Patty Murray: “Mr. President, I rise today despite the fact I have laryngitis, and it is hard to speak, I do speak loudly today in…”

“Mr. President, I rise today despite the fact I have laryngitis, and it is hard to speak, I do speak loudly today in opposition to the balanced budget amendment. Last year, the President sent to Congress a bold plan to reduce the Federal deficit. It reversed the course of the past 12 years of reckless borrow-and-spend policies. It took the deficit head on. And, it is working. It is working, Mr. President, even better than the most wide-eyed economists thought possible. It is working because we made tough decisions to cut spending programs. It took courage, discipline, and common sense. And we need more of it this year, especially as we consider health care reform. But the balanced budget amendment takes no courage, no discipline, and no common sense. It denies the Federal Government--in other words, the people of this country--the basic practice most businesses and families use across this country to stay strong and solvent.”