Edward M. Kennedy: “I oppose the balanced budget constitutional amendment. I support the goal of a balanced budget, but it is wrong for…”

“I oppose the balanced budget constitutional amendment. I support the goal of a balanced budget, but it is wrong for Congress to tamper with the Constitution to achieve it. Congress and the Clinton administration have made remarkably good progress in reducing the deficit in the past year. Last August, we enacted the most significant deficit reduction ever--$500 billion over the next 5 years. We are succeeding where the past two Republican administrations have failed. The deficit is coming down. The economy is heading up. There is no need to take the extreme step of amending the Constitution to achieve our economic goals. It does not take a constitutional amendment to reduce the Federal deficit or balance the Federal budget. All it takes is enough courage by Congress and the administration to make the tough decisions we are elected to make. If we are not willing to balance the budget, the Constitution cannot do it for us. Amending the Constitution could well make all our economic problems worse. Writing this kind of straitjacket into the Nation's founding charter could jeopardize our economy, diminish the Constitution, distort its system of checks and balances, and undermine the principle of majority rule that is at the core of our democracy.”