Thomas Daschle: “as the Senate begins to debate the resolution to send to the States a proposed constitutional amendment to require a…”

“as the Senate begins to debate the resolution to send to the States a proposed constitutional amendment to require a balanced budget, I am hopeful it can also be an educational experience for both participants and spectators. Like the gulf war debate, I hope it will lead to an informed judgment for all of us. For it has been a debate that has gone on for centuries. The words of Andrew Jackson and Thomas Jefferson have always made sense to me. They did not believe in permanent debt. Jackson said, I am one of those who do not believe a national debt is a national blessing, but rather a curse to a republic; inasmuch as it is calculated to raise around the administration a moneyed aristocracy dangerous to the liberties of the country. I am sensitive to the significance of amending our Constitution and the care we should exercise when we propose to do so. In more than 200 years, the Constitution has been amended 27 times. Two of those occasions reflect the effort to annul with the 21st amendment the problems created by the 18th, prohibition. Passage of the repeal amendment could no more undo the damaged caused by Prohibition than it could turn back the clock. Throughout most of our history, the discipline of balanced budgets was part of our tradition. It was so much a part of the culture of government that no external discipline was necessary to enforce it. That has not been true for the last quarter century. The discipline of strong political parties has eroded.”