http://craig.senate.gov/press/

For Immediate Release:
June 14, 2006

Republicans Offer Budget Reform Proposal

"This truly is a positive, aggressive package that is challenging to all of us."

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senate Republicans, led by Budget Chairman Judd Gregg, R-N.H., and Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., rolled out a budget reform package today designed to rein in federal spending.

Idaho Senator Larry Craig joined 12 of his colleagues, including Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, at a press conference this afternoon to announce the proposal. During the press conference, he said:

"This truly is a positive, aggressive package that is challenging to all of us.

"As a father of three and a grandparent of nine, I know what will happen if we don't do what is outlined in this package. We will saddle our children and our grandchildren with an unbearable debt. Either we make the decisions now to control our spending and facilitate and help these entitlement programs in a positive way or hand them to someone else at a time when the debt is so overpowering we risk all of the programs themselves.

"This is a positive effort to move us into the kind of reform that this Congress has to be responsible to make. Why? Quite simply, for our children and our grandchildren."

The package will be considered next week in the Senate Budget Committee, and is expected to be debated by the full Senate if the Committee approves it.

For detailed information on the proposal, please read the Stop Over-Spending Act of 2006 packet (PDF, 288 KB).

The audio of Senator Craig's comments (MP3, 658 KB, 0:56) and the full press conference (MP3, 21.3 MB, 31:03) are available in addition to a printer-friendly version (PDF, 50 KB).

High Resolution Version (JPEG, 600 KB)