendment up next. Then, if the Senator from Nebraska is not here, I will send his amendment up so that it is in the queue. How much time does the Senator require?

Mr. CONRAD. I yield up to 5 minutes off the resolution, and if the Senator needs more, we will provide it.