Kent Conrad

Mr. CONRAD

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, next we go to the Thomas amendment.

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, did the desk get that? On this next amendment, Senator Stevens and Senator Inouye are paired?

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, this amendment, while well intended, would create a serious problem for the body. This amendment prevents the Appropriations Committee from reporting a bill with more than one type of emergency designation. Let me give my colleagues a concrete example. Last year Congress enacted an appropriations bill that included funding for the war effort in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as disaster relief for the gulf coast. This amendment would prevent that kind of legislation. That would reduce the effectiveness and efficiency of this Chamber already noted for lacking efficiency. I urge my colleagues to vote no.

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, we thank the Senator from Pennsylvania for the alterations he has made to this amendment. It is acceptable on this side. I ask unanimous consent we agree to the amendment.

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, the Senator has reserved the right to object.

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, the fact is, none of those rates change until 2010, No. 1. No. 2, the Senator's amendment also would not have the effect described by the Senator. The effect the amendment would have is to reduce revenue by $117 billion. It would put us back into deficit in 2012 by $71 billion. This amendment is a budget buster. I urge my colleagues to vote no.

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, let's make certain we have the modified version of the Specter amendment. So before we approve that, let me have a chance--it has gone through a number of modifications. Let's make sure the version at the desk is the version we have been advised is at the desk.

Mr. CONRAD. OK. That is fine.

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, the reality of the budget resolution is this may not have anything to do with eliminating the alternative minimum tax. The one thing it will do is reduce the revenue of the Government over the next 5 years by $533 billion, plunging us right back into deficit. Look, we can deal with the AMT. We have dealt with it in the underlying budget resolution for the next 2 years. There will be no increase in the number of people affected by the AMT for the next 2 years under the budget resolution, and that is paid for. Unfortunately, this amendment is not paid for. It would plunge us back into deficit. I urge my colleagues to vote no.

Mr. CONRAD. Madam President, next, we are going to go to a Bingaman amendment. He will discuss it briefly, and we will have a colloquy. I yield to Senator Bingaman.

Mr. CONRAD. Madam President, I would have to resist this amendment in its current form because it requires directed scoring. It requires the Congressional Budget Office to score something in a way mandated by Congress. I think that is a slippery slope. I don't think that is the way we want to go. We don't want to start requiring CBO to score things in a certain way. That would impede the impartiality of the CBO. We are happy to work with the Senator to try to find other ways to address the concerns he has expressed in this amendment.

Mr. CONRAD. Madam President, Senator DeMint is next.

Mr. CONRAD. Madam President, I urge colleagues to resist this amendment. If we want to blow a hole in the budget, this is the way to do it. We have already addressed dramatic, important estate tax reform. This completely eliminates the estate tax and blows a total hole in the budget. I urge my colleagues to vote no.

Mr. CONRAD. Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, that amendment is acceptable on this side.

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, they are now telling us we may not have seen the modification.

Mr. CONRAD. It has not been modified.

Mr. CONRAD. So let's just be clear. It is not modified. It is the amendment that was previously at the desk. I thank the Chair, and I thank the Senator.

Mr. CONRAD. I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. CONRAD. I ask unanimous consent that we agree to the amendment.

Mr. CONRAD. I ask that we just accept this amendment.

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, the next amendment is the Coleman amendment.

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to accept the Coleman amendment.

Mr. CONRAD. The next amendment is the Lott amendment.