CRAPO: THE NUMBERS DON'T ADD UP IN THE FY 2008 BUDGET RESOLUTION

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Idaho Senator Mike Crapo today expressed his concerns for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 budget resolution passed this afternoon by the Senate. Crapo, who sits on the Senate Budget Committee, voted against the measure, both on the Senate floor and in Committee. "The numbers in this budget resolution simply don't add up to good policy," Crapo said. "It dramatically increases federal spending and makes hardworking Americans foot the bill. In recent years, we have seen the pro-growth tax policies work. Americans have more money in their pockets, and our economy is thriving, putting us easily on track to eliminate our budget deficit in five years. By adding more debt and more taxes, the budget resolution will only reverse these positive trends. "Possibly the most egregious shortcoming of this budget resolution is that it makes no attempt to address unsustainable growth in entitlement programs. The baby boomer generation is rapidly approaching retirement age, and the cost to our government, to our children, will be phenomenal."The President proposed a modest $70 billion reduction to Medicare's rate of growth, which only would have affected the wealthiest 5 percent of seniors. The long-term benefits of these modest savings would be exponential. By saving just $70 billion from Medicare now, we could eliminate $8 trillion from the 75-year Medicare unfunded liability, a full 25 percent of the $32 trillion long-term liability we are facing in Medicare. "Unfortunately, this budget resolution passed by the Senate today does not even include one dollar in savings for entitlement programs such as Medicare. Instead, in Medicare alone, this irresponsible budget leaves our children and grandchildren with a $32 trillion liability and no way to pay for it. "Simply put, we must address these problems now, in this Congress, and not put it off to future generations." Specifically, the FY 2008 Budget Resolution: â?¢Fails to extend all of the tax relief Republicans have passed, imposing a more than $700 billion tax increase over the next five years, the largest tax increase in U.S. history; â?¢Causes $2.4 trillion in new debt;â?¢Increases non-defense discretionary spending by approximately $150 billion over the next five years; â?¢Relies on closing the "tax gap" to provide as much as $300 billion a year in revenue, an amount that is both grossly overstated and impossible to collect; and â?¢Makes no attempt to reduce entitlement growth, leaving Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid on a path to bankruptcy ###FOR INTERESTED MEDIA: A radio actuality is available by calling 1-800-545-1267. Press 327 at any time during or after the greeting and instructions. You can also access the actuality through the Internet at http://src.senate.gov/radio/.