Senate Committee Hears Budget Testimony [AUDIO]

The U.S. Senate Budget Committee heard testimony Tuesday from the the co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. Wyoming's Senior Sen. Mike Enzi is on that committee and his office released some of that testimony.

There was the classic candor from former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson, who prefaced his remarks by saying the American people are way ahead of Congress in understanding finance.

Americans get what Congress doesn't:

"And they know if you spend a buck and borrow 40 cents of it, you must be stupid, and they've got it figured out that this government is stupid. To borrow 40 cents for every buck you spend--forget the charts, forget the GDP, all the rest of it--that's where we are."

The other co-chair, Erskine Bowles, wasn't as colorful but his predictions were equally as dire.

Financial course unsustainable:

"I think we face the most predictable economic crisis in history. A lot of us sitting in this room didn't see this last crisis as it came upon us, but this one is really easy to see. The fiscal path we are on today is simply not sustainable."

Mr. Bowles likened the national debt and deficits to a cancer destroying the nation from within. Sen. Enzi thanked co-chairs Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles for their work.

Thank you for telling the truth:

"I appreciate that he and Mr. Bowles were willing to take on this task, and I appreciate the results that they've gotten and the way that they've promoted it across the country."

Sen. Enzi said he was disappointed in President Barack Obama for not leveling with the American people about how serious the financial crisis is during his State of the Union Address. And, said Enzi, the president's budget proposal also missed an opportunity for substantive changes.