Political Quotes

“Any flexibility. But ``This provision gives Congress an appropriate degree of flexibility * * *'' What is an appropriate degree? ``* * * in fashioning necessary implementing legislation. For example, Congress could use estimates of receipts or outlays at the beginning of the fiscal year to determine whether the balanced budget requirement of section 1 would be satisfied, so long as the estimates were reasonable * * *'' What does that mean? ''* * * so long as the estimates were reasonable and made in good faith.'' Again, let me refer to the all-knowing, omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent God. Only God knows what we are saying--what is in good faith. I cannot tell whether the Senator is acting in good faith. He does not know whether I am acting or speak in good faith. But so long as they are reasonable and made in good faith, Congress, then, could say that the requirement is satisfied. ``In addition, Congress could decide that a deficit caused by a temporary, self-correcting drop in receipts or increase in outlays during the fiscal year would not violate the article.'' So Congress can say that the article is not violated. Congress could say that it is all right to violate it. ``Similarly, Congress could state that very small or negligible deviations from a balanced budget would not represent a violation of section 1.'' How much is small? In a budget this year of $1.474 trillion, how much is small? Fifty billion dollars? Five billion dollars? Ten billion dollars?”