Angie Craig: “let me first of all react to the Senator from Vermont's inclusion of Jack Kemp's remarks of yesterday into the Record.…”

“let me first of all react to the Senator from Vermont's inclusion of Jack Kemp's remarks of yesterday into the Record. Jack Kemp does not support our balanced budget because he feels it is not strong enough in one respect; it does not require the tax limitation that Jack Kemp believes is necessary. Over the years I have debated this at length with Congressman Kemp. He knows that what our amendment does is a substantial movement in the right direction. While I would have liked tax limitation over time, we know that is a vote that cannot be won on the floor of the Senate or the House. That is why we have left tax limitation up to the true limiters, and that is the electorate, to decide if a tax increase should produce a change in the makeup of the U.S. Congress. So we are not going to put our Government on automatic pilot, as would be the subtle insinuation of Senator Durbin in arguing that, somehow, this amendment is not flexible enough and therefore we need his majority-vote waiver. Let me talk about putting whims in the budget process, because I believe that is exactly what would be done if you favor the Durbin amendment. It does not require this Senate to make tough choices, and it creates almost an unlimited opportunity for deficit spending. The balanced budget amendment as we have proposed it, and as it has been introduced on the floor of the Senate by Senator Hatch, is flexible enough.…”