[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16454-16455]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO BALANCE THE FEDERAL BUDGET

  (Mr. SULLIVAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. SULLIVAN. Only in Washington, D.C., are we debating whether it's 
a good idea to balance the Federal budget. The American people don't 
have the luxury of choosing. Families and businesses across the country 
are forced to balance their budgets and live within their means, and 
the Federal Government should be held to the same standard.
  I believe a constitutional amendment to balance our Federal budget is 
a real long-term solution to our Nation's fiscal problems, and I am 
pleased Congress will soon vote on one for the first time in 15 years.

[[Page 16455]]

  This is a critical time for our Nation. Over 14 million Americans are 
unemployed, and our record-setting level of debt is over $14 trillion. 
Congress has a moral obligation to our children and grandchildren to 
stop the outrageous spending and to restore fiscal sanity in Washington 
in order to ensure we don't leave them under a mountain of debt.
  I will continue fighting for a constitutional amendment to require 
the Federal Government to live within its means just like families 
across Oklahoma do every day.

                          ____________________