Michael Enzi

Mr. ENZI

Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I rise in support of Senate Joint Resolution 1, the balanced budget amendment. I specifically chose the balanced budget bmendment as the focus of my first statement in this hallowed Chamber. I chose it because the need for a balanced budget is the most important issue facing all of America today. Without a balanced budget, our children will be saddled with a mountain of debt. Our children and grandchildren will be left with no hope of fulfilling their dreams and aspirations. Our Nation will be weakened and vulnerable. I know how to balance a budget. I'm an accountant. I have balanced budgets as a family man, a shoe store owner, a mayor, and a legislator. You and I know how easy it is to spend money. We know it's easier to say ``yes'' to programs than ``no.'' There is a constituency for every single program. But I have had to say ``no.'' We have a duty and a responsibility to our communities, our families and our children to live within our means. Right now we are spending more money than we are taking in. Overspending is a prescription for disaster. Almost any school child understands that if you spend more than your take in--you go broke. Because of the Federal Government's ability to print money, we can easily feel there are no spending limits. How can we pay the bills of a nation when we reach the point where interest payments on our debt exceed all the revenue? That scenario is possible. We are now on that course. Without restraint, that could happen even at an impossible 100 percent tax rate on the citizens of this great Nation. Governments go broke when they cannot afford the interest. The Federal Government must learn to live within its means. If we were not saddled with such enormous debt, we would have additional revenues to invest in the people and we could reduce the tax burden for every working man and woman in this country. Many States have a constitutional provision to balance the budget. Those States balance their budgets. It is time for us to require ourselves to balance the budget just as they now require the States to do. History shows we cannot balance the budget with willpower alone. It is time to look at the hard, cold facts. We now have a $5.2 trillion dollar Federal debt. The deficit looms so large. Many Americans voted for candidates based on their stand on this single issue. A balanced budget amendment was the key to voter confidence. Failure to support this issue will diminish that confidence and could lead to the defeat of other candidates in 2 years. The balance budget amendment would help end the frustrating impasse between Congress and the President by requiring that we agree on a budget that is balanced. A constitutional requirement will remove from debate the variable of how long it will take to balance the budget. The argument about whether we should balance it at all will be removed from the discussion. All Americans know that we have to work within the parameters of fiscal sanity. The balanced budget amendment will focus our effort and our attention. We have not had a balanced Federal budget since 1969. This fact alone illustrates the difficulty of balancing a budget without an amendment. By failing to balance the budget, we are giving in to the whims of the moment. Without a balanced budget we abandon the ideals of self- control, discipline, and hard work. When we do not balance a budget, we lead by the example of selfishness, recklessness and folly. We condone living beyond our means. Those opposed to a balanced budget amendment fear it would result in drastic cuts to programs they deem necessary. That is a very shortsighted view of the world. Only by balancing the Federal budget, however, can we guarantee long-term security to any Federal program, including Social Security. By balancing the budget, we do a great service for all Americans. We especially serve those living on fixed income retirement programs. When we pass and the States ratify this amendment, everyone will benefit. Interest rates will decrease. Inflation will be held in check. Business will have true growth. Jobs will increase. We need to pass this amendment with no gimmickry, no smoke and no mirrors. Any proposal to exempt Social Security would rule out the possibility of a true balanced budget. Any exemption of Social Security plays games with the future. We need to deal with the facts. Making Social Security exempt from this process would simply allow unlimited spending. An exemption would give the false pretense that we have a balanced budget. Getting our entitlement programs in good working order is essential. Finger pointing about who wants to cut entitlements are simply diversions. Sleights of hand over who wants to save entitlement programs are all political ploys. Don't let politics confuse the issue and stall the passage of this amendment. The economic future of America's families depends on what we do now. My family is very important to me. I know your families are important to you as well. Every day that passes without a balanced budget hurts. The responsibility of the debt falls on the shoulders of our children and our grandchildren. Will we leave them a legacy of colossal debt totaling more than $5.2 trillion? That incredible debt will burden generations to come. Our kids and grandkids will have an enormous tax burden. They will inherit an economy so weak and a debt so large there will be no hope of them ever paying it off. When I was going to grade school, we spent a lot of time on the enormousness of a million dollars. I've always been fascinated with Carl Sagan's emphasis of the difference between a million and a billion. Now we roll a trillion off our tongues with great ease; $5.2 trillion. This is the cruelest of all legacies. That debt we are incurring for our kids amounts to taxation without representation. We mounted a revolution over that before. Our Founding Fathers would be embarrassed. We should imitate our forefathers in fulfilling our duty to our children and to our children's children. We must save them from the bondage of insurmountable taxes. If the balanced budget amendment fails, we lose. Future generations lose as well. It is time to heed the words of Thomas Jefferson, ``I place economy among the first and important virtues, and public debt as the greatest of dangers to be feared.'' President Jefferson knew the economic and moral importance of not owing anything to anyone. He also knew that a large public debt could make the United States a slave to other countries and foreign interests. Defeat is the real national danger on our horizon. The national security of the United States is threatened by the immense debt. We, as a nation, will be unable to protect ourselves against our enemies, foreign and domestic. And, we will be unable to protect Americans-- their jobs and their families. We cannot leave ourselves exposed to economic collapse. A world relies on us to get our economic house in order. If we--you and I--continue the practice of overspending, history will harshly judge us. We will say, ``We have met the enemy--and it is us.'' America has the best form of government on Earth. Now it requires responsibility from its leaders and citizens. The time for leadership is now. The time for the balanced budget amendment is now. The American people demand an end to runaway spending. We need to show the American people that we are responsible. This bill will prove restraint by constitutionally limiting the ability to spend taxpayer dollars. Let us not fail them or ourselves. We have the longest continuous government on the face of the Earth. This bill is a critical link to the future. We must preserve and protect our Nation and do it for our children and our grandchildren. This is the turning point. What will history say about each of us? I urge my colleagues to support the balanced budget amendment.