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Washington, D.C. – Congressman Jim Banks (IN-03) today spoke on the House floor in support of a balanced budget amendment. The House is expected to vote on the legislation this evening.
Click here to view Congressman Banks’ speech.
Text of the speech follows:
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of a balanced budget amendment, which should be one of several steps 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 year while lowering taxes and investing in key priorities.
Today, Indiana has a $1.8 billion rainy day fund and a triple-A credit rating.
Sadly, Washington has not followed Indiana’s example.
According to the latest estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, 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 consideration of using the rescission tool to rein in federal spending.
The legislation 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.
