[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 17547-17548]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. McCaul) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the balanced 
budget amendment to the Constitution.
  Our debt burden in this country is so heavy, it is no longer simply a 
financial issue; it is a moral issue. We have spent and spent, racking 
up astronomical debt that will dampen the American Dream for our 
children and grandchildren. If we continue on this path, we will 
guarantee that future generations will have unsustainable tax burdens, 
monstrous inefficient bureaucracies, and a lifestyle so diminished that 
it will no longer resemble the America that we all know and love.
  That is not what our Founding Fathers had in mind when they formed 
this great Nation. In fact, in 1798, Thomas Jefferson wrote, ``I wish 
it were possible to obtain a single amendment to our Constitution. I 
mean an additional article taking from the Federal Government the power 
of borrowing.'' Thomas Jefferson could never in his wildest dreams have 
imagined that our debt would one day top $14 trillion, threatening our 
very way of life. And unfortunately, this is a problem that only gets 
worse--every year that we produce a budget, our spending grows.
  Ronald Reagan had it right when he said, ``No government ever 
voluntarily reduces itself in size. A government program is the nearest 
thing on Earth we'll ever see to eternal life.'' And that was back in 
the 1980s when our debt was a fraction of what it is now.
  Our debt has grown so out of control that it not only saddles future 
generations with our irresponsibility, but it poses a national security 
threat to our country today. Former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of 
Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, recently stated that our increasing debt is 
the biggest threat we have to our national security. We are playing 
with fire. And it is time to stop, and it is time to do the right 
thing.
  Not only do 49 States have balanced budget amendments, but Americans 
all across the country have to balance their household budgets. It is 
time for Congress to do the same and balance America's checkbook.
  Some of our friends on the other side of the aisle agree. In a recent 
letter to House Members, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio) asked 
his colleagues to buck their leadership and vote for the balanced 
budget amendment. He said, going against it is a ``strategic mistake,'' 
and I agree. His party's leadership evidently disagrees. And a recent 
headline in USA Today says it all: ``House Dems will Block Balanced 
Budget Amendment.'' Unfortunately, they will be on the wrong side of 
history.
  It is time for us to take a stand and do the right thing. Let's stand 
on the side of our children and our grandchildren and on the side of 
Jefferson and Reagan and with those who believe that the safety and 
security of our country should come before our short-term, insatiable 
appetite for ever-increasing government spending. The time is now. 
Let's support the balanced budget amendment and put an end to

[[Page 17548]]

the fiscal insanity that threatens this great country.

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