Bart Stupak: “last night in the President's State of the Union Message he laid out his challenges for this Congress and for the…”

“last night in the President's State of the Union Message he laid out his challenges for this Congress and for the American people to fulfill in the next year. The President asked that these challenges be met in an open, honest bipartisan debate on all of the issues like the balanced budget amendment. As the President mentioned in his remarks, we Democrats support a balanced budget amendment, with a full and honest debate, not just between majority and minority Members but with the American people. The American people want to know, as we begin this debate, how are we to balance this budget by the year 2002. Today we will have an opportunity as we begin this debate to vote for a truth-in-budgeting amendment by the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Conyers]. I urge all of my colleagues to support the truth-in-budgeting amendment which will tell us how we get to a balanced budget by the year 2002. How else can we assure the American people they will have a opportunity to participate in this debate, to know whether or not there will be cuts in Medicare, to know whether or not there will be cuts in Social Security? The only way to guarantee it is truth in budgeting. Support the Conyers amendment.”