Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative John D. Dingell (D-MI15) issued the following floor statement for the record regarding his vote against H.J.Res. 2 – Balanced Budget Amendment:
“Mr. Speaker, once again we find ourselves confronted with a misguided proposal which will do nothing to help put Americans back to work. The title of the bill sounds reasonable and productive; there are not many members of this body who do not think we should make efforts to balance our budget. However, the impact this constitutional amendment would have on our economy is unacceptable, especially at a time when so many American workers find themselves out of a job.
“What would a balanced budget amendment mean for jobs? The non-partisan firm Macroeconomic Advisers released an analysis which concluded if such an amendment were law today it would result in 15 million more people being out of work. This would result in a doubling of the unemployment rate to 18 percent. Even worse, instead of promoting economic growth, which we all agree should be our top national priority, a balanced budget amendment would cause GDP to fall by 17 percent, sending our economy into a double-dip recession. Quite frankly, such an outcome is completely unacceptable.
“A balanced budget amendment would also decimate critical safety-net programs that low-income American families, seniors, veterans and the disabled rely on. On average Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, veterans’ disability payments and compensation, food stamps, defense programs, among others, would all see an average cut of 17.3 percent. Social Security would be prevented from using its reserves in the trust fund to pay out benefits and would see an almost $1.2 trillion cut, Medicare would be cut by $750 billion, veterans’ benefits would be cut by $85 billion. It appears that my Republican colleagues are prepared to break the promise of Social Security, Medicare and veterans’ benefits for a sound bite on cable news and a favor to extreme political parties. This is not what we have been elected to do.
“When I go back home to Michigan, my constituents are asking for swift action to create jobs. They want Washington to come up with common-sense solutions to the problems they face every day. Instead, today we are voting on radically amending our nation’s most sacred document, the Constitution, for only the 29th time. Such a course should be taken only when it is in the interests of all Americans, and not to pursue a narrow, partisan agenda. I call on my colleagues to oppose this bill and to come together to do the work of the American people.”
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