AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
The gravity of federal debt and federal obligations was established early in American history, with deficit occurring only in relation to extraordinary circumstances, such as war. Yet for much of the 20th century and into the 21st, the United States has operated on a budget deficit, including the 2010 budget year, which surpassed an astounding $1.3 trillion, an annual deficit that exceeded the entire gross state product of Texas.
The federal debt is greater than $14 trillion, a sum that if shared equally by each person in America would be a burden of over $45,000 per person, and yet the federal government continues to accrue debt.
The higher the deficit, the more the government must spend on paying interest on the debt. Compounding the problem is the use of deficit spending, which becomes a responsibility for future generations of Americans to assume without their consent.
Congress has attempted to set budgetary restraints for itself in the form of a balanced budget amendment. The proposal won wide support in 1995, failing by only one vote in the senate.
Many states have previously requested that Congress propose a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget, but Congress has proven to be unresponsive.
This growing burden of public debt is a threat to the nation's economic health, and action must be taken to restore fiscal responsibility. A balanced budget amendment would require the government not to spend more than it receives in revenues and compel lawmakers to carefully consider choices about spending and taxes. By encouraging spending control and discouraging deficit spending, a balanced budget amendment will help put the nation on the path to lasting prosperity.
RESOLVED
That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to propose and submit to the states for ratification an amendment to the United States Constitution providing that except during a war declared by the Congress of the United States pursuant to Article I, Section 8, Clause 11, United States Constitution, or other national emergency, the total of all federal appropriations for a fiscal year may not exceed the total of all estimated federal revenue for that fiscal year and providing for a spending limitation.
That the Texas Secretary of State forward official copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.