Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, today I am reintroducing the Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
Mr. President, it is a New Year, a New Congress, and Americans are eager for a new direction for this country. They've seen federal spending increase by nearly $200 billion from fiscal year 2005 to 2006, they've watched the budget deficit swell into the hundreds of billions of dollars, and they've borne the costs of our broken tax code.
The New Year is the time for new solutions to these problems - new solutions that draw upon old principles of limited government, fiscal responsibility, and tax simplicity and fairness. We must get back to basics, look at the big picture of the federal spending crisis in our country, and begin to speak the language of fundamental reform instead of half-measures. We must not simply reduce the deficit, but eliminate it. We must not amend the tax code, but replace it. And we must not talk about limiting spending, but legally cap it.
In the coming months, I will address all three components of the federal spending crisis - including flat tax and budget process reform bills - but today, I begin with my Balanced Budget Amendment to the United States Constitution. For many Americans, one of the signs of our deep respect for the Constitution is our acknowledgement that, in exceptional cases, a problem rises to such a level that it can be adequately addressed only in the Constitution, by way of a Constitutional amendment. That time is upon us.
My Balanced Budget Amendment would require Congress to pass a balanced budget every year, ensure that Social Security surpluses are set aside exclusively to meet the future needs of beneficiaries, and require a supermajority in both the House and Senate to raise the nation's debt limit. In addition, it recognizes that national security is the priority of Congress by providing essential exceptions for war and imminent military threats.
Jefferson once said, "with respect to future debt; would it not be wise and just for that nation to declare in the constitution they are forming that neither the legislature, nor the nation itself can validly contract more debt than they may pay?" His logic is simple but right - and I urge you to join me in making fiscal responsibility constitutionally acceptable - and a habit - in Washington.
With the first piece of legislation I am introducing in the 110th Congress, I call on the Senate to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution - a Bill of Economic Rights for our future and our children.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a copy of this joint resolution, proposing a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution, appear in the Record with my statement.