Mark Hatfield: “on February 8, 1995, I addressed the Senate regarding my views on a constitutional amendment that would require a…”

“on February 8, 1995, I addressed the Senate regarding my views on a constitutional amendment that would require a balanced Federal budget. I stated at that time that I was opposed to an amendment to do something that can be done without a change to the Constitution. My position on this matter, some 13 months later, has not changed. However, I would like to take a few moments to point out some things that have changed over the past 13 months. The first is that the 104th Congress, with a majority of Republicans in each Chamber, voted and passed legislation which would have balanced the budget by 2002. That legislation contained painful decisions for all Members--Democrats and Republicans. But in the end, Congress was able to do something that few people thought was politically possible, it passed a balanced budget. I think it is important to note that the success in the Senate and House of this effort was due in large part to the outstanding leadership of Majority Leader Dole, and Speaker Gingrich, as well as Senator Domenici and Congressman Kasich as the chairmen of the respective Senate and House Budget Committees. Despite the achievements by the Congress to pass legislation which would have lead to a balanced budget by 2002, this bill was vetoed by the President.”