82R7794 KYF-F

By: Creighton H.J.R. No. 100

A JOINT RESOLUTION

applying to the Congress of the United States to call a convention to propose an amendment to the United States Constitution to require a balanced federal budget.

WHEREAS, The gravity of federal debt and federal obligations was established early in American history, with deficits 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; and

WHEREAS, 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; and

WHEREAS, The higher the deficit becomes, the more the government must pay in interest on the debt, and the use of deficit spending by the federal government compounds the problem of the national debt, which becomes the responsibility of future generations of Americans without their consent; and

WHEREAS, Many states have previously requested that Congress propose a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget, but Congress has proven to be unresponsive; anticipating situations in which Congress at times could fail to act, the drafters of the United States Constitution had the foresight to adopt the language in Article V that establishes that on application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states, Congress shall call a convention for proposing amendments; and

WHEREAS, A balanced budget amendment would require the government not to spend more than it receives in revenue 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; and

WHEREAS, The United States Constitution contains no restriction on the power of the federal government to incur a budget deficit; and

WHEREAS, Article V of the United States Constitution provides that on application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states Congress shall call a convention for proposing amendments to the constitution; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the 82nd Texas Legislature apply to Congress to call a convention under Article V of the United States Constitution for the exclusive purpose of proposing an amendment to the constitution providing that except in time of war 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, be it further

RESOLVED, That the 82nd Texas Legislature request Congress to propose and submit to the states for ratification an amendment to the constitution to provide for a balanced federal budget; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That, unless rescinded by a succeeding legislature, this application by the 82nd Texas Legislature constitutes a continuing application in accordance with Article V of the United States Constitution until at least two-thirds of the legislatures of the several states have applied to Congress to call a convention to propose an amendment to the constitution to provide for a balanced federal budget, but if Congress proposes and submits to the states for ratification a constitutional amendment identical in subject matter to that contained in this resolution, this application is no longer of any force; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That this application is rescinded in the event that a convention to propose amendments to the United States Constitution includes purposes other than providing for a balanced federal budget; 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 speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the Senate of the Congress of the United States, and to all members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as an application to Congress for a convention to propose an amendment to the United States Constitution to provide for a balanced federal budget; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official copies of this resolution to the secretaries of state and to the presiding officers of the legislatures of the several states with the request that they join this state in applying to Congress for a convention to propose an amendment to the United States Constitution to provide for a balanced federal budget.