Dave Camp: “I rise in support of the Stenholm amendment. Mr. Chairman, about 200 years ago, Thomas Jefferson said if there was just…”

“I rise in support of the Stenholm amendment. Mr. Chairman, about 200 years ago, Thomas Jefferson said if there was just one change he could make in America's brand new Constitution--it would be to include a provision to prevent any future government from spending irresponsibly. Today we have the Government that Thomas Jefferson feared. The national debt is almost $5 trillion dollars. The interest payments on that debt are the third largest part of the budget. The big spenders in Congress who oppose the balanced budget amendment keep promising that: Congress can make the tough decisions; fiscal responsibility is just around the corner; we can solve this deficit problem without the higher authority of a constitutional mandate; and that a balanced budget amendment would hurt the economy. I say you have to fix the roof while the Sun is shining. Time and time again, Congress has demonstrated to the American people that it cannot balance the budget, and it cannot cut spending. Without the balanced budget amendment, Congress will continue to break its promise to the American people. Pass the Stenholm-Smith balanced budget amendment.”