On the recordNovember 15, 2011
I thank the gentlelady for yielding, and I thank you for your leadership on this important issue. As a CPA who spent nearly two decades helping American families chart their way toward fiscal responsibility, I can tell you that if you want to get serious about getting your finances in order, then the very first thing you have to do is balance your budget. If we want to see our economy moving again, if we want to see the job market growing again, if we want to ensure that we remain the most powerful and prosperous nation on Earth, then we must balance our budget. Yet if we've learned one thing over the past few years, it's that we can't expect Washington to balance its books on its own. To really force the tough spending decisions and to ensure we spend our money as efficiently as possible, we must require that Washington balance its budget. To put it frankly, America needs a balanced budget amendment. We came close 16 years ago; but since then, our national debt has grown from $4 trillion to $15 trillion. We're facing a crisis. We need a balanced budget amendment, and we need it now.…
