Bob Kerrey: “I do not intend to support this constitutional amendment. During previous debates on this issue, I have said that I…”

“I do not intend to support this constitutional amendment. During previous debates on this issue, I have said that I believe that an amendment dictating a balanced budget does not belong in our Constitution but that the path to balance belongs in our laws. I continue to believe that. And, I hope I am not being too optimistic when I say that I honestly believe we have an opportunity to set our budget on the path to balance this year through legislation and we have the chance to do so in a reasoned and bipartisan way. I believe it is important to balance the budget as a way to promote economic growth. And any effort to achieve a balanced budget must be done fairly and equitably. But I'm not convinced that the constitutional amendment before us will ensure a budget balanced fairly or a budget that will ensure economic growth. In particular, I do not think it is wise to require a three-fifths vote to waive this amendment in times of economic emergency. This gives entirely too much power to larger population States in the House and would hurt smaller States like my home State of Nebraska. In addition, the national security waiver provision in this amendment is too restrictive. And, I do not think it is a good idea to allow Congress to rely on estimates to determine whether or not the budget is in balance. As previous experience has shown us, when you lead with estimates, gimmicks are soon to follow.”