The 1974 Budget Act cannot be fixed. Tinkering won't do the job. The 104th Congress ought to repeal the act before it does more damage to our national economy. The centerpiece of any budget reform quite clearly is an amendment to the Constitution outlawing deficit spending. Most everyone on this Committee is keenly aware of the need for a balanced budget requirement, so I will not long dwell on the subject.
Deficit spending is an unconscionable form of fiscal child abuse.
There are hundreds of groups in Washington that pretend to speak for the interests of children. The single most pro-child policy that any of us can pursue in Washington today is to reduce the crushing burden of debt our government is now preparing to place on the next generation's backs. I sincerely wish that we did not need a constitutional amendment to solve Washington's addiction to red ink. No one really believes this. If the amendment were a gimmick, Congress would have approved it long ago.