[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 183 (Wednesday, December 16, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H9359]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1500
                       BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT

  (Mr. HARDY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. HARDY. Mr. Speaker, we are $18 trillion in the red. Specifically, 
our Federal debt, which is a combination of debt held by the public and 
debt held by government accounts, stands at $18.7 trillion. That means 
every man, woman, and child owes roughly $58,000 right now, and it will 
no doubt rise day by day.
  At the beginning of the year 2000, we were $5 trillion underwater. 
Fast-forward a few years to when President Obama took office, and we 
were approximately $10 trillion in debt. Today, we are almost double 
that.
  I came to Congress to make the difficult decisions to help put our 
Nation back on the path of growth, because right now I am fearful that 
my children and my grandchildren will not have the same opportunities.
  It is for these reasons that I have authored and introduced a 
balanced budget amendment. In fact, 45 States have some type of 
balanced budget requirement already in law. It is time the Federal 
Government follows suit.
  My amendment will prohibit outlays from exceeding receipts. It will 
prevent Congress from raising the debt ceiling. It will prevent the 
President--any President--from instituting an executive order without 
first presenting Congress a balanced budget.
  Every business and every family balances their budget. It is time for 
the Federal Government to do the same.

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