[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 14914]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  0910
                       BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT

  (Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, you know, in the midst of these rancorous and 
divided days in our Nation's Capital, there is a growing consensus 
across this country that Washington, D.C., isn't just broke, it's 
broken.
  With a $14 trillion national debt, the American people want 
solutions, not fights. They want reforms that will transcend political 
parties and the historic divides that have made this city seem, for 
most Americans, to appear to be a House divided.
  Well, thanks to tough negotiations this summer, the American people 
deserve to know that Congress has a historic opportunity to vote on 
just such a bipartisan solution. It's a balanced budget amendment to 
the Constitution of the United States.
  For the first time in 15 years, the House and the Senate will have an 
up-or-down vote on this historic measure, and every American who is fed 
up with borrowing and spending and deficits and debts should let their 
voice be heard and be heard today.
  Most Americans work hard, they pay their bills, and they live within 
their means. I think it's time we had a national government as good as 
our people. It's time to pass a balanced budget amendment to the 
Constitution, send it from this House to the Senate, and from this 
Congress to the States for ratification.

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