William Helms: “the skyrocketing Federal debt, which long ago soared into the stratosphere, is in a category like the weather…”

“the skyrocketing Federal debt, which long ago soared into the stratosphere, is in a category like the weather-- everybody talks about it but scarcely anybody had undertaken the responsibility of trying to do anything about it. That is, not until immediately following the elections last November. When the new 104th Congress convened in January, the U.S. House of Representatives quickly approved a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In the Senate all but one of the 54 Republicans supported the balanced budget amendment; only 13 Democrats supported it. Since a two-thirds vote is necessary to approve a constitutional amendment, the proposed Senate amendment failed by one vote. There will be another vote later this year or next year. Mr. President, as of the close of business Friday, July 7, the Federal debt--down to the penny--stood at exactly $4,929,459,412,839.22 or $18,712.31 for every man, woman, and child on a per capita basis.”