[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 20 (Wednesday, February 1, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S1871]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT

  Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I rise today in support of a balanced 
budget amendment to the Constitution.
  Last November, the American people sent a message loud and clear to 
Washington. I know first-hand, having heard this message in cafes and 
town hall meetings all across the State of Minnesota.
  It is a simple message, with all the wisdom and common sense of the 
people who sent it. And yet, it is a message that Congress has failed 
to heed until this year.
  It is time to change the way Congress taxes and spends the people's 
money.
  This message is the same, whether I hear from parents worried about 
the economic future of their children, workers who fear the impact of 
the deficit on their jobs, or families who manage each year to balance 
their own books.
  Cut spending, balance the Federal budget, and start getting this 
country out of debt. Mr. President, the balanced budget amendment is 
the first step on the long journey toward restoring fiscal sanity to 
Washington.
  Mr. President, the statistics are clear: Our Nation currently faces a 
$4\1/2\ trillion debt. That means every child born in America is 
immediately saddled with nearly $20,000 in debt. And at the rate we are 
going, these numbers increase every year, taking with them the future 
of our children.
  If America were a business, it would have been forced into bankruptcy 
years ago, with each Member of Congress liable for breach of duty. In 
previous centuries, there was a place for those who made a habit of 
spending more than they brought in: it was called debtor's prison. 
Today, it is called Congress.
  Now, some in this body would argue that there is no need for a 
balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. And they might have a 
case if we were talking about anyone else but Congress. After all, 
there are laws all over the books to prevent the accumulation of 
unmanageable debt.
  But what happens when those who break the laws are those who make the 
laws? Simple. They ignore them.
  Only the Constitution and the moral authority it represents will 
force Congress to do what it is supposed to do, what we were elected to 
do.
  And only by passing a balanced budget amendment can we hope to show 
the American people that we will do our job and carry out the mandate 
they delivered last November.
  Minnesotans have joined me in calling for a balanced budget 
amendment. It is not a new concept in our State. In fact, the first 
balanced budget amendment to the Constitution was sponsored in the 
1930's by--not surprisingly--a Minnesotan, Congressman Harold Knutson. 
But like so many balanced budget amendments after it, it was left to 
die in committee.
  Well today, more than 50 years later, we have the opportunity to 
complete Representative Knutson's work. And his idea that was good in 
the 1930's is still good today, and it ought to become part of the 
Constitution.
  In following the balanced budget amendment, however, we must be 
careful that our efforts to balance the budget come through cuts in 
spending and not tax increases. Taxpayers did not cause the budget 
deficit, Congress did, and it would be unfair, unjust and unwise to 
cover up the irresponsible behavior of Congress by punishing taxpayers, 
through new taxes or higher taxes.
  For that reason, I introduced my own version of the balanced budget 
amendment which requires that any legislation to increase taxes be 
approved by a three-fifths supermajority vote. It is based on the 
idea--unheard of in Washington--that it should be more difficult to tax 
away the people's hard-earned dollars then to spend them.
  By requiring a supermajority vote, my legislation would protect 
taxpayers and put the burden on Congress to come up with the cuts.
  While I prefer this version of the balanced budget amendment, I do 
not believe the perfect should be the enemy of the good. We can have a 
constitutional limitation on tax increases, and I plan to work with the 
chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee to pass one.
  But that can come at a later date. The House has scheduled a vote on 
such an amendment for April 15 of next year. I will urge the Senate to 
follow suit.
  Believe me, we will pass a taxpayer protection clause to the 
Constitution. But let us pass the balanced budget amendment first.
  And to those who might try to derail the balanced budget amendment, 
through killer amendments or parliamentary tactics, I ask you to think 
twice. I ask you to think about the impact that continued deficit 
spending will have on our economy, on the people's faith in their 
Government, and most importantly, on our children. Because it's their 
future we're mortgaging away with every new governmental program, with 
every additional dollar of debt we rack up.
  When I decided to run for Congress, I did so because I was frustrated 
with the way our Government was being run.
  Growing up on a dairy farm in Minnesota--where we did not have a lot 
of money, where we worked hard and cleaned our plates--taught me a lot 
of lessons about life. Most importantly, it taught me the fundamental 
principle that you should not spend what you do not have.
  What kind of lessons are we teaching our children when Congress 
spends this country $4\1/2\ trillion in debt and what will their future 
be like when they are forced to pay off our bills?
  I do not want my kids or grandkids to grow up wondering why we left 
them holding the bag.
  We have to do something now. And the balanced budget amendment is the 
first step.
  For those reasons, I urge my colleagues to pass the balanced budget 
amendment without delay. Because every second we push this vote off is 
another dollar we take away from our kids. And our kids deserve better, 
our country deserves better.
  Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.
  

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