Help Is On the Way: The Spectator Interview: Senator
Gregg, Judd
THE SPECTATOR INTERVIEW Help Is On the Way The Spectator Interview: Senator Judd Gregg '7EW HAMPSHIRE SENATOR Judd Gregg is set to assume chairmanship of the Senate Budget Committee...
...GREGG: I do...
...If we don't put in place some policies to give the international community confidence with regard to the deficit, confidence in the dollar will continue to decline...
...TAS: "Live within your means" was a sort of mantra for you in this last election campaign...
...But Gregg says he won't play a reformer in this next session of Congress...
...Most Republicans, I believe, are on board...
...I have specifics in mind, but I'm trying to build a consensus and I don't want to short circuit that by starting to narrow things down too early...
...February 2005 THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR 41...
...I will make an attempt to go across the aisle...
...So we have to show resolve right out of the box because these are serious times...
...GREGG: I hope it's possible...
...Can entitlement spending ever be practically reformed without a party committing an act of political self-immolation...
...A long-term strategy to deal with the demographic shift with SENATOR JUDD GREGG regard to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid is necessary as well, to put financial markets at ease...
...When you get down to specific programs that impact them, though, people don't want to make the difficult decisions...
...The proof will be in the pudding...
...What might those be...
...Four years earlier he played Al Gore...
...That's why we need budget enforcement mechanisms, so that specific programs don't end up driving Congress...
...A close confidant of George W. Bush, Gregg played John Kerry in mock debates with the president at his Crawford, Texas ranch last fall...
...I'd say most people recognize, in a broader sense, that our government needs to be reasonable and live within its means...
...JUDD GREGG: Well, I think that the force of the facts on the ground—specifically that we're running a huge trade deficit, a significant deficit in the federal government, the dollar is weak—will lead any responsible person to take a hard look at ways to discipline federal spending...
...That's a non-starter...
...Further, as we look into the future, we're faced with this huge demographic tidal wave of people coming into the entitlement system, which 40 THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR February 2005 has the potential to dramatically aggravate our fiscal situation...
...Considering all of this, I think those of us who believe in a limited federal government have a strong argument for discipline and reform...
...TAS: Are we going to see any tax cuts or major tax reform beyond the extensions of the first term tax cuts and the alternative minimum tax...
...Conservative Democrats are on board...
...TAS: You've suggested you would like to see Congress adopt stronger "enforcement mechanisms" in the budget...
...What are the chances of extrapolating that out nationwide...
...The government will always spend whatever it raises...
...No question the president is refocusing on deficit reduction...
...My basic goal is to put forward a budget that controls spending and puts in place mechanisms and procedures that allow us to enforce that budget...
...Congress cannot just talk about moving down the road toward a responsible budget, it must take actual steps and also adopt enforcement mechanisms that make reform real...
...I believe you'll see action in all these areas within the first six months of the new session...
...Setting forward real guidelines for the budget would be good for everyone, I believe...
...Today bankruptcy is sti1115 or 20 years away and people don't feel the intensity of it...
...But the goal is pretty obvious...
...The way you discipline the government is not by giving it more revenue, but by controlling its revenue and forcing it to set priori-ties on the spending side...
...TAS: Do you believe a Republican Party looking to maintain and expand its majority will be willing to make difcul4 if necessary, political choices...
...Back then we knew Social Security was going bankrupt...
...We want to put a budget in place that can be enforced...
...must cut the deficit How much trouble are we in and how much time do we have...
...TAS: Won't the opposition party always align against such a measure out of fear of being further marginalized...
...TAS: You've said we must prepare for the "demographic tidal wave...
...If either party just presents a reform as their sole idea or as a fait accompli, it's not going anywhere...
...We have an obligation now that we are the party in power to move forward in the right direction...
...It's hard to know where the Democratic Party will come down on this...
...GREGG: We have to wait and see on that...
...THE SPECTATOR INTERVIEW Help Is On the Way The Spectator Interview: Senator Judd Gregg '7EW HAMPSHIRE SENATOR Judd Gregg is set to assume chairmanship of the Senate Budget Committee and promises a conservative revolution once he gets there...
...The 1983 Social Security Commission is a good example of how to do it right...
...I would like to do it in a responsible, bipartisan way...
...The Democratic position will be, I imagine, we need more tax revenues...
...But there is a consensus on the basic need for fiscal reform...
...There are Democratic members interested in aggressive budget enforcement...
...He will be one...
...We want some accountability and guiding principles brought back into the process...
...This will likely have a dramatic effect on not only our economy, but, potentially, the world economy as well...
...It's not the way you address these issues, in my opinion...
...You need a bipartisan group with a lot of gray hairs and popular, respected people on it, headed by someone who is incredibly knowledgeable and also generally seen as fair, like Alan Greenspan...
...The commission's proposals would be tied to expedited procedures in Congress, so there is actually a vote on them...
...GREGG: I haven't proposed specifics yet...
...Is help on the way for fiscal conservatives...
...Rather, I'd like to see an overriding, fiscally-sound philosophy driving things, enforced through budgetary rules that automatically kick in to keep us in balance over the long-term...
...It has to be put forward in the right format...
...He recently spoke to TAS reporter Shawn Macomber...
...We want to be able to force votes when the budget is being circumvented or busted...
...TAS: You've said that financial markets are a key reason the U.S...
...We'll see where we can agree...
...TAS...
...We'll see how it all works out...
...Whether there is enough of a sense of crisis to orchestrate such a commission today is the real issue...
...GREGG: I think the only way you can do it is if you set up an independent group headed by people who are seen as fair arbiters...
...GREGG: Sophisticated people who have spent time looking at these issues know we are in a very serious situation with the dollar...
...GREGG: It's hard to know...
...However, early action is responsible action, and we should get started this year on reform because it serves no one to put it off...
Vol. 38 • February 2005 • No. 1
