Graham to OMB Director: ‘You’ll Probably Like Our Budget as Much as We Like Yours’

CHAIRMAN: "Senator Graham."

GRAHAM: "Thank you Mr. Chairman. I'd expect when we do our budget under the Senator Enzi's leadership that you'll probably like our budget about as much as we like yours. But at the end of the day, there seems to be some common ground here. The idea that sequestration needs to be fixed -- I agree with you Mr. Donovan. At the end of the sequestration as we have it today under the Budget Control Act, what percent of GDP will be spent on defense?"

DONOVAN: "I don't have that number in front me. If you do, you can tell me, but --"

GRAHAM: "Well, it depends on [indecipherable] between 2.3 percent and 2.7 percent. In terms of historical averages since World War II, what we've been spending on defense?"

DONOVAN: "Significantly higher than that."

GRAHAM: "Yes. So I think that's the -- do you agree that the threats in the world do not justify going to 2.7, 2.3 percent?"

DONOVAN: "We fully agree and this budget makes clear that sequestration is a threat to our military readiness and we ought to reverse it."

GRAHAM: "Back to Senator Sessions' questions, you do spend more than the Budget Control can have. You say you spend it for -- you account for it by offsetting and mandatory. I think Senator Portman may challenge that a bit, but there's a desire by some of us on the committee to replace sequestration, at least most of it  with a revenue component and a mandatory reform component. I just want to be in the camp of saying that I'm not gonna support the budget that continues to get to military. And it is just not the military. It's the CDC, the NRH and a lot of other programs. So I support the idea of what you're trying to achieve, I just don't know if I agree with the methodology. About the workforce, how many retiree, how many workers do we have per retiree today in the workforce?"

DONOVAN: "Um--"

GRAHAM: "It's three."

DONOVAN: "OK."

GRAHAM: "OK. When I was born in '55 it was 16. Unless there is a baby boom among 60-year-olds, I think we're in trouble. In 20 years it goes to two. Does that make sense to?"

DONOVAN: "Absolutely."

GRAHAM: "That we're living longer and having fewer children. A lot of Western nations face this problem, is that correct?"

DONOVAN: "Absolutely."

GRAHAM: "Doesn't that cry out for rational immigration reform?"