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WASHINGTON — Ahead of the upcoming Senate vote, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, spoke on the Senate floor today to urge his colleagues to support a strong Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA) to the Constitution. Earlier this year Senate Republicans unveiled a consensus BBA that relied heavily on a proposal introduced earlier by Sen. Cornyn. The following are excerpts from Sen. Cornyn’s speech, you can watch the full speech here. President Obama Ignores His Own Bipartisan Fiscal Commission “As I said, the American people are absolutely repulsed by the idea that Congress continues to spend forty cents out of every dollar that it spends in borrowed money. “President Obama understands this very well. “That's why he appointed a bipartisan fiscal commission, now called the Simpson-Bowles Commission, that came up with $4 trillion in debt reduction along with other recommendations like tax reform which would make us more competitive globally. “But in December 2010 when that report was rendered, what has the President done with regard to that report that got bipartisan support? The President walked away from it. He walked away from it. “What did he do when he gave his State of the Union speech shortly thereafter?  He didn't even mention it. “What did he do?  Did he come up with a counterproposal or a different proposal? “No, he held back - waited until the Chairman of the House Budget Committee Paul Ryan and House Republicans passed a budget out of the House, something that has not happened in the Senate for more than 900 days, and the President attacked. “He engaged in scare tactics that really, I believe, are beneath the dignity and responsibility of the office of President of the United States.Supporting a Strong Balanced Budget Amendment “Let's remember that the disease here in Washington that the balanced budget amendment is designed to cure is out-of-control federal spending, and big deficits are just a symptom of that disease. “Any doctor will tell you that just treating the symptom doesn't treat the disease, and without treating the underlying causes of those symptoms we would not be making matters better. “We would just be creating, again, another illusion of a solution. “The strong balanced budget amendment which I support along with 46 of my Republican colleagues - and I hope a significant showing on the other side - will treat the disease along with the symptoms. “An amendment with too many exceptions and loopholes will not. Cornyn Tells President ‘We are Americans First’ “When the President of the United States invited the Republican Conference over to his executive office building several months back, he asked for ideas around the table. “And several of us, including me, told him ‘Mr. President if you would embrace solutions to solving these problems, we would work with you, because we are Americans first and not members of a political party first.’ “We are Americans. We didn't come here just to posture and to act like we're solving a problem while doing nothing. We actually are willing to do it, because frankly, we're concerned. And many of us are beyond concerned. We're scared.The American People Will Have the Final Say “Ultimately, Madam President, the American people will have the final say on this.  “If we don't do it tomorrow, then the American people will have another chance to have an election and vote and presumably choose people who will deal with the problem. “So, the final word is not with members of Congress, although we can solve the problem tomorrow if we voted on it and we passed it, and encourage our colleagues in the House to pass it. Ultimately there will be an intervening election. “But ultimately beyond that the Constitution, which is the Constitution of ‘We the people of the United States,’ the people of the United States will have the final word.”