Ellen Tauscher: “Mr. Speaker, four times in the last 15 years Congress and the President have told the American people that they had…”

“Mr. Speaker, four times in the last 15 years Congress and the President have told the American people that they had reached an agreement to balance the budget. In each case however, the deficit continued to grow. We now have the opportunity once again to make good on our word. Congress and the President have agreed on the outlines of a deficit reduction plan that will restore fiscal responsibility to our Nation's budget. Unfortunately the success of this effort hinges on key enforcement provisions that are not yet part of this agreement. The bipartisan Budget Enforcement Act would put in place a mechanism to force Congress and the President to actively address spending that is higher than expected or where revenues have fallen short of expectations. Instead of ignoring excessive spending or revenue shortfalls, we would be forced to confront the causes of the problem and make adjustments accordingly. We have made historic steps toward placing our economy on a sound footing for the first time in a generation. But without a strong budget enforcement mechanism, there is no guarantee that we will reach the goal of eliminating the deficit and living up to our agreement.”