Political Quotes

“Madam President, in a short while, we will vote on two balanced budget amendments to the Constitution, at least one of which will be a true balanced budget amendment. One of those amendments, S.J. Res. 10, the amendment supported by every Senate Republican, addresses the fundamental crisis of our time; that is, the crisis of exploding debt caused by excessive spending. The other amendment does not address that crisis and, therefore, cannot put this country back on a sound fiscal footing. The votes we cast today will tell the American people whether we honestly acknowledge the fiscal crisis posed by our $15 trillion national debt and whether we are serious about prescribing an effective cure. Exploding budget deficits and skyrocketing national debt are symptoms of an addiction to overspending. A real solution must address the real cause of this crisis, not just its symptoms. Congress will not kick its overspending addiction alone but only if required to do so by the Constitution itself. One of the amendments before us today, S.J. Res. 24, simply cannot be a solution because it does not address the overspending that causes this crisis. This amendment, offered by my colleague from Colorado, Senator Udall, on behalf of the Democrats, purports to require balanced budgets but, for purely political reasons, explicitly exempts significant portions of the very government spending that will most aggressively drive our future debt.…”