Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) gave an exceptional floor speech this morning on the tax reconciliation bill. His speech highlighted one theme: paying for the tax cuts Or in general, government spending). Whether or not one agrees with cutting taxes, it is especially egregious for members of Congress (and the President) to be pushing through tax cuts and extensions year after year and, rather than propose a way to pay for this spending, simply tack it on to the deficit. Conrad asked of the tax reconciliation bill, "Why shouldn't we prevent the debt from being deepened?" Revenue, in 2004, was at its lowest point as a share of GDP since 1959, and national debt has gone up over $1 trillion in five years. On top of this, baby boomers will soon be not only retiring in droves, but in need of medical care. As these costs are going up, Republican lawmakers seem unconcerned with pursuing any sort of fiscally responsible legislation. Sen. Conrad offered a substitute amendment to the tax reconciliation bill that was defeated 44-55.