On the recordJune 29, 2011
I think one of the alarming things we see is that on the course we are taking now, if we do nothing dramatic to reform the process--if we don't pass the balanced budget amendment--within about a decade, the budget will be entirely consumed by entitlements and interest. This is being driven by something beyond the control of Republicans, beyond the control of Democrats, and out of everyone's hands. It has to do with the fact that we are living longer and there are fewer young people and more old people because a lot of babies were born after World War II. These are demographic facts we can't escape. When we look at some of the charts about what goes on with this, we see what happens if we do nothing. We see the projected debt way out here. Most of this debt problem is entitlements. We have to come together as parties. The balanced budget amendment will help us do this, but then we need to acknowledge that these problems exist and we need to come together-- both parties--to figure out solutions. I think the balanced budget amendment may well be what forces us to have a discussion. To be good legislators, we need to decide priorities instead of just adding on new program after new program. We have 80 different Federal programs that are work programs. We need to think about consolidating and minimizing government. I think the balanced budget amendment would allow us to have a discussion in this body on where we can cut spending.
