CNN Judy Woodruff's Inside Politics

CNN Judy Woodruff's Inside Politics - Transcript

SEN. JOHN CORNYN ®, TEXAS: Well, we haven't really gotten into a lot of weeds on the budget. Basically, as you know, Judy, it's a starting point for a process by which, first of all, we set a top line. That is, the maximum amount of spending through the budget resolution, and then that's the basis upon which the appropriations are decided, and within the Appropriations Committee where those hard tradeoffs and choices are going to be made on individual programs. But I do think it's important that we-we respond in a constructive way to some pretty dire numbers that we've seen with deficits.

Of course our goal is to cut the deficit in half over the next five years. We know we not only have larger defense and homeland spending responsibilities, we've got supplemental war appropriations which are off of the budget, off line.

WOODRUFF: Well, I asked because I'm sure you know some of your Republican colleagues in the Senate, Arlen Specter, Norm Coleman, are saying while they support big junks of this is budget, they don't agree with cuts in things like special education, vocational education, Medicaid, farm programs. Is there widespread agreement with them in the Senate, do you think?

CORNYN: Well, I would-I would ask my colleagues, those who believe that we should exercise a greater degree of fiscal discipline, where do they think we should cut? The truth is, a lot of these cuts are really nothing more than a reduction in the rate of increase.

Only in Washington have I found that people consider a reduction in the rate of increase in a program a cut in federal funding. And, of course, not all of these are going to be easy questions. That's, frankly, why we get sent here and paid to make the hard decisions.

But we will-we will balance out the priorities. We've got to determine, first of all, what those are, and then-and then fund those. And some of the things that we'd like to have that are not possible based on our tight budget, we're going to have to simply forego.

WOODRUFF: Senator, on the other hand, you have the view of someone like Congressman Mike Pence of Indiana, a Republican. He says unlike the Republican majorities in the 1990s, when he said Republicans were committed to limited government, he said President Bush has a different vision that he says has resulted in education and well fare policies, that he says have increased the size and scope of the government.

CORNYN: Well, the two things that have been driving the deficit primarily are going-have been the attacks on 9/11, which cost our economy almost a trillion dollars, and the fallout of the corporate scandals that we had during the president's first term. Of course we knew we had economic stagnation and needed to stimulate the economy, and that's frankly the main reason why I supported the budget cuts-excuse me, the tax cuts, which have led to some deficits, but which have also stimulated the growth of 2.5 million jobs over the last year or so.

So these are all complicated, hard choices. And we will be debating those. And I think this budget should ultimately, when it's passed by the Congress, reflect our nation's priorities and values. But frankly, not everybody can have everything they want.

WOODRUFF: Senator, one last question about immigration. As we know, the president proposed a temporary worker plan last year that would confer legal status on illegal immigrants as long as they could prove they have a job. Your fellow Texan, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, just yesterday is saying that he can go along with that only if these immigrants go home first.

Do you agree with him that that should be a requirement?

CORNYN: Well, I think what we're finding is, as people are focusing more and more on this issue and how border security, homeland security, which we all agree on, really are unattainable unless we actually deal with people who are already here and people who make up about six million in our current work force, we need to figure some practical way. And I'm glad to hear the majority leader showing some flexibility on that.

I don't think we are together on all points of this. But I think it is important, part of a national conversation that ought to proceed here over the next few months and perhaps longer before we try to achieve a true consensus. But I think clearly there's a problem, and I'm glad people acknowledging that and recognizing that we must do something. And doing nothing is not an option.

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