Lloyd Bentsen: “many have argued that we must amend our Constitution to stop us from spending more than we take in. But few, if any…”

“many have argued that we must amend our Constitution to stop us from spending more than we take in. But few, if any, have actually submitted a balanced budget. I believe in a balanced budget, but I also believe in full and fair disclosure. Today I am introducing a bill, H.R. 567, which would require the President to submit, and the Congress to consider, a balanced budget. Unlike bills which will be considered by the House next week, my bill would actually mandate the submission and the consideration of a balanced budget. The so-called balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution would not mandate such consideration and, in fact, provide a loophole that you could drive a beer truck through. Both the Barton and Stenholm amendments would allow the Congress to waive the amendment in order to either raise taxes or sell debt to fund the deficit. Neither amendment would take effect until 2002. My bill would go into effect immediately for the next budget for fiscal year 1997. How many billions might we save if we could achieve a balanced budget by fiscal year 1997 instead of 2002? Finally, and most importantly, my bill would allow for the American people to enter into the debate on a balanced budget. Unlike others, my bill would provide for the presentation to the American people of the actual numbers, the cuts, to a balanced budget. The other bills only tell us to balance the budget and give us a waiver to avoid it.”