[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 14 (Thursday, February 6, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1071-S1072]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION

  The Senate continued with the consideration of the joint resolution.
  Mr. GRASSLEY addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. I rise in support of this constitutional amendment. I 
have had an opportunity each and every time--and I suppose this is the 
fifth or sixth time now--in the period of time I have been in the 
Senate to vote for a constitutional amendment because I believe that 
such a statement in the Constitution would be a legitimate part of the 
Constitution. I learned that from serving in a State legislative body 
where I worked with such a statement within our State constitution, and 
I saw it bring discipline to both Republicans and Democrats in State 
legislative bodies to balance the budget, to be fiscally responsible, 
and have each generation pay its own way.
  I have also voted for it because there is not such a statement within 
the Federal Constitution, and I have seen the lack of discipline in the 
Congress of the United States to balance the budget. Since I have seen 
that discipline work at the State legislative level and since State 
governments tend to be laboratories for our political system, I think 
we can, with a great deal of certainty and ease of mind, feel confident 
that we are doing the right thing by placing that discipline on Members 
of Congress.
  The rule of law is something that is traditional to our British-
American legal system. Other societies as well might have a rule of law 
not exactly like ours but still have a respect for basic documents. The 
purpose of the rule of law is predictability and stability for the 
future.
  Constitutions are part of the rule of law. Constitutions are adopted 
by societies because it brings discipline to policymakers in 
Government. It brings a certainty to the relationship of people who 
govern and the people who are governed. Part of that certainty is 
discipline on the part of policymakers like those of us in 
the Congress. So we have a Constitution, and it has worked well to 
bring stability, to bring discipline, and to bring predictability to 
the relationship between those who govern and those who are governed.

  We see that discipline works in most of the policymaking between the 
Federal Government and our people, but we have not seen discipline work 
in the fiscal arena. Has it always been that way? No, it has not always 
been that way, because for the first 160 years of our country, except 
during times of war, we had more years where we had budgets balanced 
and surpluses than years we ran deficits. It was pretty well understood 
that fiscal discipline, even though it was not written in the 
Constitution, was an integral part of the tradition of America.
  Since the year 1969, or for most of the time since World War II, that 
has not been the case. We have shown anything but discipline when it 
comes to being a caretaker of the tax dollars we raise. The American 
public sees that. That is why, overwhelmingly, in mail and surveys and 
everything else, the people of the United States are telling the 
Congress we need discipline in fiscal matters and that they see a 
constitutional amendment as bringing that discipline.
  It has been 28 years since the time we last ran a surplus. Congress 
in that period of time has made some feeble attempts to bring our 
national debt under control--but has failed. I have served with many 
fine Congressmen and Senators who have made valiant efforts to curb 
runaway spending. Regardless of their good faith, no balanced budget 
was produced. The goal has remained out of reach. In the end, then, we 
must conclude the will to balance the budget has been weak. That is why 
we desperately need the discipline of a constitutional amendment.
  The scope of the national debt is immense. Every year this monster 
grows as it gobbles up the American dream for our young people. That 
American dream says that our children should have a better life than 
our generation as we had a better life than our mothers and fathers, as 
our mothers and fathers had a better life than our grandfathers and 
grandmothers. But the American dream is being snuffed out because of 
fiscal irresponsibility.
  This situation has gotten so bad that we now spend nearly 40 cents of 
every dollar that we collect in income taxes just to pay interest costs 
on this national debt. The danger of this for the economy and the 
potentially disastrous effects for future generations have become 
impossible to ignore. You have to look long and hard these days to find 
public servants who do not say that they support balancing the budget. 
That is on both sides of the aisle. Rhetoric in support of budgetary 
control is at an unprecedented level. But it ends up that talk tends to 
be too cheap, I am sorry to say, and, as a result, the budget still 
remains unbalanced.
  We must then have the structural discipline of a balanced budget 
amendment. Fortunately, there has been some progress made lately in 
bringing down the deficit. For the most part, this is the result of two 
actions--one by the Republican-controlled 104th Congress, and the other 
by President Clinton. In the case of the Republican-controlled 104th 
Congress, some spending restraint that we enacted; in the case of 
President Clinton, it was his suggestion for the largest ever tax 
increase that passed in 1993.
  Now, of course, some of this reduction in the deficit can be 
explained by better than expected economic growth, which was mainly the 
result of the Federal Reserve's wise economic policies. And, despite 
initial budgets of President Clinton which projected deficits as far as 
the eye can see, the Congress has been able to submit a budget which 
balances by the year 2002. This is

[[Page S1072]]

