Conrad’s Fiscal Credibility in Question

A cord has been struck! Senator Kent Conrad’s response to Renae Michell’s letter, “Debt has a Moral Dimension” was an interesting response to what was a direct question. Foremost Conrad failed to answer Mitchell’s questions and concerns.

The national debt needs to become an issue that Americans take seriously, but we need to understand what the concerns are and why we need to resolve them in a timely manner. Shifting blame to others does not solve the issue, and words cannot rectify our deficits. Real commitment on all budgetary issues is what is needed. However, Senator Conrad says one thing and does another.

Conrad says “addressing (federal debt) has been one of the central tenets of my Senate career”, but has continually opposed the Balanced Budget Amendment and the Line Item Veto. He says “everything would be on the table” when addressing fiscal issues, yet he opposed limits on the amounts of direct payments a farm may receive- a measure that was sponsored by Senator Dorgan and would greatly benefit young farmers in North Dakota.

Introducing a bill in Congress can’t serve as excuse for action. A man in Senator Conrad’s position doesn’t need permission from the entire Congress and the President to begin task forces and bring people together for the sake our country. True leaders don’t sit on the sidelines and wait for something to happen they make things happen now. The nation’s debt has been lingering for a great number of years and there needs to an accountability held by the voters to elect people that want correct the problem rather than just give it lip service.

Conrad also found it necessary to attack President Bush and the tax cuts the Congress enacted under his administration. It seems dishonest for the Senator to insist that allowing over-taxed taxpayers to keep more of their money is contributing to the deficit. Only over-spending by the government contributes to deficits. The Congress knows what its revenues are when they make a budget. If there is going to be less money, there needs to be less spending.

One’s words lose creditability when they preach about fiscal restraint but then lend support to a person, such as Barack Obama, that pushes for a near trillion dollar increase in spending from the US treasury to UN programs. Senator Conrad needs to be honest with himself and the people of North Dakota, and bring real action on deficit and debt relief.