Joe Biden: “for years now, from the first time this amendment to balance the budget came before us, several of its features have…”

“for years now, from the first time this amendment to balance the budget came before us, several of its features have caused me concern. In addition to the constitutional issues involved in how we will enforce a balanced budget, and the lack of any provision for long-term investments, I have been most concerned by the inclusion of the social security trust fund in the budget that House Joint Resolution 1 requires to be in balance each year. Those concerns have been the grounds not only for my statements here on the Senate floor, in the Judiciary Committee, and elsewhere, but also for my votes in the last two sessions of Congress. Last year, I voted for a constitutional balanced budget amendment, one that excluded Social Security from budget calculations. Back in my State of Delaware, my constituents share my concern about the Social Security trust fund, so when I raise that issue here I am speaking about their worries as well as my own. Social Security is a unique program with a unique impact on our budget. That is why we voted, 98 to 2, to take it offbudget in 1990.”