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Mr. HERGER. Mr. Speaker, the American people understand the basic principle that you can't spend money you don't have. They live that reality on a daily basis. Unfortunately, Congress has disregarded this idea, choosing instead to imagine that it could spend money endlessly without harming our economy or standard of living. The result is that we're now an unthinkable $15 trillion in debt. Some argue that we don't need to amend the Constitution for Washington to do its job.

I'm proud to say that I served on the Budget Committee in the late 1990s
when we produced four consecutive balanced budgets. But the sad truth is that this kind of fiscal responsibility has been all too rare in recent years. Ultimately, a balanced budget amendment will force Congress to be serious about addressing the core driver of our debt, which is the out-of-control growth of Federal entitlement spending.
As the President has acknowledged, no taxpayer would be willing to pay the amount required to sustain the exponential growth of entitlements, and no amount of budget gimmicks can hide this serious crisis. A balanced budget is a commonsense idea that governs our personal lives, and it should also be at the heart of how Congress operates. I strongly support the balanced budget amendment, and I urge the House to pass it.

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