Even though Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., went to Georgetown University, the AU students in Ward 1 Tuesday night didn’t seem to hold it against him.
A class of ’66 Hoya, the assistant majority leader reminisced about his college days in D.C. and how an internship his senior year with Illinois Sen. Paul Douglas inspired him to enter politics.
“Needless to say, I was swept away,” Durbin said. “My life plans changed on the spot. I said I loved politics and I gotta be part of this.”
Durbin addressed the looming problem of the U.S. deficit, comparing the $5 trillion deficit under the “liberal William J. Clinton” to the $11 trillion deficit left under the “fiscally conservative George W. Bush,” according to Durbin.
He said he’s worried that House Republicans, in their zeal to cut $100 billion from the budget this year, would prune important government programs such as Head Start, a national child development program to prepare economically disadvantaged children for school.
“Couldn’t we have started some other place?” Durbin said, lamenting the loss of the program.
Durbin said Republicans are unwilling to touch the heft of the deficit, which includes defense spending, taxes and entitlement spending, including Medicare and Medicaid.
But the budget holds political pitfalls for Democrats too, chiefly in regard to Social Security.
“Social Security is the hottest Democratic issue we’re discussing,” he said.
On Monday, several Democrat leaders, including Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., spoke at a “Back Off Social Security” event at the Capitol.
“Many Democrats think if they change it, many seniors will be skeptical if not angry, and they won’t vote for us,” Durbin said “And there’s a truth to that.”
After the crash on Wall Street in 2009 and the added risk of losing pensions, Social Security seems to be the soundest foundation for insurance, Durbin said.
“I think it’s the one leg on the three-legged stool you always want to be there,” he said.
Durbin added that the issue may be on the table, but there will be continued negotiations with Republicans.
Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., chair of the House Budget Committee, is one of many Republicans who believes it should be privatized, a solution Durbin said he has “lost his taste for it.”
One student also brought up whether an increase in taxes would alleviate the deficit.
Durbin said that in a time of tight economic constraints, it’s “ridiculous” that the Bush tax cuts should benefit the wealthier part of the population.
“I think we ought to be helping those in lower income categories and those in higher income categories should pay a little more,” Durbin said “Paying back a little bit into the system is not a bad idea.”
lgiangreco@theeagleonline.com
