Lynn Schenk: “I support the Balanced Budget Amendment introduced by Representative Stenholm. It is not something I do without…”

“I support the Balanced Budget Amendment introduced by Representative Stenholm. It is not something I do without reservation, but I have come to the sad conclusion that it is the only real hope we have for eliminating deficit spending. The Constitution is sacred ground. But our Founding Fathers clearly understood that someday the framework they built might require additions or changes. That's why they created the amendment procedure. Today, the time has come to act. If we fail to address our fiscal problems today, they will burden our children and our grandchildren for years to come. A constitutional amendment is a last resort. But with a debt surpassing $4 trillion and no end to deficit spending in sight, we no longer have a choice. Congress has lacked the will to eliminate deficit spending. Frankly, now that I've been here a year, I can see the problem. Yes, most citizens say they want cuts and less spending, but not in their community or on their pet projects. Confronted with legitimate but competing demands for Federal dollars, Members have had great difficulty cutting or spending less in their districts so we've borrowed more and more money. By doing so, we are unfairly piling our debt on the shoulders of future generations. Good arguments can and have been made against a balanced budget amendment. But, the reality is frightening--our gross debt has increased by 869 percent over the past 2 decades.”