Ladies and gentlemen, this balanced budget constitutional amendment is one that surprises me, and very little surprises me anymore. But for us to be seriously, on this day and this time, considering an amendment to the Constitution of the United States that would destroy jobs, that would drastically cut Medicare and Social Security and give members of the Federal judiciary the right to raise taxes and make spending decisions for us is relatively shocking to me, and I am very much opposed to it. I want to engage my dear friend, the chairman of the committee, in an exchange of views on this, but let's start off the discussion with this reality. This is not 1995, and that's why so many people that supported the amendment then have changed their minds now, and they will explain this as they go along. I would like now, Mr. Speaker, to yield to the gentleman from New York, former chairman of the Constitution Subcommittee, Jerry Nadler, for as much time as he may consume.
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How much time remains on each side? The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Michigan has 11\1/2\ minutes remaining and the gentlewoman from Georgia has 10\1/2\ minutes remaining.
I claim the time in opposition, although I do not oppose the bill or the amendment. The CHAIR. Without objection, the gentleman from Michigan is recognized for 5 minutes. There was no objection.
I want to thank my colleague from Michigan (Mr. Bishop) for his contribution. I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff), the ranking member of the Intelligence Committee and the author of the bill.
Members of the House, this amendment makes a bad bill even worse. To begin with, it would prohibit cy-pres distributions pursuant to which parties attempt to find the next best use of funds that remain after a class action settlement has…





