Helen Bentley: “Mr. Chairman, the time has come to pass a balanced budget amendment. Opponents say that the Constitution should not be…”

“Mr. Chairman, the time has come to pass a balanced budget amendment. Opponents say that the Constitution should not be trifled with, and that because we as a body have failed, we should not pass the buck to the Constitution. We also hear that economic policy should not be incorporated in the Constitution. Such statements overlook the obvious and forget our heritage. The Constitution is a contract between the Government and the governed. Like any contract, it has economic provisions. The Constitution gives Congress the right to regulate foreign and interstate commerce--that is an economic provision. The Constitution prohibited the Congress for levying direct taxes on the people. I might remind this body that this country's economy grew quickest when Congress only levied tariffs and this country's growth slowed only when Congress started to collect income taxes. The Constitution permitted slavery, which was an economic provision that had to be repealed by a civil war. History shows that the Constitution is an economic document.”