Balanced Budget Amendment Key to Long-Term Fiscal Responsibility

The federal government is currently borrowing close to forty cents of every dollar that it spends.  Our $14 trillion national debt has grown to be as large as our entire economy.  There have been previous attempts in Congress, such as the $800 billion stimulus plan in 2009, to borrow and spend our way to prosperity.  This approach, which I have opposed, has failed.  Instead of strengthening and expanding our nation’s economy, this approach has created a fiscal climate in which every child born in America today immediately inherits a $47,000 share of our country’s debt.          

One of the most important actions that Congress can take, to restore fiscal sanity to Washington for generations to come, is to adopt a balanced budget amendment to the United States Constitution.  I have cosponsored a version of a balanced budget amendment every session since being elected to Congress. 

This session I am a cosponsor of two versions of a balanced budget amendment, House Joint Resolution 1 (H.J. Res. 1) and House Joint Resolution 2 (H.J. Res. 2).  Both proposals would impose a similar requirement for annually adopting a balanced budget, as currently exists in 49 states, recognizing a common-sense exception for defense under limited circumstances.  H.J. Res. 1 currently has 133 cosponsors in the House.  H.J. Res. 2 has 242 bipartisan cosponsors.      

The idea of a balanced budget amendment is not new.  One of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, was a strong proponent of the idea.  “I wish it were possible to obtain a single amendment to our Constitution,” he wrote in reference to a balanced budget requirement.  “I would be willing to depend on that alone for the reduction of the administration of our government.”

More recently, in 1995, following passage by the United States House of Representatives, the United States Senate came within one vote of sending a version of a balanced budget amendment to the states for ratification.  Since then, our total national debt has nearly tripled.   

Ultimately, to secure passage of an amendment to the Constitution, a proposal must pass both the House and Senate by a 2/3rds vote.  Then, 3/4ths of all state legislatures must ratify the amendment. 

The recent debt ceiling agreement – known as the “Budget Control Act” - included a provision to ensure that supporters of a balanced budget amendment have a legitimate opportunity to advocate for the amendment’s passage.  Specifically, the Budget Control Act requires that an up-or-down vote on a balanced budget amendment must occur in the House and Senate prior to December 31 of this year.  This vote is scheduled to occur this week in the House.  Importantly, if a proposed balanced budget amendment passes the House or Senate, the other body is then required to hold an up-or-down vote on the exact same proposal. 

As we approach this vote, I will continue to actively advocate for the adoption of a responsible balanced budget amendment to the United States Constitution.  Such an amendment will help to restore fiscal integrity in Washington, boost confidence in the American economy, and stop Washington’s practice of saddling future generations with insurmountable levels of debt. 

The adoption of a balanced budget amendment has the strong support of the overwhelming majority of Americans.  It is long overdue for Congress to heed the will of the American people.  My colleagues and I must adopt a balanced budget amendment and thereby allow our nation’s state legislatures the opportunity to ratify this common-sense addition to our Constitution.