[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 62 (Wednesday, May 18, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 18, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
              IRRESPONSIBLE CONGRESS? TAKE A LOOK AT THIS

  Mr. HELMS. Madam President, the incredibly enormous Federal debt is 
like the weather--everybody talks about the weather but nobody does 
anything about it. And Congress talks a good game about bringing 
Federal deficits and the Federal debt under control, but there are too 
many Senators and Members of the House of Representatives who 
unfailingly find all sorts of excuses for voting to defeat proposals 
for a constitutional amendment to require a balanced Federal budget.
  As of Tuesday, May 17 at the close of business, the Federal debt 
stood--down to the penny--at exactly $4,588,708,682,253.76. This debt, 
mind you, was run up by the Congress of the United States, because the 
big spenders in the U.S. Government cannot spend a dime that has not 
first been authorized and appropriated by Congress. The U.S. 
Constitution is quite specific about that.
  And pay no attention to the nonsense from politicians that the 
Federal debt was run up by Ronald Reagan or George Bush. The Congress 
is the villain.
  Most people cannot conceive of a billion of anything, let alone a 
trillion. It may provide a bit of perspective to bear in mind that a 
billion seconds ago, Madam President, the Cuban missile crisis was 
going on. A billion minutes ago, not many years had elapsed since 
Christ was crucified.

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