Orrin Hatch

The President himself, in his budget, says by the fourth and fifth year, 75 percent of the savings or cuts, whatever, have to be obtained in the 2 years after he leaves office.

It is easy to bring the deficit down when you pass the largest tax increase in history, and when you have just ended paying for the savings and loan crisis. But, we still have, for the next 4 years, the deficit going back up. Only in…

The only gimmicks I have seen are the gimmicks of these amendments that are really filed for one purpose and that is to cover what really is a very difficult vote, voting against the balanced budget amendment.

Senator Kennedy's amendment would allow the Federal Government to imprison any taxpayer who declines to pay an unconstitutional tax. His amendment is materially different from Senator Nunn's amendment 2 years ago. So I am very concerned…

Let me just say for the sake of this debate, if the Senator were willing to vote for the balanced budget amendment, I would accept his amendment because I think three-quarters of the States would ratify this amendment within the 3-year…

This motion would alter the constitutional amendment and make it into a statute. I do not know if we need to say anything more because we are debating a constitutional amendment. The distinguished Senator from Arkansas is very ingenious…

I have to say, that I do not see the wisdom in departing from the longstanding 7-year standard that this resolution reflects. The 18th amendment, ratified in 1921, was the first constitutional amendment to contain a time limitation of any…

we have before us an amendment that contains three separate changes to the balanced budget amendment. I do not believe that any of these three changes would be appropriate. I don't think they are wise or necessary, and so I have to oppose…

I listened to my colleague, and I know she is sincere. But I have to point out that her amendment, like all of the others, is just another way of making sure the balanced budget amendment has no effect. Let me read it to the people: At the…

Well, I think the Senator raises a very good point, which is that there are some who say that we ought to balance the budget like the States. Well, there are 44 States that have balanced budget amendments. First, that is a difference…

Mr. President, the balanced budget amendment was written by both sides of the floor. This amendment has been developed over a period of almost 40 years. It has taken both Republicans and Democrats to do it. It is a bipartisan amendment…

Let me just say this in response. The fact of the matter is, I do not think anybody escapes responsibility. But I know one thing, the Reagan tax cuts resulted in an increase of revenues because there was more opportunity, more investment…

I am not particularly picking on Presidents today. I am picking on us. The President can propose but we dispose. We are the ones who create these appropriations bills and these budget bills. We are the ones who have done the spending. We…

there may be some responsible economists who are for putting capital budgets into the Federal Government's budget process. I personally do not know of any. If there are, I do not think that their arguments would stand up. To compare the…

That the Senator came across the line and actually produced 40 percent more revenues than they thought. The problem is we kept spending.

if I could answer that, I would be more than happy to. First of all, these are not props. These are real books. These are real unbalanced budgets, 28 of them.

Senator Dorgan's substitute, simply put, would add to Senate Joint Resolution 1 language that would exempt Social Security from the requirement that ``total outlays for any fiscal year not exceed total receipts for that fiscal year,''…

If I can just finish? These books were created by us, these 28 years of deficits. I am saying we have to do something to help us to be responsible. If we do that, the President, whoever that President may be--whether that President is a…

Wait, it wasn't Republicans in charge. We didn't originate those money bills. Or did we?

That is real debt. And let us just understand the basic principle of government. The President proposes, whoever that President may be, but the Congress disposes. To be honest with you, Reagan's tax cuts involved 40 percent growth in…

it is my fervent hope that during the debate over the proposed exemption of the Social Security funds from the requirements of Senate Joint Resolution 1, I have convinced my colleagues to support the balanced budget amendment. As Justice…

Furthermore, to nail the point home, the nonpartisan Concord Coalition entered the fray. In a memorandum dated February 18, 1997, the Coalition concluded that the Senate position--that if the balanced budget amendment does not exempt…

The Social Security FICA tax receipts are used to pay benefits, and any excess is, by law, loaned to the Treasury to pay other Federal obligations in exchange for Treasury bonds. These bonds are interest-bearing bonds. That is all. They…

Trust fund accounting is, and always has been, an arbitrary legislative artifact. Whether a trust fund is in surplus or deficit has little economic relevance. What does matter is the net difference between total Federal revenues and…

The Reid amendment will make it harder to balance the budget. And it will harm not only Social Security, but other social programs. Furthermore, in another paradox, the exclusion of the present-day surpluses in the budget would make it…