82R3838 CBE-D
 
  By: Elkins H.C.R. No. 39
 
 
 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
         WHEREAS, Federal spending continues to outpace revenues, and
  for the third consecutive year, the United States is expected to
  post a budget deficit of more than $1 trillion; and
         WHEREAS, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike
  Mullen, has called the national debt "our biggest national security
  threat"; crushing debt not only diminishes America's role in the
  world and its ability to solve global problems, it threatens the
  American way of life and limits the future of our children; and
         WHEREAS, The issue must be addressed, but not through higher
  taxes; although it has been argued that added tax revenues would be
  used to reduce the deficit, research shows that, in fact, every
  dollar of new taxes leads to more than one dollar of new spending by
  Congress; and
         WHEREAS, It is imperative that the United States restore
  fiscal responsibility, but without strict guidelines, Congress is
  unlikely to make the tough choices that are necessary to control
  spending; the time has come to require the government not to spend
  more than it receives in revenues, and the most effective way to do
  that is through a federal balanced budget amendment; now,
  therefore, be it
         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 to provide for a federal balanced
  budget; and, be it further
         RESOLVED, That the legislature urge Congress to cap the
  maximum income tax rate at 15 percent so that all federal taxes
  withheld from an individual's wages, including Social Security and
  Medicare, cannot exceed 15 percent; and, be it further
         RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
  copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
  the president of the Senate and speaker of the House of
  Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the
  members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that
  this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a
  memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.