Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2011

Floor Speech

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Mr. WOMACK. I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I've had the privilege of serving Arkansas' Third District now for a little more than 6 months in this Congress. And I can still hear the voices of those people who sent me here. Their voices said, Steve, you've got to go to Washington and you've got to cut spending. You've got to empower the private sector. You've got to reduce the size of government. You've got to get to Washington and help put us back to work. Those same conversations at home at the kitchen table, people discussing their personal budgets, saying to me that, I have to live within my means, why doesn't Washington?

Mr. Speaker, to each of these comments I say, we have an answer. It's a trifecta, if you will. It's called Cut, Cap, and Balance.

Mr. Speaker, I realize I've only been here a short time, but I know full well how Washington works. And I know that this concept is foreign to the many people who have been here down through the years. But if you look around and take an objective view, you will know that the only way to bring legitimate control to the irresponsible fiscal behavior of Washington, D.C., the only way to restore the integrity of this Chamber, to restore the confidence in the people we serve, is to make it constitutional, a balanced budget amendment.

No gimmicks, Mr. Speaker. No hollow promises. Simple language that rank-and-file Americans can wrap their heads around: a constitutional requirement for this country to balance its books.

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