Rob Portman: “over the years, Congress has shown itself incapable of controlling its spending habits without the remedy of a balanced…”

“over the years, Congress has shown itself incapable of controlling its spending habits without the remedy of a balanced budget requirement. Today, we have an opportunity to say ``yes'' to fiscal fitness. Let's take it. For the rest of America that has to balance household budgets and watch the bottomline, having Congress adopt an amendment that forces it to keep its own books balanced is just common sense. Some of the Founding Fathers--the architects of our Government-- thought it outright immoral for Congress to spend more than its anticipated revenues. Certainly, if they were standing here today, they would be astonished at the pathetic lack of discipline our Government has shown in building up trillions of dollars in debt. It's pretty simple: Congress on an annual basis can generate a budget surplus, a balanced budget, or a budget deficit. Congress has consistently chosen the budget deficit route and has failed to show fiscal constraint and the political courage that goes along with it. In the years since World War II, there have been only eight budget surpluses; every other year we have wallowed in the red mire of debt. There's ample precedent. The balanced budget requirement works in my State of Ohio as it does in 46 other States. On the Federal level, while this amendment will not solve the deficit problem single-handedly, it will give us a necessary tool to balance the budget each year.”