Political Quotes

“Madam President, this morning I rise to speak to the question the Senate will be focused on over the next day or so regarding a constitutional amendment to balance the budget. I do not think there is any doubt that we have to reverse this fiscal recklessness, not just for our time but for all time. I have consistently and vehemently championed a balanced budgeted amendment for the past three decades in both the House and the Senate to prevent precisely the kind of fiscal quagmire we are enmeshed in today, with our Federal Government borrowing an astonishing 40 cents of every dollar we spend. In my 30 years in Congress, I have cosponsored a balanced budget amendment 18 times. I spoke or made statements in favor of it 35 times. So I have had some experience in this battle to get the Federal Government to balance revenues with expenditures. I learned that without a self-restraining mechanism, the debt over time only goes in one direction--up. In fact, since 1981 we have debated a constitutional amendment to balance the budget in the Senate on five different occasions and on four occasions in the House of Representatives through 1997. In the meantime, we have seen what has happened with the mounting debt.…”