[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 15 (Wednesday, January 25, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H595]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




THE BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT, A CULMINATION OF LEGISLATION AND WORK BY 
                DEMOCRATIC AS WELL AS REPUBLICAN MEMBERS

  (Mr. de la GARZA asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. de la GARZA. Mr. Speaker, January 4, 1965, my first day in the 
Congress of the United States as a Democratic Member from Texas, I 
introduced a balanced budget amendment.
  Mr. Speaker, few cared and less listened to me at that time. Through 
the years, though, it has evolved into now that every freshman I run 
into asks me ``Do you want to join my balanced budget amendment?''
  The fact is, Mr. Speaker, that I want to show my colleagues what we 
have done. In the 12 years in which I was chairman of the Committee on 
Agriculture, we reduced the budget by $65 billion. If every committee 
had done the same way, we would not be talking about balancing the 
budget today.
  I want to thank my colleague, the gentleman from Texas, Charlie 
Stenholm, because the years when I was serving as chairman, my time was 
limited and he took over the job and has done an excellent job. Today 
will be the culmination of my original legislation and his work through 
the years.


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