Rod Grams: “I rise in strong support of the Barton- Tauzin tax limitation balanced budget amendment. This substitute should really…”

“I rise in strong support of the Barton- Tauzin tax limitation balanced budget amendment. This substitute should really be called the taxpayer protection amendment, because it protects taxpayers from a Congress looking for any excuse to raise taxes and preserve wasteful Government spending programs. And believe me, in this environment, taxpayers need all the protection they can get. By requiring a 60-percent super- majority vote for tax hikes, the Barton-Tauzin substitute would effectively prevent Congress from using the balanced budget amendment as an excuse to raise taxes. Instead, it would force this body to act on the real problem behind the deficit: uncontrolled Federal spending. If Congress had passed this amendment 2 years ago, we could have protected the American taxpayer from the largest tax increase in history. Let us not repeat that same mistake today. Vote to protect the American taxpayer. Vote for the Barton-Tauzin tax limitation substitute.”