[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 4 (Monday, January 9, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H152]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     THE BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT

  (Mr. FARR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I support a balanced budget.
  I support deficit reduction. I support bringing entitlements under 
control and eliminating every bit of fat there is in the budget. What I 
do not support is gimmickry to do it, stealth budgets to get there, or 
slash and burn tactics to achieve it.
  The balanced budget amendment to the Constitution has been sold as 
the panacea to all our fiscal woes.
  Most of us know that it doesn't work that way. There is no balance in 
a balanced budget amendment.
  An amendment doesn't automatically balance the budget. Spending cuts 
and tax revenues do. Congress has been working to balance the budget 
for the past 2 years without an amendment.
  The new dialog supporting a balanced budget amendment is a way for 
legislators to avoid the responsibility of making the tough decisions. 
I don't believe in trying to escape my duties through a legislative 
``escape clause'' and urge my colleagues to reject the balanced budget 
amendment until it can be shown how to get there.

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