Tim Scott: “I rise in opposition to today's constitutional amendment. If this proposal to amend the Constitution is intended to be…”

“I rise in opposition to today's constitutional amendment. If this proposal to amend the Constitution is intended to be anything more than an April 15 political gimmick, there is great reason for concern on policy grounds, particularly two. First of all, we have to note what the amendment does because it is a recipe for fiscal disaster. This amendment will allow unlimited new spending based on a simple majority vote. However, to pay for that new spending will require a two-thirds vote. A lot has been said about the vote in 1993. I would point out that our deficit at that time was $260 billion, and that vote has been responsible for reducing the deficit down to where we have a technical surplus right now. So if we want to allow unlimited additional spending on a simple majority vote, we ought to have the ability to pay for it by the same vote, not risk requiring a supermajority. The other thing is, this thing locks in corporate loopholes.”