[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 40 (Friday, March 3, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H2641-H2642]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Florida [Mr. Weldon] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WELDON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak regarding the 
issue of our balanced budget amendment. The balanced budget amendment 
yesterday in the other body failed to receive the necessary votes 
required to pass this amendment on to the State legislatures. I believe 
that if it had it would have been one of the most rapidly approved 
constitutional amendments in U.S. history, that it would have very 
quickly been approved by the required three-fourths of the State 
legislatures necessary according to our Constitution. I feel that this 
would have occurred because the people really do want this, and it 
really, truly is a bipartisan effort.
  I was very, very disappointed to see our President using the issue of 
the scare tactic of Social Security cuts as a way of fighting this bill 
or fighting this amendment. Indeed, former Senator and Democratic 
Presidential candidate Paul Tsongas recently said it is embarrassing to 
be a Democrat and watch a Democrat President raise the scare tactic of 
Social Security to
 defeat the balanced budget amendment.

  The greatest threat to Social Security is not the balanced budget 
amendment, but our continued deficit spending. We have a national debt 
of $4.8 trillion and growing. Last year we spent $296 billion just to 
pay the interest on the public debt. This year we will spend $333 
billion; next year it is anticipated that it will be $364 billion.
  The interest on the debt is one of the fastest growing accounts in 
the Federal budget. This is the greatest threat to Social Security and 
the greatest threat to every other element of the Federal budget.

                              {time}  1445

  Passage of the balanced budget amendment would have been the best 
guarantee of the integrity and protection of the Social Security trust 
fund. Let us remember that in 1993, when faced with a $300 billion 
deficit and a desire to find funding for his new programs, President 
Clinton's tax-and-spend plan cut seniors' Social Security benefits by 
$25 billion.
  Also let us not forget, last October Alice Rivlin's memo where 
President Clinton's economic top advisors proposed tens of billions of 
dollars in additional cuts in Social Security benefits.
  Mr. Speaker, the American people are not fooled by the rhetoric out 
of the White House about Social Security. The American people know that 
the White House is not concerned about the effects the balanced budget 
amendment would have on Social Security. The American people know that 
the real fear by the White House is that the balanced budget amendment 
would curb the growth of new liberal spending programs.
  Mr. Speaker, a recent survey by CBS News/New York Times found that 79 
percent, 79 percent of Americans favor the balanced budget amendment. 
Last week's poll by the Seniors Coalition found that 80 percent of 
those 55 to 65 favor the balanced budget amendment. Of those over 65, 
71 percent favor the balanced budget amendment.
  Mr. Speaker, seniors know the truth. The balanced budget amendment 
will stop the wasteful spending and reduce the threat that the deficit 
and growing interest payments cause to the Social Security trust fund.
  [[Page H2642]] Several weeks ago one of the President's chief 
economic advisors was asked if she had a family budget that her family 
lived by, and she responded ``no.'' I think that this is part of the 
problem.
  My family lives by a budget, and we plan for our future. Indeed when 
I was elected to this office, we had to budget for the cost of 
maintaining two households and we had to reduce our spending 
accordingly to compensate for those increased expenses that we were 
going to encounter.
  We need to instill some of those basic fundamental rules that 
families govern their finances by. We need to instill into this body, 
the Government of the United States.
  I believe this balanced budget amendment will become an issue in the 
next election of 1996, and I believe that we will see more Members 
elected both to this body and the one on the other side, more Members 
elected who will support the balanced budget amendment, and the will of 
the people of the United States will not be thwarted and that we will 
have a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.


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