Orrin Hatch: “Mr. President, I am here not to find personal fault with anybody, but I do want to talk about the Reid amendment because…”

“Mr. President, I am here not to find personal fault with anybody, but I do want to talk about the Reid amendment because it is merely a figleaf. The Reid amendment is simply a sham, a cover vote to allow Members to say to their constituents, the vast majority of whom want a balanced budget amendment and to whom they have been saying they will get a balanced budget amendment, that they supported something by that name. Proponents of the Simon-Hatch amendment are not alone in this assessment. The New York Times reported last Friday that 'the substitute version was intended to serve as a political figleaf that would allow some Senators to vote for the measure and then, after its near certain defeat, vote against the original version and still tell constituents they have supported a balanced budget amendment.'”