The 1974 Budget Act cannot be fixed. Tinkering won't do the trick. Congress ought to repeal the act before it does more damage to our national economy. The centerpiece of any budget reform quite clearly should be an amendment to the Constitution outlawing deficit spending. Most members of this committee are keenly aware of the need for a balanced-budget requirement, so I will not dwell on it.
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 cure Washington's addiction to red ink. No one really believes that. If the amendment were a gimmick, Congress would have approved it long ago.