In a memo sent to fellow Republicans, Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama outlines how he plans to change the terms of the budget debate with Democrats. The memo outlines how the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee plans to bring the fight directly to Democrats.

Sessions is, in his words, is planning a response to the Democrats' "slander" on budget issues. That is, he does not believe it is accurate to say, as Democrats do, that Republicans don't care about the poor and don't care about "the most vunerable Americans." As Sessions writes, "The White House has succeeded to an alarming degree in framing the fiscal debate as a choice between fiscal restraint and compassion. Reductions in government are, in the White House narrative, inherently harmful; therefore, any approach that mitigates spending cuts through tax hikes is always the morally preferable approach."

Sessions is vowing "not to let these slanders go unanswered." Instead, he plans to argue that the Democrats' massive spending increases have not achieved the intended good results.

"More people are living in poverty, wages are flat, millions have completely exited the labor force, and fraud and abuse remain rampant. We will make the case that the time has come for another 1996-style welfare reform that reduces poverty, strengthens family, and helps more Americans transition from dependency to self-sufficiency. This is not merely a financial imperative; it is a moral imperative. No longer can we measure compassion by how much we spend on poverty, but how many people we help to rise out of poverty. Adding endlessly to the debt is not compassionate—it is destructive," Sessions writes.

And the senator from Alabama lists some ways to respond to the Democrats' "slander."

"[Y]our policies are creating poverty, dependency, and chronic unemployment," he says he will tell Democrats. "Your policies are responsible for lost wages and lost jobs. Your policies have denied people access to quality health care. Your policies have shut down factories, surged energy costs, and brought economic growth to a standstill. And your policies are responsible for a nearing debt crisis that threatens each and every American family."

Sessions believes he will be able to offer a "bold contrast." "The budget process, carried out in the open light of day, is an opportunity to provide the nation with a bold contrast. The Majority offers a bleak future where millions of Americans are left behind, unable to find steady work, and where faceless government gradually erodes the human bonds of family and community. This will be contrasted against a confident vision of growth and opportunity where the central bonds in our lives are not with the government but with each other," he writes.

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