{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.crapo.senate.gov/media/newsreleases/release_full.cfm?id=346970", "Crapo: Budget Conference Committee Must Result in Strong Budget Enforcement Process", "2013-10-30", "2013", "2013-10", "Republican", "House", "ID", "Michael Crapo", "C000880", "www.crapo.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "October 30, 2013\n\t\t\t Crapo: Budget Conference Committee Must Result in Strong Budget Enforcement Process \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t Conference has potential to lay foundation for real fiscal reform \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWashington, D.C. - Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, a member of the Budget Committee and a conferee to the Senate-House Budget Conference Committee, delivered an opening statement at the first public meeting of the committee charged with reconciling differences between the two chambers' budgets.\r\nAcknowledging the short time frame for the committee to reach a large-scale agreement, Crapo focused on the need to lay the foundation for processes that would result in strong fiscal reforms moving forward. \u00a0\r\n\"\u2026one of the first objectives we should have in this conference is to protect and assure the reality of the fiscal reforms that we already have in place. \u00a0Not just focusing on the numbers in the budget and spending, but focusing on implementing some of those processes\u2026Budget enforcement processes that will help us assure that Congress sticks to the agreements that it does make on the budget.\u00a0 We don't have time to put together a large deal that would involve tax reform, entitlement reform, fiscal reform and the budget enforcement reform that all of us know needs to be done.\u00a0\u00a0 But, we can set up some processes to help us assure that the tax reform does move forward promptly.\r\n\"Processes that assure that Congress will not break its budget, as it has almost a perfect record of doing so.\u00a0 Processes that will help us deal with future lapses in spending and potential government shutdown. \u00a0Processes to help us deal with the debt ceiling, and hopefully help us reduce the stress we put on our economy in the political battles that we have here [in Congress].\u00a0\u00a0 I believe that we have a remarkable opportunity to focus on fixing some of the rules, some of the processes by which we function in this Congress, in a way that will help us increase our ability to protect the savings that we now have, and to achieve further and greater savings as we move forward,\" Crapo concluded.\r\n\r\n  \r\n    (Click \r\n    \r\n      here\r\n    to view the video on YouTube)\r\n  \r\n\r\n\r\n  Below is the text of Crapo's full opening statement:\r\n\r\n\r\n  Thank you very much Mr. Chairman and Chairman Murray.\r\n\r\n\r\n  I've listened very carefully to the comments that have been made today and I am heartened by the fact that everyone recognizes that we need to come together to find the consensus and common ground between us as we move forward.\r\n\r\n\r\n  Senator Wyden mentioned that we should turn the current crisis into consensus and we have that opportunity.\u00a0 I think it's important that we recognize some of the facts that we have to deal with as we achieve that.\u00a0 I have recently started to hear talk, not among us here, but I have started to hear talk recently that we don't really have a debt crisis anymore.\u00a0 Talk that Congress has been responsible in the past few years, saying that we've\u00a0 passed $2.5 trillion of the $4 trillion that we needed to achieve and that we are well on our way now to climbing out of the problem that we face.\u00a0 The reality is that we do still have a debt crisis.\r\n\r\n\r\n  The $2.5 trillion that is talked about is essentially made up of about $500-$600 billion of tax increases, and a Budget Control Act that was passed in the face of the last fiscal crisis of 2011 that requires Congress to stick to that budget for ten years.\u00a0\u00a0 Anyone who has watched Congress and the budget process knows that the record Congress has in sticking to its budget is deplorable.\u00a0 One of the things I think we ought to focus on is making sure that this $2.5 trillion that we all talk about is maintained.\u00a0 We have actually, and I think remarkably, stayed to that budget for the last couple of years-to the Budget Control Act.\u00a0 As a result of that, at least with regard to discretionary spending, we are now starting to bend the curve down.\u00a0 As I understand it, if we stay on this course, we are actually going to be spending less in real dollars-not inflation adjusted dollars-but less in real dollars in this fiscal year than we have in just a few years past.\u00a0 A remarkable achievement, but one that must be\r\n  maintained.\r\n\r\n\r\n  I think as we talk about how to move forward, one of the first objectives we should have here in this conference is to protect and assure the reality of the fiscal reforms that we already have in place.\u00a0 What am I talking about?\u00a0 I am talking about focusing not just on some of the numbers in the budget and spending, but focusing on implementing some processes.\u00a0 I think one of the best things this committee could do is to establish some processes to help us move forward to assure and protect the existing achievements that have been made.\u00a0 Budget enforcement processes that will help us assure that Congress sticks to the agreements that it does make on the budget.\u00a0 And then, set forward some processes to help us move into the larger objectives --what has been called \"grand bargains.\"\u00a0\u00a0 I know that we don't have the time in this committee to put together\u00a0 the kind of large deal that would involve tax reform, entitlement reform, fiscal reform and the budget enforcement reform that all of us know needs to be\r\n  done.\u00a0 But, we can set up some processes to help us assure that the tax reform, that we all talk about and are working on, does move forward and moves forward promptly.\u00a0\r\n\r\n\r\n  Processes that assure that Congress will not break its budget, as it has almost a perfect record of doing so.\u00a0 Processes that will help us deal with future lapses in spending and potential government shutdown-in the way that Sen. Portman's (R-Ohio) bill and others have proposed.\u00a0 Processes to help us get a functioning and smoother way to deal with these crisis points that we seem to lurch between.\u00a0 Processes to help us deal with the debt ceiling and hopefully help us reduce the stress we put on our economy in the political battles that we have here.\u00a0 I believe that we have a remarkable opportunity to focus on fixing some of the rules, some of the processes by which we function in this Congress, in a way that will help us increase our ability to protect the savings that we now have, and to achieve further and greater savings as we move forward.\u00a0 I would just encourage everyone, as we work on all the others parts of the budget, and all the other parts of the fiscal reforms that are necessary, that we\r\n  focus on laying the foundation for much greater and more effective results as we move forward beyond the activities of this committee.\r\n\r\n\r\n  Thank you.\r\n\r\n\u00a0\r\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.crapo.senate.gov/media/newsreleases/release_full.cfm?id=346970"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.613459549844265, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}