[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 40 (Friday, March 3, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3454-S3455]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                     THE BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT

  Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I rise today to remind my colleagues of the 
words of Benjamin Franklin, when he urged, ``Never leave that till 
tomorrow which you can do today.''
  Good advice. But when is this Congress going to listen?
  For too long, Congress has used the word ``tomorrow'' to repeatedly 
avoid the responsibilities and obligations of today.
  We will stop spending more than we take in--tomorrow.
  We will safeguard our children's future by paying our own bills--
tomorrow.
  We will make the tough choices to get our fiscal house in order--
tomorrow.
  We will balance the budget--tomorrow.
  The problem with tomorrow, of course, is that it never, ever gets 
here--there is always another one waiting in the wings. 
Responsibilities are never met. Obligations are never fulfilled.
  And yesterday's vote on the balanced budget amendment demonstrates 
once again that--despite all the talk on Capitol Hill about change--
Congress still operates under the notion that you should never do today 
what you can put off until tomorrow.
  Mr. President, I am deeply disappointed that this body put politics 
ahead of promises in rejecting the balanced budget amendment.
  Passage hinged on the votes of six Democrats who, just 1 year ago--
March 1, 1994--voted for the balanced budget amendment. Yesterday, 
those same six Senators voted ``no'' on a bill that was virtually 
identical to the one they supported last year.
  The balanced budget amendment is a beautifully simple piece of 
legislation that makes so much sense to the voters 
[[Page S3455]] that 8 out of 10 of them asked us to make it law. What 
do we go back home and tell them this weekend--sorry? Try again 
tomorrow?
  No. Beginning today, with or without a balanced budget amendment, we 
need to start laying out the glidepath that will lead us to a balanced 
budget by the year 2002.
  To my colleagues who said we can straigthen out the fiscal mess in 
Washington without meddling with the Constitution, it is time to stop 
making promises and start delivering on them.
  The only way we will ever clean up the Federal books is to start 
today, not tomorrow, not next month, not next year, but today.
  We have said again and again that balancing the budget will not be 
easy. But those who elected us do not care if we have a tough job. They 
expect us to do that job.
  Unlike the ancient plunderers who would pillage a town, then set it 
afire as they headed off toward their next conquest, we are not going 
to slash and burn the budget and leave it in shambles behind us.
  The needs of this country will continue to be met. But if we are 
serious about bringing the budget into balance, the wants of this 
country will have to be closely scrutinized. Some will have to be put 
on hold.
  We need a balanced budget for another reason as well, Mr. President--
so that we can begin to pay back our massive national debt.
  We didn't accumulate this $4.8 trillion burden overnight, and we will 
not pay it off overnight, either. But whether it takes 20 years or 40 
years, we have to start now.
  The debt we are piling up and passing along to the next generation of 
Americans is not just fiscally wrong--it is morally wrong.
  George Washington could not have known the problems we would face in 
1995, but he cautioned us--198 years ago--about amassing a national 
debt.
  It was expected, he wrote in his Farewell Address, that in times of 
crisis, the Federal Government would occasionally be required to spend 
beyond its means. But in times of peace and prosperity the Government 
must repay its debt, and not push its burdens onto the next generation.
  We have been at peace and enjoying prosperity for 40 years. With the 
recklessness of the past behind us, the burden that Congress bears 
today is ensuring the strength of this Nation tomorrow.
  In conclusion, a balanced budget can be achieved by the year 2002 if 
we begin laying out the path today. We will have to do it without a 
balanced budget amendment, but make no mistake--this Congress must do 
it.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, is leader time reserved?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. It has been reserved.

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