all good news. But the political balance is fragile, and we are still 
waiting for the debt to be tamed.
  The American people have had enough. That is why they are telling us, 
by an overwhelming percentage: Adopt the fiscal discipline of a 
constitutional amendment. They sent us here to work to restore the 
American dream for our children and grandchildren.
  I hope my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will work with us 
on this amendment. The national debt has become the gift that keeps on 
taking. It is unconscionable that we would saddle our children and 
grandchildren with such a backbreaking public debt. But, if we do not 
impose the fiscal restraint that only the balanced budget amendment can 
provide, this debt will be passed on to future generations, and they 
will be faced with crippling high taxes. Americans will be working 
harder and longer for less and less.
  Such a scenario simply cannot be tolerated, and is not tolerated 
today at the grassroots. It is only tolerated here, in this Disneyland 
of Washington, DC.
  Passing the buck of the Federal debt to our children and 
grandchildren is not just an economic problem that they face. It is an 
immoral problem for us. Because, when you get right down to it, this 
deficit spending is evidence that this generation, my generation, can 
live high on the hog and leave the bill to our children and 
grandchildren to pick up. We must bring the spending binge under 
control. And the only way to do this in a serious and lasting way is to 
pass the balanced budget amendment.
  I say this after having served as both a Congressman and a Senator 
and having worked through several attempts to get the national debt and 
deficit under control. Everything we have tried to date has failed. The 
Budget and Impoundment Control Act, Gramm-Rudman I and II, and so many 
other well-intentioned acts and procedures have all come up short. I'll 
have more to say on this later.
  Mr. President, now, more than ever, we have a moral duty to pass the 
balanced budget amendment. It will force both the Congress and the 
President, regardless of which party is in control, to live up to their 
constitutional responsibilities of confronting the national debt. And 
when those of us here in Washington are forced to live within our 
means, just like American families do, every American will benefit. 
Interest rates will go down, which will mean lower payments for car 
loans, student loans, and mortgages. And by reducing the cost of 
living, the American dream will still be attainable. This is especially 
important today when it often takes two wage earners to make ends meet.
  When I talk with the folks back home in Iowa, they let me know that 
we have to get our fiscal house in order. An overwhelming majority of 
them support the balanced budget amendment. It has been our experience 
in Iowa that the state constitutional balanced budget requirement 
works. Whether the legislature is controlled by Democrats or 
Republicans, our elected officials have abided by it. We here in 
Washington have a great deal to learn from Iowa and the many other 
States where similar procedures have been successful.
  As the only family farmer in the Senate, I think it is also important 
to note that the American Farm Bureau Federation supports the balanced 
budget amendment. Even though many farmers, including those in my home 
State, have had to shoulder a large part of the load in budget 
reduction recently, they know that their livelihood depends on the 
long-term economic health of the country. They know that there can be 
no future for the American farmer, or anyone else, if deficit spending 
is not reined in. We need the budget discipline mandated by the 
balanced budget amendment in order to guarantee the survival of the 
American dream for farmers and everyone who benefits from their labor.

  Another alarming aspect of our Federal debt is the growing percentage 
which is held by foreign interests. The proportion of overseas holdings 
in our debt is approaching 20 percent. In essence, we have seen the 
slow drip of national sovereignty going down the drain. If we do not 
control the Federal debt soon, this drip will become a steady stream. 
So, in a very real sense, irresponsible Federal budgeting has 
compromised our national security. The time to put a halt to this trend 
is now.
  So, Mr. President, I conclude today by saying it is a moral 
imperative that we pass the balanced budget amendment. This is not a 
decision I come to lightly. I am very hesitant about making additions 
to our Constitution. But our Founding Fathers knew that there would be 
critical moments in our Republic's history when problems of great 
difficulty would arise which would require constitutional force in 
order to solve them. That is why the Constitution was designed to be 
amended in such circumstances. I would remind my colleagues that all we 
in Congress can do is send this measure to the States and let the 
people of America decide whether it will become law. Why is a vocal 
minority here in Congress so afraid of letting democracy work and 
letting the people decide?
  Our ever-expanding national debt is a problem of fundamental 
importance which justifies a constitutional solution. We cannot let 
another Congress go by in which we do not confront this issue and 
impose discipline on this institution. Our future and that of our 
children and grandchildren depend on it.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, yesterday, the Senate began debate on the 
balanced-budget constitutional amendment, of which I am an ardent 
supporter. Passing this amendment, and abiding by it, is the most 
important action we can take to protect the future of our children, 
grandchildren, and future grandchildren. Congress' insatiable appetite 
for spending is mortgaging the prosperity of these future generations. 
Not only is this irresponsible, but it is immoral.
  Our Founding Fathers recognized the basic principle that the Federal 
Government must not spend beyond its means. Thomas Jefferson said, ``We 
should consider ourselves unauthorized to saddle posterity with our 
debts, and morally bound to pay them ourselves.'' Unfortunately, we 
have strayed far from Mr. Jefferson's wise advice.
  The Federal Government's uncontrolled spending has built up an 
enormous national debt that currently stands at $5.3 billion. 
Apportioned equally, this means that every man, woman and child in this 
country currently owes almost $20,000. Put another way, if you spent a 
dollar every second, it would take 150,000 years to spend our current 
debt. And our debt is still growing by $4,500 per second--about the 
same amount it would cost to send three people to a community college.
  The economic rewards for balancing the budget should be reason enough 
to act. Many well respected economists predict that if the budget were 
balanced, interest rates would drop by about 2 percent. This would mean 
annual savings of $1,230 on a middle-class family's home mortgage; $216 
on an average student loan; and $180 on an average auto loan. In the 
Federal budget world of billions and trillions, these savings are all 
too often ignored, but these are real savings that would lead to a 
better life for America's families.
  Although Congress has talked endlessly about balancing the budget, 
the budget has not been balanced since 1969. Without a balanced-budget 
constitutional amendment, I doubt the President or Congress will ever 
have the political courage to balance the budget. We simply lack the 
discipline to control our spending habits. We have ignored our 
responsibility to put our fiscal house in order, choosing instead to 
leave future generations of Americans with an overwhelming legacy of 
debt. It is simply immoral to allow this deficit spending to continue. 
Our duty as elected officials must be to preserve a strong and solvent 
nation for the next generation.
  Let us show the American people that we take our duties seriously. We 
must prove we are ready to embrace fiscal responsibility permanently. 
The moment has finally come for Congress to pass the balanced budget 
amendment and send it on to the States. Let us begin a national debate, 
in every State legislature in this country. Americans have waited 
decades for this opportunity. They have waited long enough.

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