U.S. Rep. Mark Green (R-TN-07) this week proposed a Constitutional amendment that, if enacted into law, would require that Congress pass a balanced budget within 10 years and keep that budget permanently balanced.
This, according to a press release that Green’s staff published on his website.
Green said that this constitutional amendment, which Green first introduced in the 116th Congress, would ensure that the Federal government is subject to the same spending constraints as those of the states. Many states have passed amendments to their state constitutions requiring their states to maintain balanced budgets, the press release said.
“America’s national debt now sits at over $28 trillion with no end in sight. This is a crippling burden that our children and grandchildren will shoulder, yet Congressional spending is out of control. This week, the House will pass yet another $1.9 trillion spending bill, despite over $1 trillion in previously-passed stimulus money still sitting here unspent in Washington D.C.,” Green said in the press release.
“We cannot keep functioning this way. America’s future generations deserve better. My constitutional amendment would require Congress to pass a balanced budget within the decade and stick to it. It’s long past time for the Federal government to start living within its means and stop this unnecessary and wasteful spending.”
As The Tennessee Star reported last month, Green submitted, without success, key amendments to Democrats’ Equality Act legislation that he said would have protected medical facilities and people of faith.
As written, the Equality Act makes it impossible for organizations to turn away biological males who identify as women from women’s spaces such as restrooms, showers, locker rooms, homeless shelters, and domestic violence shelters.
Green wanted to add amendments that would have broadened protections for women and medical providers in a bill that he said otherwise eliminates conscience protections for Americans of faith.
According to a press release, Green’s first amendment would have ensured that women’s shelters do not lose federal funds for providing services exclusively to women.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
There’s already a balanced budget built into the Constitution. It lists the only items the federal government has authority to spend money on. Article 1, Sec 8. If it’s not on the list, it’s outside the federal government’s authority. Everything else that remains is reserved to the states and the People.
Why would Congress obey an Amendment to balance the budget if they do not obey the Constitution in the first place?
Balanced is a nebulous term. The real issue is not the amount of the budget but the character of the members of Congress who set that amount. As long as they see the budget as a way to reward their supporters and stay in power, the budget will always be a lien on the future. As long as there are no consequences to them for this theft from the taxpayers, the budget will remain a source of campaign revenue. What is needed is a law that requires any deficit to be paid by members of Congress and their staffs and federal employees.
Congress and the majority of Americans are drunk on all the goodies that they accrue on the national credit card. No way on earth a balanced budget bill gets any place. That is unless balanced means something like the Washington definition of a budget cut when means slightly lowering the outrageous planned increase.
Though I admire Rep Green’s chutzpah, I fear it’s not going to go anywhere.
Maybe it’d have more life if it was co-sponsored by representatives from 34 other states?