Pete Domenici: “If there is anything that ought to convince us that we need a constitutional amendment for a balanced budget, it is the…”

“If there is anything that ought to convince us that we need a constitutional amendment for a balanced budget, it is the President's budget that he put out officially this morning. It is hard to have all the details. But I would like to state for the Senate and for the American people just a few observations and perceptions about this budget which the President has presented. First, I want to say that, to the extent that we can, we ought to work with the President. We ought to try. Normally, President's budgets have been declared dead on arrival. When the Republicans were in the White House the Democrats said that. I do not want to say that. But I would say that this budget is on life supports. There is no question about that. It is not dead, but it is on life supports. There are a few concepts in it that we ought to build on. There is no deficit reduction of any significance; nothing for our children at all. The President in his remarks on this says this is good for the American dream, and then proceeds to talk about middle-class Americans who will be helped, et cetera. But he forgets to say this budget is an antichildren of the future of America budget. Right now we believe every man, woman, and child is indebted $18,000 for the debt that we have been incurring without regard to their future--man, woman, and child.”