Joe Barton: “Mr. Chairman, first, let me say that I want to congratulate my distinguished chief cosponsor, the gentleman from…”

“Mr. Chairman, first, let me say that I want to congratulate my distinguished chief cosponsor, the gentleman from Louisiana [Mr. Tauzin] for his leadership, and I want to compliment the leaders of the opposition, the gentleman from West Virginia [Mr. Wise] and the gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. Price], for their gentlemanly conduct during the debate today. We have made the case for a balanced budget amendment. There have been few, if any, speakers who have come to the floor either today or yesterday and said we should not attempt to balance the budget. The real question is how we should go about balancing the budget. The gentleman from Louisiana [Mr. Tauzin] and myself and the other 198 Members of the House who voted last year for tax limitation, I think the majority of the House is going to vote this year for tax limitation, and say that tax limitation needs to be a part of any amendment that requires a balanced budget to the Constitution of the United States. Why is that? Quite simply because tax limitation works.”