FORGET DISCIPLINE, PASS A LAW:

Gramm's former student Hensarling picks up the cause (Carl P. Leubsdorf, May 4, 2004, Jewish World Review)

A quarter-century after a Texas A&M economics professor named Phil Gramm arrived in Congress and immediately declared war on federal spending, his one-time student, freshman Rep. Jeb Hensarling, is pursuing a similar course.

In his first term, the Dallas Republican has become a leader in efforts to limit spending, just as Gramm did as a freshman. Given the partisan acrimony and narrow majorities in Congress, he is likely to find the task every bit as hard as Gramm, who enjoyed a mix of successes and setbacks.

Still, Hensarling seems both determined to do his part and realistic about the barriers.

It's like the time his father asked him to clean up the chicken house on the family poultry farm, the 46-year-old congressman said.

"What I discovered was one does not clean up overnight what took many years to accumulate," he explained. "And that observation ... is also valid in the United States Congress. We're not going to clean up overnight what took years and years to accumulate in this place. But we're working on it."

Last month, Hensarling waged a spirited but losing bid on the House floor to reduce spending in next year's budget. Next month, he hopes to win House passage of a measure to strengthen the budget process by making congressional budgets binding.

The only realistic way to impose budget discipline is with a four part constitutional amendment:

(1) Establishing either a flat tax or consumption tax as the source of government revenue

(2) Requiring a supermajority for subsequent hikes in the established tax rates.

(3) Requiring that the budget be balanced or that across the board cuts be imposed on every federal spending program.

(4) Providing the president with a line-item veto.

Posted by Orrin Judd at May 4, 2004 12:21 PM