it sinks up the senate paygo rule with statutory paygo. and as i noted earlier, it includes the deficit reserve fund to preserve the savings from the present fiscal commission to ensure that those savings cannot be spent and are only used to reduce deficits and debt. this year's health care reform effort will begin to slow the rise of health care costs but it will not be enough to resolve the long-term fiscal imbalance in the health-care accounts. we also face a demographic tidal wave from the retirement of the baby boom generation, and we face an outdated and inefficient tax code that is bleeding revenue to offshore tax havens and hurting u.s. competitiveness. so we will remain on an unsustainable long-term course that must be addressed. i am hopeful the president's fiscal commission will develop a bipartisan plan that will make significant progress in this area. let me just conclude by talking about the commission and its responsibility. it is tasked with coming up with a plan to address the nation's on sustainable long- term fiscal cond

it sinks up the senate paygo rule with statutory paygo. and as i noted earlier, it includes the deficit reserve fund to preserve the savings from the present fiscal commission to ensure that those savings cannot be spent and are only used to reduce deficits and debt. this year's health care reform effort will begin to slow the rise of health care costs but it will not be enough to resolve the long-term fiscal imbalance in the health-care accounts. we also face a demographic tidal wave from the retirement of the baby boom generation, and we face an outdated and inefficient tax code that is bleeding revenue to offshore tax havens and hurting u.s. competitiveness. so we will remain on an unsustainable long-term course that must be addressed. i am hopeful the president's fiscal commission will develop a bipartisan plan that will make significant progress in this area. let me just conclude by talking about the commission and its responsibility. it is tasked with coming up with a plan to address the nation's on sustainable long-term fiscal condi

there is one category that helps fix budget rules. >> there is paygo.cretionary programs, there are spending cuts. >> i have long been an advocate for pay-go. if someone is going to propose a tax cut, they have to pay for it. if someone is going to propose an increase in mandatory spending, they have to find a way to pay for it. >> our fiscal challenge is too great for one step. last week i signed into law the pthe pay-go bill. it says that the united states should pay as they go and live within our means. >> this is a weak version. a strong pay-go would not exempt so much spending and tax increases and would apply to all the programs. the other type is expenditure caps. >> that limits how much the growth of discretionary spending can go forward each year. those have been really effective in the past in limiting budget growth and keeping deficits from becoming a greater problem. >> pay-go and spending caps are positive measures, but they only help to keep the problem from getting worse. many other steps will need to be taken. >> congress just by nature

it's required by paygo and by fiscal responsibility. not the unemployment provisions, the cobra provisions, the sdr provisions that are essentially covered by paygo. and i am hopeful as we discuss this that the republicans will drop their opposition to extending unemployment comp unless it's paid for. we have not paid for extensions of unemployment compensation or for cobra. and paygo provides, as i said, the structure to proceed. however, the rest of the provisions have to be paid for. and i'm not sure where the fruit is. some people think it's sour. some may think it's rotten. but the main thing is, on those two examples and others, and we're working on others, we're going to find pay-fors using some intelligent discussion going beyond the labels to see where we can find provisions th provide resources with equity, with equity. >> thank you. and just to note for your representative press club traditions including the red line we do know you're very popular among the tax and trade lobbyists in this town and we try to keep the paparazzi

now it's harder paygo will help us not make it worse but the programs that are already on the books are what are driving spending. medicare and medicaid particularly so we have a harder problems but i'm optimistic and excited to be part of this group. thank you. >> when your name is william and you go in alphabetical order [inaudible] let me try to say something a little bit different. first to the chairman senator simpson, each of you have a great reputation of integrity and i look forward to working with you on this effort. most of us were in congress during the last economic crisis and the was a crisis where the chairman of the federal reserve and treasury secretary came rushing to the hills in panic mode and we got together and we governed in a panicked situation. we have before us the most predictable economic crisis we have ever had in this country. we all know that. we also i think are getting a good grasp of the size of the magnitude of the crisis. sovereign debt crises are popping up all of the world and we are kidding ourselves if we don't think it can come to us next. here is

finally, but to defeat the budget control like the paygo rules and spending caps of the 90's. once this recession is behind us and more americans are back to work we need to immediately begin to implement these kinds of reforms. in some we believe in timely action. it's because we don't want to see the future diminished because we don't want financial necessity to force radical disruptions in our way of life because we don't want to see the safety net for aid that we believe now with moderately fiscal conservative and socially compassionate reforms. but how do we get there from here? after all this is a nation whose enthusiasm for secretaries is rather restrained. i have heard it said that we spend like socialists but tax like libertarians. our special-interest politics seem to operate on a one imperative give us more. it's part of the culture. i want it all, i want it now and i don't want to pay for it. but we believe there are other interests and other constituencies that can transcend the more now syndrome. there are the growing ranks of those who do not identify with eithe

