Proposing An Amendment to the Constitution of the United States Requiring A Balanced Budget for the Federal Government

Floor Speech

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Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, the American people obviously have to be so confused about this debate because one side claims they are bringing us an amendment, the balanced budget amendment, and their history has been-- and I have been here for some time, but Ronald Reagan increased the budget by 189 percent.

Why do I say Ronald Reagan did it? Because he could have vetoed any spending bill, and we would not have overridden that veto.

In 2001, we cut taxes and were told by our Republican colleagues it would raise additional moneys. It did not.

Then some, particularly those who are claiming we made a deal and we are keeping it to get this constitutional amendment on the floor--what was the deal for? The deal was to vote for the big, bad bill, which created $4.7 trillion of additional deficit.

That is a tough way to want to balance the budget. We have a paying- for problem. That is the discipline, a paying-for problem, not a spending or revenue problem. What we have is a paying problem.

If we would pay for things, which presumably this constitutional amendment would seek, then we would not have this continuing deficit, but you and I both know we are not going to do that, and you haven't done it. We haven't done it.

Jodey Arrington is right to that extent. This is a problem where we do not recognize the real problems of why we are so deeply in debt, and we pretend cutting nickels and dimes will make a difference.

Now, they are big nickels and dimes. I get that, but the fact of the matter is, it is dishonest in my view for me or anybody else to come to the floor and say: I want to balance the budget and then vote for the largest creation of debt ever on this floor.

Mr. Speaker, I urge defeat of this amendment and defeat of the suspension bill.

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