Norvell Emerson: “I rise today to offer my strong support for the Stenholm-Smith amendment to the U.S. Constitution to balance our budget.…”

“I rise today to offer my strong support for the Stenholm-Smith amendment to the U.S. Constitution to balance our budget. I have long been a staunch supporter of a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. I have cosponsored the balanced budget amendment since I came to Congress and am the current sponsor of House Joint Resolution 24, a resolution similar to the Stenholm-Smith amendment. I want to stress however that a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget is no substitute for direct action on the part of Congress. We have seen time and again that Congress does not have the ability to provide that action, and I believe we need this enforcement mechanism to get the job done. It is time to just say ``no''--and mean it--to the tax and spend policies that have gotten us into this mess to begin with. I believe the Stenholm-Smith proposal provides the necessary fiscal discipline to achieve this goal and urge adoption of this amendment.”