and what paygo is supposed to mean is that we will pay as we go in this congress, that when we create a new program, we extend a current program, that we will pay for it, that we will not continue to borrow against our children's future. now, i was here in the united states senate when we had that debate. it was a debate that came down to a purely party-line decision. i am new to this body, and i wanted to vote for this because i believe that paygo might actually be something that limits the out-of-control spending of washington. i talked to my colleagues, and some of my colleagues who have been around longer than i did said, look, senator, it's not really going to do anything. they're just going to move to waive it every time it comes to effect. they're not the going to play by the rules. they're not going to pay for things as they go. it's cover. i wanted to vote for it. i struggled with it. in the end i did not vote for it. and here we are, just a few months, two months past february 12, when the president signed this pay-as-you-go legislation. only 19 days after that we waived it

senator reid, when we passed the paygo, said that it was a new start. said that we're going to open our billfold, if the money is there, we'll be able to spend it. but we won't spend money that's in this our billgold, to paraphrase his quote. well, this bill goes to an empty billfold. the money is not there. so we can either increase our debt, which will make life for the madeleines of this world tougher, or we can actually take on some tough decision making as a body in the senate and actually eliminate lower-priority programs. will that have some impact on some folks? yeah. we could actually take a 1 1%-across-the-board cut and come up with $30 billion. easily. americans know we could get 1% out of the federal agencies. we're not going to do that either. the question is, when will we start acting in the responsible role that we're charged with? when will we start thinking with a long-term perspective about what's going to happen to our country if in fact we don't start making the hard choices now? no matter how much scorn, no matter how much derisive

legally wrong, morally wrong, ethically wrong paygo being of many statements earlier 2006 nawaz of the first time mike bloomberg had forgot and the boundaries of his authority on the issue clearly outside his jurisdiction. bloomberg inaccurate reaction and the angering and hy-vee credible response occurred the first week of the debate and made it safer for those to oppose elliott's plan. since they were challenging says they're becoming viewed by many it came from hillary in support when shelley jumped ship to buy 2,007 the polls are running almost 70 percent against percodan a defection by democratic legislatures made them what day think unthinkable. are increasingly likely after the presidential debate that john be called for eliot to pull the plug to pass the bill to block it a senior executives every tree on election day in new york and a late-night conference call of november 12. the retreat had been cancelled and rescheduled several times when it convened on election day and the initial agenda kept changing as many events unfold and one was to build a second floor consensus for r

now it's harder paygo will help us not make it worse but the programs that are already on the books are driving spending. medicare and medicaid particularly so we have a harder problems but i'm optimistic and excited to be part of this group. thank you. >> when your name is william and you go in alphabetical order [inaudible] let me try to say something a little bit different. first to the chairman senator simpson, each of you have a great reputation of integrity and i look forward to working with you on this effort. most of us were in congress during the last economic crisis and the was a crisis where the chairman of the federal reserve and treasury secretary came rushing to the hills in panic mode and we got together and we governed in a panicked situation. we have before us the most predictable economic crisis we have ever had in this country. we all know that. we also i think are getting a good grasp of the size of the magnitude of the crisis. sovereign debt crises are popping up all of the world and we are kidding ourselves if we don't think it can come to us next. here is one of t

senator reid, when we passed the paygo, said that it was a new start.t we're going to open our billfold, if the money is there, we'll be able to spend it. but we won't spend money that's in this our billgold, to paraphrase his quote. well, this bill goes to an empty billfold. the money is not there. so we can either increase our debt, which will make life for the madeleines of this world tougher, or we can actually take on some tough decision making as a body in the senate and actually eliminate lower-priority programs. will that have some impact on some folks? yeah. we could actually take a 1 1%-across-the-board cut and come up with $30 billion. easily. americans know we could get 1% out of the federal agencies. we're not going to do that either. the question is, when will we start acting in the responsible role that we're charged with? when will we start thinking with a long-term perspective about what's going to happen to our country if in fact we don't start making the hard choices now? no matter how much scorn, no matter how much derisive -- how ma

procurement is leading this savings of 1.7 billion dollars per year according to a study by the g paygo. in states like nebraska the program is limiting the disbursement of crossbred $0.59 per using reloadable cards rather than mailing checks. in developing countries around the world microfinance organizations are partnering with visa to use digital currency to halt the smallest merchants in the most remote areas tap into the global markets and efficient system is. and pakistan in the wake of fighting over 1 million internally displaced persons digital currency was used to make aid disbursement faster and more accountable. the pakistan national identity agency enlisted the help of the united bank ltd. , one of the largest fall say this stage full-service banks and pakistan to get funds to refugees who have fled the northwest frontier province to escape areas of conflict. united bank ltd. work for the agency to issue visa prepaid cards at convenience sites to allow them to buy food and necessities. in addition to enabling disbursements quickly the choice of visa and the network ensured t

