“This persistent push to put our fiscal crisis off until tomorrow is unacceptable and must end now.”

Click here to watch the speech.

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) spoke on the floor of the U.S. Senate about the need to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution:

Excerpts of his remarks are below:

“Amending the Constitution is not something to be undertaken lightly. The Constitution is the highest law of this great land. It has been amended infrequently, and almost always at times of crisis. I support a Balanced Budget Amendment to our Constitution because now is just such a time.

“Every day, Washington borrows 4.1 billion dollars more. It borrowed over 4.1 billion dollars yesterday. It will borrow 4.1 billion dollars today. And will borrow 4.1 billion dollars again tomorrow. That’s over $2 million a minute – every minute.

“Washington did it yesterday. Washington did it today. Washington will do it tomorrow.

“Of every dollar Washington spends, 41 cents is borrowed. Much of it is borrowed from China. Every American child born today, and tomorrow, and the next day, is born with a debt of over $45,000.

“Next year, of every dollar Washington spends, 68 cents will go for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and interest on the debt.

“If we as a nation continue down this path, Washington will spend all of what it takes in on these items alone – everything else, from Defense to Education, will be paid for on a budget of borrowed money.

“And debt isn’t just a disaster for the distant future. Our debt is unsustainable and irresponsible, and even our military leaders have condemned it. Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said ‘The biggest threat to our National Security is our debt.’

“The debt is the threat.  We do not and we should not take the biggest threat to our National Security lightly.

“The amount of debt that we owe right now today is so high that it’s hurting our employment at home. Experts tell us our debt is costing us a million jobs. Spending like this makes it harder for the private sector to create new jobs.

“Everyone claims to understand that this situation is irresponsible and is unsustainable. Back in February of 2009, the President called experts to the White House for what he called a ‘fiscal responsibility summit.’ In his opening remarks, this is what the President had to say:

“Contrary to the prevailing wisdom in Washington these past few years,’ he said, ‘we cannot simply spend as we please, and defer the consequences to the next budget, the next Administration, or the next generation.’

“Well, I agreed with the President – he was right; so my question to the President is: what have you done about it?

“One thing he’s done is call together a debt commission. Late last year, that debt commission released their report on America’s fiscal situation and the findings were sobering. According to the report, they said, ‘The problem is real. The solution will be painful. There is no easy way out. Everything must be on the table.’

“You know what else they said? They also said, ‘Washington must lead.’

“Washington has not led.

“Instead, the administration has offered nothing but empty promises. As the White House makes promise after promise in speech after speech with no action to back it up, it is clearer than ever that in Washington, spoken promises have become broken promises.

“This persistent push to put our fiscal crisis off until tomorrow is unacceptable and must end now. The first step towards doing that should be to pass an amendment to our Constitution requiring Washington to balance its budget.

“A Balanced Budget amendment would require Washington to spend no more money than it takes in each and every year. Such an amendment would force Washington to live within its means. We cannot afford to continue to mortgage our children’s future to pay for Washington’s fiscal failures.

“Such an amendment would transform the kind of irresponsible spending that goes on today in this very body into an impeachable violation of every legislator’s Constitutional oath of office.

“The American people have overwhelmingly spoken on the wisdom of this approach. A recent poll conducted by Sachs/Mason Dixon shows that 65 percent of Americans support a Balanced Budget Amendment.

“When the American people call for Washington to lead in numbers that big, it’s time for Washington to listen. Every single member of my party agrees. That’s why all 47 Republican members of this body have cosponsored the Balanced Budget Amendment.

“The American people are behind us, and they want us to act. Meanwhile, the administration and its allies on the other side of the aisle have offered nothing but more empty rhetoric and more of the same tax-and-spend policies that made this economic situation worse.

“They want a blank check to spend as they desire, and they’re not gonna get it from me – not without specific reforms that will introduce accountability into this broken Washington process.

“A Balanced Budget Amendment will not solve every problem, but it’s a critical step in the right direction. It would ensure that Washington is constitutionally obligated to avoid the reckless overspending of the past.

“Our debt crisis didn’t surface overnight and certainly won’t be solved without a great deal of additional work. Before any of that work can be done, Washington has to learn to live within its means the way families all across this great country do.

“It’s time we show the American people that they can trust their government with their money again. It’s time we lead today instead of deferring leadership until tomorrow. It is time we show the same courage our Founding Fathers did when this country was on the verge of financial collapse. It is time for a Balanced Budget Constitutional Amendment.”

###