| 1 | 1 | | 81R4672 CBE-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Raymond H.C.R. No. 73 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | CONCURRENT RESOLUTION |
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| 6 | 6 | | WHEREAS, The gravity of federal debt and federal obligations |
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| 7 | 7 | | was established early in American history, with deficits occurring |
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| 8 | 8 | | only in relation to extraordinary circumstances such as war; yet |
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| 9 | 9 | | for much of the 20th century and into the 21st, the United States |
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| 10 | 10 | | has operated on a budget deficit, and it is estimated that the |
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| 11 | 11 | | deficit for the 2009 budget year will total an unprecedented $1.2 |
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| 12 | 12 | | trillion; and |
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| 13 | 13 | | WHEREAS, The higher the deficit, the more the government must |
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| 14 | 14 | | spend on paying interest on the debt, leaving less money for new |
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| 15 | 15 | | programs or tax cuts; compounding the problem is the use of deficit |
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| 16 | 16 | | spending, which becomes a claim on current or future taxpayers; and |
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| 17 | 17 | | WHEREAS, Through the years, congress has attempted to set |
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| 18 | 18 | | budgetary restraints for itself in the form of a balanced budget |
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| 19 | 19 | | amendment; the proposal won wide support in 1995, failing by only |
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| 20 | 20 | | one vote in the senate; and |
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| 21 | 21 | | WHEREAS, The growing burden of public debt poses a threat to |
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| 22 | 22 | | the nation's economic health, and action must be taken to restore |
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| 23 | 23 | | fiscal responsibility; a balanced budget amendment would require |
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| 24 | 24 | | the government not to spend more than it receives in revenues and |
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| 25 | 25 | | compel lawmakers to carefully consider choices about spending and |
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| 26 | 26 | | taxes; by encouraging spending control and discouraging deficit |
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| 27 | 27 | | spending, a balanced budget amendment will help put the nation on |
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| 28 | 28 | | the path to lasting prosperity; now, therefore, be it |
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| 29 | 29 | | RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas |
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| 30 | 30 | | hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to |
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| 31 | 31 | | propose and submit to the states for ratification an amendment to |
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| 32 | 32 | | the United States Constitution to provide for a federal balanced |
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| 33 | 33 | | budget; and, be it further |
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| 34 | 34 | | RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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| 35 | 35 | | copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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| 36 | 36 | | the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the |
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| 37 | 37 | | senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of the |
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| 38 | 38 | | Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this |
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| 39 | 39 | | resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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| 40 | 40 | | memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |
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