Lamar Smith: “First of all, I thank the gentleman from Virginia, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, for yielding me time and…”

“First of all, I thank the gentleman from Virginia, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, for yielding me time and also for his tireless efforts over the years to pass a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. Mr. Speaker, today the House of Representatives votes to protect future generations from our debilitating debt. Thomas Jefferson believed that ``the public debt is the greatest of dangers to be feared.'' He wished ``it were possible to obtain a single amendment to our Constitution taking from the Federal Government the power of borrowing.'' It is past time that we listen to Jefferson's commonsense advice. American families balance their checkbooks. States and local governments balance their budgets. So should the Federal Government. The last balanced budget occurred in the 1990s. The previous balanced budget was during the Eisenhower administration. Surely it is not too much to ask that we take a major step towards having a balanced budget in our future. Mr. Speaker, only a balanced budget amendment wil guarantee that the Federal Government puts its fiscal house in order and keeps it that way.”