This is a rush transcript from "Glenn Beck," March 8, 2011. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
JUDGE ANDREW NAPOLITANO, GUEST HOST: Hello, America. I'm Judge Napolitano, guest-hosting for Glenn Beck today.
We've got a lot to cover. Let's start with the battle to rein in the ever-growing federal budget deficit.
Big government Republicans in the House are leading up a pathetic charge to cut $61 billion in this year's federal budget. To put that into perspective, the federal government budget deficit for 2011 is projected to be about $1.6 trillion. Cutting $61 billion is a joke.
But Senate Democrats won't be outdone when it comes to half-hearted or completely spineless spending cut measures. They proposed an additional $6.5 billion cut that the Congressional Budget Office claims is actually only $4.7 billion. Can you follow any of this?
America, too many politicians on both sides of the aisle have simply lost touch with reality when it comes to government spending. A $4.7 billion cut in the face of a $1.6 trillion deficit is akin to doing nothing when it comes to solving this problem. It's as if an alcoholic stood on a podium addressing fellow drinkers and proudly proclaimed that that night at the bar, he would only have 10 shot of Jameson instead of the customary 11.
Yes, America, all but a few of our politicians are as delusional about spending as an alcoholic is about drinking. But there's always hope -- when you have brave politicians who are willing to shut down the government if it won't act responsibly.
One of those brave senators -- Kansas Senator Jerry Moran. He's a member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, joins us now.
Senator, welcome to "The Glenn Beck Program." Nice to meet you, sir.
SEN. JERRY MORAN, R-KS.: Judge, good to be back with you. Thank you for the opportunity.
NAPOLITANO: Thank you. What is the latest, Senator? I gather that the vote has been put off again, that there's a Republican measure on the floor, Democratic measure on the floor, and the Senate is not going to vote on it now until tomorrow. Is that the case?
MORAN: The expectation was there may have been a vote this everything. It now appears it's carried over until Tuesday morning.
And the expectation is that there will be two proposals, one what you call the paltry $61 billion reduction, HR-1, sent to us in the Senate by the (AUDIO BREAK). And then the even more paltry, $6 billion cut suggested by President Obama and Democratic leaders in the Senate. And there will be a vote on each one of those.
My guess is that neither one of them will receive the 60 votes necessary to move forward. And then we're once again back to negotiations with, I suppose, Democratic leaders and perhaps the White House.
NAPOLITANO: Oh, boy. Sixty votes necessary because somebody is filibustering each of these things and forcing the supermajority, right?
MORAN: It would require a supermajority for this bill to proceed. And so, I think, even Senator Reid has said his version of $6 billion of reductions doesn't get 60 votes. I would guess that all or nearly all, each Republican in the Senate will vote for the Senate version of HR-1, the $61 billion reduction.
NAPOLITANO: Right.
MORAN: But it will not -- that's, you know, 47 votes at best. Not 60.
NAPOLITANO: Senator --
MORAN: The question is: are there any Democrats who will vote for these cuts?
NAPOLITANO: Right. Senator Moran, I know you are relatively new to the Senate and perhaps not yet into the ways of government and the arcane procedures that are followed in that house of the Congress. But, does it seem to you as it does to me that very few members of Congress take seriously the problem of debt and the problem of spending more money than you take in?
And very few members of Congress, I think you're one of them, Senator Rand Paul is one. His father, Congressman Ron Paul is one.
Senator Mike Lee is one.
But very few realize that drastic measures are needed to say, "Stop, no more borrowing. We elected you to spend money based on what you collect in taxes. You can't do this, Mr. President, get another job."
MORAN: Judge, this is the issue of my generation. We have participated in the run-up of this tremendous amount of debt, there's been virtually no fiscal discipline. The end result of telling people "yes" over a long period of time in Republican and Democrat days has resulted in the deficit and the national debt that you described in your opening statement. This is the issue.
And I think it's important for us to understand. I want Americans to understand, this is not just a typical, philosophical, academic discussion --
NAPOLITANO: Right.
MORAN: -- about Republican versus Democrats, liberals versus conservatives. The outcome of this debate determines whether or not there is a future for American citizens, for our kids and grandkids and also for us.
NAPOLITANO: Right.
MORAN: What people, I think, need to understand is -- if we don't get the deficit under control, it's going to happen in a much more dramatic way. The standard of living will be diminished as a result of rising interest rates, increasing inflation, and uncertainty in the business community about whether they should ever invest in America again.
NAPOLITANO: Right. Right.
MORAN: And so, I think sometimes we just look at Washington, D.C., and Americans think -- oh, that's just Republican and Democrats talking one more time about an issue they don't agree upon. Well, there is some truth to that, but it's much more significant than just a normal political fight.
NAPOLITANO: Right.
MORAN: This is a about the future of our country --
NAPOLITANO: You
MORAN: -- the standard of living that Americans can enjoy today, and whether or not there is an American Dream to be lived by our kids and grandkids.
NAPOLITANO: Right. You're exactly right. The government will totally disillusion generation of young people if it spends today and makes those generations, some of them not even born yet, pay for the spending.
Before I let you go, Senator, pretty soon, every member of the Congress will be forced to vote yes or no on a very simple question: should the government be permitted to raise the debt limit? Shall it be permitted to borrow more money?
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