Patricia Schroeder: “Mr. Speaker, actually the fact of the matter is a lot of us on this side of the aisle, and none of us on that side of…”

“Mr. Speaker, actually the fact of the matter is a lot of us on this side of the aisle, and none of us on that side of the aisle, voted to cut the deficit in half in the first year of the Clinton administration by putting a gas tax on. One of the reasons we got into all this trouble is somebody decided then they would lift it. Everybody wants to lift taxes and not cut programs. But the bottom line here for, I think, Americans is to hear this body talking about how we have to have a constitutional amendment to balance the budget, we have to do all of that, but we cannot balance the budget here. Here we are considering a deficit that is going to be higher than the one we have this year. How can we have a higher one next year than the one we have this year and then stand there and say it passes the straight-faced test, to stand around and look at people and say, 'We're really for balancing the budget.' This does not work. The real issue is not whether you are for amendment, it is whether you can get the deficit under control. I urge a 'no' on this rule.”