Angie Craig: “The question of whether Congress should pass a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution is one of the few truly…”

“The question of whether Congress should pass a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution is one of the few truly momentous votes facing this country and the Congress today. The decision we face is in a class of votes like that of a declaration of war. The vote this afternoon will be a vote to end a war. For more than 28 years, the national debt and the special interest groups that feed off the taxpayers have waged a war against our economy and, most importantly, a brutal war against the integrity of the investment of the senior citizens and the opportunity of our children and our Nation's future. The spoils of that war is a $5.3 trillion debt. That debt fuels inflation and squeezes the senior community that lives on fixed incomes. That debt already depresses wages and living standards of the working families. More than one-half of all personal income taxes paid--let me repeat that, Mr. President--more than one-half of all personal income taxes that are paid today go to pay interest on debt alone. The costs of unbalanced budgets will be the most oppressive to our children. A child born today will pay nearly $200,000 in additional taxes, not to pay down the debt, but to pay interest on that debt. Under today's trends, when a child born today is fully grown and reaches his or her most productive years, not just the Government, but the entire economy could well be in bankruptcy.”