Karen Handel: “Let me first begin by commending Chairman Goodlatte and my colleagues on the House Judiciary Committee for their hard…”

“Let me first begin by commending Chairman Goodlatte and my colleagues on the House Judiciary Committee for their hard work on this important issue. I have been in Congress just 10 months, but I have already seen firsthand that the budget process is fundamentally broken. While I supported the funding measures under this broken process, I did so with reluctance. But both parties--both parties--have brought us to this place with the severe fiscal challenges that we face today. But balancing our budget is not, should not be, a partisan issue. Across the country, virtually every State has a balanced budget requirement, and Governors and legislatures of both parties meet that requirement. Congress should too. Ultimately, balanced budgets are about accountability. We must hold the Federal Government and Congress accountable and insist that the overall budget be managed in a fiscally responsible way. The status quo, the same old kick-the-can-down-the-road, we-will-get-to-it-next- time approach is simply no longer an option. Big problems require tough choices. Every day that we continue to borrow and assume more debt, our decisions get all the more difficult, and the solutions all the more catastrophic. This balanced budget amendment is only a first step, but a much- needed step, to improving the fiscal state of our Nation. Our current path is unsustainable.…”