Orrin Hatch: “I care a great deal for my colleague from Colorado, and I appreciate his explanation of his amendment. Unfortunately, as…”

“I care a great deal for my colleague from Colorado, and I appreciate his explanation of his amendment. Unfortunately, as I view his amendment, it might work as long as you accept the rachet up of spending and taxing. That is what we are trying to stop around here. His S.J. Res 24 would be a band-aid on the system. It does not address the cause of our unbalanced budgets. An amendment that does not limit spending and does not limit taxes will never solve this crisis. It is just that simple. And to work, they have to use budget gimmicks. I wish to begin by thanking my friend, the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Grassley. In his service on the committee, he has always been a champion of our limited government, and with his remarks today he has again proven himself a strong advocate of constitutional government. So, too, my good friend and collaborator on a balanced budget amendment, Senator Cornyn, deserves recognition, as well as my partner in the Senate, Mike Lee, and a whole raft of others--47, to be exact. Earlier today, Senator Cornyn highlighted admirably the threat our debt poses to the liberty and prosperity of all of America's citizens. And although he has not spoken yet, I know in advance that my friend and colleague from Utah, Senator Mike Lee, with whom I worked closely in drafting S.J.…”