Orrin Hatch: “As a matter of fact, the American people did not mean this to be a mere Republican revolution. They said, look, we are…”

“As a matter of fact, the American people did not mean this to be a mere Republican revolution. They said, look, we are willing to try anything to get spending under control. And the polls do show that they believe Republicans will do a better job of getting spending under control. I believe one of the reasons why they believe that is a vast majority of Republicans in both bodies, almost every Republican in the House, almost every Republican in the Senate, is willing to vote for this balanced budget amendment and they knew it would be one of the first things we would bring up. But having said that, there were 72 courageous Democrats in the House of Representatives who voted for this amendment who are probably more moderate to liberal than most Republicans who voted to pass the balanced budget tax limitation constitutional amendment. That amendment is what we are debating right now. For the first time in the history of the country, the House of Representatives has voted to put into the Constitution a fiscal mechanism that will help us to reach a balanced budget.”