Idaho Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch are addressing the Senate and House today, and the two – both of whom are former Senate presidents pro-tem – entered the Senate chamber together, rather than separately. “It’s really an honor to be here today, although my remarks can be really short if I’m supposed to give you some of the wisdom from Washington, D.C.,” Crapo said.

He told the Senate, “There are those in Washington who say that because we’ve been able to bring down our deficit … that we have solved our problem. We have not solved our problem,” because the federal debt continues to grow, he said. “The bottom line here is we still need a comprehensive plan.” Crapo called for tax code reforms that broaden the base and reduce rates, “and then major entitlement reform that puts these programs that are now screaming toward insolvency on a pathway to solvency.”

Risch told the Senate, “The financial condition of the country is just awful. … The bad news is there’s really nothing on track to turn this around. I’ve been in public service all my life, and very few things shock me any more, but the cavalier attitude that people have about money back there is just absolutely staggering.” He said when anyone proposes less spending, “They look at you like you got three heads – the only way they’re willing to compromise is if you agree to spend more money to increase programs and what have you, but if you want to start rolling things back, you don’t get a seat at that table.” Risch said, “In the long haul, I am incredibly optimistic for this country. In the short haul, things don’t look very good.”