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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Year after year, the federal government has failed |
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to make fiscally responsible choices, and Washington must now take |
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aggressive steps to address our serious national deficit; and |
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WHEREAS, The United States Congress routinely passes budgets |
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leading the government to spend more than it receives in revenue; in |
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order to finance the resulting budget deficit, the U.S. Treasury |
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must sell bonds, and the government must pay interest on those |
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bonds; this cycle of deficit spending leaves less money for new |
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programs or tax cuts, and it could prove detrimental to the future |
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stability of our nation; and |
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WHEREAS, The State of Texas is one of 46 states that require a |
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balanced budget either constitutionally or by statute, and it is |
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reasonable to expect the federal government to operate within |
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similarly responsible parameters; through the years, many states |
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have requested that Congress propose a constitutional amendment |
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requiring a balanced budget, and although such a proposal won broad |
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congressional support in 1995, it failed by one vote in the senate; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, It is a fundamental truth that no entity can remain |
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solvent when expenditures continually outpace revenue, and every |
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home and every business must spend within its means or face |
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calamity; the fiscal irresponsibility of the federal government not |
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only jeopardizes the country's economic stability, but also |
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threatens national security; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 84th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to |
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propose and submit to the states for ratification an amendment to |
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the United States Constitution providing that--except during a war |
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declared by the Congress of the United States pursuant to Clause 11, |
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Section 8, Article I, United States Constitution--the total of all |
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federal appropriations for a fiscal year may not exceed the total of |
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all estimated federal revenue for that fiscal year; and, be it |
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further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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the president of the Senate and speaker of the House of |
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Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the |
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members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that |
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this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |