On the recordMarch 2, 1995
I voted against it because I have a reverence for the Constitution of the United States. I do not want it trivialized. I do not want to put economic theory in it. I do not want to put an unenforceable requirement in it. I do not want to put a requirement in there which can be taken away by 60 votes. And I do not want to have the people expecting to see the budget balanced in the year 2002 when that is highly unlikely in any case and utterly impossible under the other provisions of the Contract With America. That would raise the cynicism level about Congress still higher. What I want to do is put this Nation on a glidepath toward a balanced budget and stick with it. We could reduce the deficit $20 billion a year and not disrupt the economy. The economy could handle it. And if the American people saw us doing that, year after year, they would be happy, they would see that we are solving the problem.
Source
govinfo.gov
