[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 1 (Wednesday, January 4, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E11]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                 BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT LEGISLATION

                                 ______


                             HON. BOB STUMP

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 4, 1995
  Mr. STUMP. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased today to reintroduce a balanced 
budget amendment. This amendment, if ratified by three-fourths of the 
States, will mandate that the President submit and Congress pass a 
balanced Federal budget.
  The last budget Congress balanced was in 1969. Since then, both 
deficits and the national debt have soared to astronomical levels. We 
must put an end to this obscene accumulation of debt or face the 
prospect of a national bankruptcy.
  Mr. Speaker, there are many in this body who will say that the 
balanced budget amendment is not needed, or that to balance the budget 
we will have to cut vital and important programs to the bone. Nothing 
could be further from the truth.
  While it is true that Congress has always possessed the ability to 
balance the budget, the fact that it hasn't done so in 26 years 
indicates that a balanced budget has not been among Congress' top 
priorities. And while it is also true that things have changed around 
here, what has not changed is the threat our national debt poses to the 
economic futures of our children and grandchildren. We must assure them 
that we will do everything in our power to allow them to live in a 
debt-free nation.
  I am sensitive to the concerns expressed by those who fear a 
wholesale slaughter of vital and important Federal programs. To be 
sure, balancing the budget will not be without a certain degree of pain 
and sacrifice. However, it would not require the wholesale dismantling 
of vital programs, such as Social Security, that its critics allege. 
Indeed, balancing the Federal budget could only strengthen Social 
Security and other programs whose trust funds are invested in 
Government securities.
  Mr. Speaker, the people of this country voted for change--for a 
different approach to government. We should give it to them. I can 
think of no better starting point than to pass a balanced budget 
amendment.


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