[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 19 (Tuesday, January 31, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H902]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


           BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT WON'T BALANCE THE BUDGET

  (Mr. KLINK asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KLINK. Mr. Speaker, last Thursday night this House passed a 
balanced budget amendment, and ever since then we have seen Members 
getting up here beating their chest and chanting about how wonderful 
that is. We had one Member on the other side, a colleague of mine, get 
up last Friday during these same 1-minute speeches and say we fixed the 
flaw in the Constitution. We took a giant step forward.
  Yet the same day, his party in the Defense Appropriations 
Subcommittee marked up a defense supplemental that had $1.8 billion in 
new debt that is not offset. So we talk about balancing the budget, we 
even pass an amendment. It is a magic pill. It is supposed to work. But 
the next day we add almost $2 billion new debt, because we cannot 
really vote for it when it comes to the details.
  We have talked for 2 years in here. We have heard the Republican side 
say cut spending first, cut spending first. Now they have got the 
chance to do it, and there are all kinds of excuses. They cannot vote 
to cut specific spending. They are like Wimpy in the Popeye cartoons. 
They will gladly pay us Tuesday for a hamburger today.
  I say we have had enough borrow and spend, borrow and spend, borrow 
and spend, and the vote last Thursday night did not balance the budget.

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