. >> i would paygo secretary teeeleven point* the new capability is like a new cmp focused like a neutrone in yield nine of which we need to meet our deterrent capability is today. i agree the word new has been debated a lot and to some extremes some would call a new bomb one and that we painted a different color but that is not what we're talking about the new military capabilities and i am encouraged by language in the npr thous refurbishment and reuse and replacement to be studied by our best and brightest to be plugged as options on the table for consideration to do one really important thing and ensure the safety security reliability a stockpile for future generations and that is what is important i think it is a mistake to say you cannot think about these solutions new-line to have all the solutions on the table to be examined and decided upon and those decisions how we go forward will be voted on by the president and this body who controls the finding so i pray there will be adequate oversight but one final point* on previously designed components are pretty important three have a

on paygo i share my opinion with the ranking member.-- this would not provoke spending increases with the tax policy but we will allow for tax relief in a different ruling so we would have more flexibility for tax relief, and did not have to subject all of this to those provisions. i understand the argument for those who do not want to see these efforts to cut taxes be given a more favorable treatment. and i would remind everyone vapid -- i have not gone back to count the votes in this congress but we may have waived this more than honored at this as this has been moving forward. i hope that this pattern does not continue. the chairman indicates the reconciliation and this causes me concern. there was the $2 billion reconciliation last year. and what we got from this reconciliation was a 2.6 trillion dollars increase in spending. i not want to read debate this legislation. the proposal was able to be implemented because of the structure. i know that i am holding my time and i look forward to working with you and others. i hope that we c

finally, budget controls like the paygo rules and the spending caps of the 1990's.e this recession is behind this and more americans go back to work, we need to immediately begin to implement these kinds of reforms. in sum, we believe in timely action. if it because we do not want to be our future diminished, because we do not want to force radical disruptions in our way of life, because we do not want to see that safety net crash, that we believe we must act now with moderate fiscally conservative and socially compassionate reforms. but how do we get there from here? this after all is a nation whose enthusiasm for shared sacrifice is rather restrained. i have heard it said that we sound like socialist but tax like libertarians. our policy seems to operate on one imperative -- give us more. it is part of the culture, i won it all, i want it now, and i do not want to pay for it. we believe that there are other constituencies that can transcend the more common now syndrome. there the growing ranks of those that do not identify with either party and for now -- and for

in fact, they got rid of all the rules that allowed us to do that, including paygo. so, mr.resident, let's just understand a little bit where we were. in the last two months of the bush administration, 1.5 million jobs lost. obama came into presidency with this huge hole having been dug. and i mean it was a hole that was a sight to behold. and we have worked out of that hole. we still have a long ways to go, but we've dug a long ways out of that hole. we know that we have stopped a worldwide depression with a stimulus bill, a recovery bill. now that's little consolation for people who have lost their homes or are afraid they're going to lose their home or lost their jobs or are afraid they're going to lose their jobs. but we've stopped the bleeding. now we have to get back to a vibrant economy, and we can do that. we're not there yet. mr. president, we've been able to accomplish a lot. we have been able to stop that worldwide depression. we're able to pass the most significant environmental legislation in more than a quarter of a century, create more than 2 million acres of

following the reading of the paygo letter from the chairman of the budget committee the cloture motion were the to the bill be withdrawn, the senate proceed to sewed on passage of the bill as amended and two minutes prior to the first vote be equally divided and controlled between senators baucus and mccain. the presiding officer: is therebjecon? without objection, so ordered. mr. mccain: madam president? the presidg fice the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: madam president, it's tax day. americans are overtaxed and burdened by a complex, antiquated and oversized tax code. this year they'll spend $100 billion in compliance-related expenses. neff offering proposals -- instead of offering proposals to reform the system some are suggesting a value-added tax which would even further complicate our tax code. i believe it's an opportunity to, with the sense of the senate resolution that members of congress should say where they stand on that. and this is their opportunity. i urge my colleagues to support the amendment. mr. baucus: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from mon

this is a statement of budgetary effects of paygo legislation on h.r. 4851 as amended by senate amendment number 3721, as modified. this statement has been prepared pursuant to section 4 of the statutory -- mr. baucus: madam president? madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. baucus: madam president, first, the senate is not in order. second, i ask consent that the reading of the letters be waived. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. baucus: madam president, i ask for the yeas and nays on this. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? yes, there appears to be. under the previous order, the cloture motion on the bill is withdrawn. the question is on the passage of the bill, as amended. the clerk will call the roll. vote vote:vote: vote: the presiding officer: are ereny senators wishing to vote or to change their vote? if not, the yeas are 59. the nays are 38. the bill as amended is passed. mr reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that the senate