J. Exon: “my colleagues know that I am a long-time supporter of the balanced budget constitutional amendment. We have tried…”

“my colleagues know that I am a long-time supporter of the balanced budget constitutional amendment. We have tried numerous other remedies, but they have failed to restrain our buy-now-and-pay-later habits. We have only proved how clever we are in creating loopholes and dodging the spending limits. I believe that the balanced budget amendment is our only hope; it is our last hope to break the cycle of runaway Federal spending. However, too many people deal with the balanced budget amendment in the abstract. They will not face up to the harsh reality that goes along with it. They are queasy about telling the American people about the sacrifices that will be involved. The real work begins after we pass the balanced budget amendment. Passage of the legislation is merely a prologue to the really tough decisions that we have to make. We will have to roll up our sleeves and begin in earnest to cut spending. The problem, Mr. President, is this: We have a distorted picture of how much is available for us to cut. I will try in these remarks to let the sunlight of straight talk shine in, revealing fully and honestly our task. It was swept under the rug in the House. We must not allow that to happen in the Senate. Mr. President, the spending pool looks much bigger and deeper than it really is. It would be prudent to test the waters before we dive in.”