The answer is that it would, and that is why we have that flexibility. We do not go as far as Thomas Jefferson wanted to go. He wanted to absolutely prohibit any Federal Government borrowing.

Absolutely not. And the argument that we are taking away Presidential prerogative is not valid. The President has the obligation to submit a balanced budget. But the President may very well say, because of circumstances, we are in a…

first of all, I congratulate my colleague on becoming a grandfather. I am pleased to have him join the ranks. Talk about taxation without representation, that little grandchild of yours faces that.

In terms of Social Security, the person who made the point that a balanced budget amendment is the basic protection that is needed by the Social Security system was the chief actuary for the Social Security System for 23 years. I point…

I will just comment for 3 minutes on the speech by my colleague from Arkansas. Then I want to yield to the Senator from Pennsylvania. First of all, 80 percent of what he had to say, believe it or not, supports the balanced budget amendment…

The answer is we will occasionally do so, and for those who say what about a recession, since 1962 we have had 11 stimulus packages pass the U.S. Senate. All of them passed with more than 60 votes.

Such an amendment would be a political mistake. It would allow a mere 40 out of 100 senators and a similar minority in the House to block legislation that would create a deficit. And because the amendment includes no enforcement procedure…

Forget GAO projections and all the others. Look at the lifetime net tax rates under alternative policies. Under OMB figures in that budget they just gave us, tax rates for someone my age, 1930--I was born in 1928--but let us say 1930 are…

The answer is that we could, but the argument that my colleague from Michigan makes is precisely the opposite of the argument that we have been hearing over and over and over again on the floor. Some of my colleagues say this is too tough…

First, I want to comment on the observations of the majority leader, for whom I have great respect, when he said we are putting this off to the year 2001 so no one here will have to act on it. Senator Feinstein was one of those who talked…

I would like to put anybody on notice that there will be an amendment offered by my friend and colleague, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada. Senator Reid, in my opinion, is one of the finest Members of this body. He has shown courage; he does…

I think he has made an important point; this amendment is introduced for political cover only.