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CBO Report

Floor Speech

Date: Jan. 8, 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Government Budget and Spending


CBO REPORT -- (Senate - January 08, 2009)

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Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Madam President, I wish to ask, through the Chair, a question of the distinguished chairman of the Budget Committee with respect to the $10 trillion debt the country is now carrying.

At the time the current administration that is leaving office came into office 8 years ago, my understanding is the situation in America was rather different. It is my understanding that at that time we were actually looking at surpluses in our country, and the $10 trillion deficit is largely the responsibility of the policies that have been followed over the past 8 years.

Mr. CONRAD. The Senator is exactly right. The debt of the country at the beginning of the last administration was about $5 trillion. They have approximately doubled the debt of the country on their watch, dramatically more than doubled foreign holdings of U.S. debt. So the current administration, the outgoing administration, has left the incoming administration in a very deep hole, not to mention the economic difficulties and the extreme need for an economic recovery plan to give lift to this economy.

Mr. WHITEHOUSE. So through the good times, we could have been laying money aside so that when this situation came, we would be in a strong economic condition. Instead, by squandering all those years, we have put the incoming administration in a very challenging position.

Mr. CONRAD. Yes, not only the incoming administration, the whole country because our ability to cope with an economic downturn, the flexibility is substantially limited by what has already been done to dramatically increase the debt, as the Senator described, in good economic times. Unfortunately, that is the reality we now confront.

Today's news by the Congressional Budget Office of not only the $1.2 trillion deficit this year but massive deficits as far as the eye can see should sober us all.

Mr. WHITEHOUSE. I thank the very distinguished chairman of the Budget Committee for being willing to engage in this colloquy with me.

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