Cord Byrd: “I thank my friend. Mr. President, section 1 of the constitutional amendment to balance the budget lays it out in a very…”

“I thank my friend. Mr. President, section 1 of the constitutional amendment to balance the budget lays it out in a very straightforward way. It says in plain English that outgo shall not exceed income. ``Spending shall not exceed income in any fiscal year unless three-fifths of the whole number of each House of Congress shall provide by law for such an excess of outlays over income.'' Now, that is a pretty tough section to comply with, and Congress, I think, would be in great difficulty if it sought to follow that mandate. But Congress, by this constitutional amendment, has provided a way around section 1, so that we really don't have to comply with section 1. Section 6 says that ``The Congress shall enforce and implement this article by appropriate legislation, which may rely on estimates of outlays and receipts.'' So, Congress, as anyone will know, because it is plain as the nose on one's face, Congress is just going to forget section 1, that will be too hard to comply with. Congress will choose section 6 as a way out, because then it does not have to balance dollar for dollar, it does not have to have a three-fifths vote, as section 1 would require, for a specific excess of outlays over receipts. It can forget about that. No real balancing of the budget. No three-fifths vote. Just doing it by appropriate legislation, which could be a simple resolution or concurrent resolution. So this is the way out, this is the dishonest way out--section 6.…”