Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2010--Conference Report--Continued

Floor Speech

LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2010--CONFERENCE REPORT--Continued -- (Senate - September 30, 2009)

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Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, this is a very simple point of order. It simply says: A budget was passed. This is the last year of the budget. We have spent all the money under the budget. We should not add another $4 billion to the budget that is going to go directly to the debt our children will have to bear.

So let's vote in favor of supporting the budget that we passed. Let's vote against adding $4 billion of more debt to our childrens' backs. We can correct the problem this issue confronts without adding to the deficit and the debt, and we can correct it without doing violence to the budget which was passed by the majority.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nebraska.

Mr. NELSON of Nebraska. Mr. President, it is important that this motion pass just like the previous one. If we do not get this done, we are sitting with a continuing resolution that will not be in effect, and we will be in trouble moving forward.

So just as the other one, I ask my colleagues to vote aye on it as they have in the past.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maine.

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Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, the Senator from New Hampshire is correct that this should not have been done this way and that the Postal Service needs fundamental reform. But the fact is, the Postal Service cannot afford to pay the $5.4 billion that is due on October 1.

The CBO says this provision has no budget impact. So I urge a vote against the Judd Gregg point of order.

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, if it had no budget impact, the point of order would not lie. It actually does have a $4 billion budget impact. That will be added to the debt. It can be corrected. We can still pass the continuing resolution by supporting this point of order.

I ask Senators to vote no on the motion to waive.

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