William Helms: “on numerous occasions I have mentioned to friends that evening in 1972 when I first was elected to the Senate. When the…”

“on numerous occasions I have mentioned to friends that evening in 1972 when I first was elected to the Senate. When the television networks reported that I had won the Senate race in North Carolina, I was stunned. Then I made several commitments to myself, one of them being that I would never fail to see a young person, or a group of young people, who wanted to see me. I have kept that commitment and it has proved enormously beneficial to me because I have been inspired by the estimated 60,000 young people with whom I have visited during the 23 years I have been in the Senate. A large percentage of them have been concerned about the Federal debt which recently exceeded $5 trillion. Of course, Congress is responsible for creating this monstrous debt which coming generations will have to pay. Mr. President, the young people and I almost always discuss the fact that under the U.S. Constitution, no President can spend a dime of Federal money that has not first been authorized and appropriated by both the House and Senate of the United States. That is why I began making these daily reports to the Senate on February 25, 1992. I decided that it was important that a daily record be made of the precise size of the Federal debt which, at the close of business yesterday, Wednesday, March 13, stood at $5,025,887,532,178.79. This amounts to $19,076.70 for every man, woman and child in America on a per capita basis.”