Balanced Budget Amendment

Floor Speech

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Mr. BANKS of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of a balanced budget amendment which should be one of several steps that we take in Congress to control spending.

As a State senator, I worked with Governors Mitch Daniels and Mike Pence to balance Indiana's budget every single year, while lowering taxes and investing in key priorities. Today, Indiana has a $1.8 billion rainy-day fund and a AAA credit rating. Sadly, Washington, D.C., has not followed Indiana's example.

According to the latest estimates from the CBO, the Federal Government is set to run $82 trillion in deficits over the next 30 years. This is simply unsustainable. We cannot allow this crippling debt that will burden our children and grandchildren to continue growing.

In the short term, I applaud the Trump administration's decision to use the rescission tool to rein in Federal spending. The legislation that we are considering today, which would force Congress to balance the budget, should be part of a comprehensive effort to address spending and get America's finances back in order.

This amendment will ensure Congress has no excuses and reforms the broken congressional budget process. Hoosier families know how to live within their means and follow a budget, and Washington ought to do the same.

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