82R2252 CBE-D
By: Ogden S.J.R. No. 1
A JOINT RESOLUTION
applying to the Congress of the United States, in accordance with
Article V of the United States Constitution, to call a convention to
propose an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to
provide for a federal balanced budget and requesting that the
legislatures of each of the several states that compose the United
States apply to Congress for a convention to propose such an
amendment to the United States Constitution.
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 $1,300,000,000,000, an annual
deficit that exceeded the entire gross state product of Texas; and
WHEREAS, Congress has been unwilling or unable to address the
persistent problem of overspending and has recently increased the
statutory limit on the public debt with the passage of
H.R.J.Res.45, 111th Congress (2010), and enacted a variety of
legislation that will ultimately cause the federal government to
incur additional debt; and
WHEREAS, The consequences of current spending policies are
far-reaching; United States indebtedness to governments of foreign
nations continues to rise; costly federal programs that are
essentially unfunded or underfunded mandates to states threaten the
ability of state and local governments to continue to balance their
budgets; moreover, future generations of Americans inevitably face
increased taxation and a weakened economy as a direct result of the
bloated debt; 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, In both 1977 and 1978, the Texas Legislature made
application to Congress to call a convention under Article V, and
through the years, many other states have done the same, all to no
avail; 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; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 82nd Texas Legislature hereby make
application to the United States Congress to call a convention
under Article V of the United States Constitution to propose an
amendment to that constitution requiring that, in the absence of a
national emergency, and as determined by the positive vote of at
least two-thirds of the members of each house of Congress, the total
of all federal appropriations made by Congress for any fiscal year
may not exceed the total of all estimated federal revenue for that
fiscal year; 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 made application for a
convention to provide for a federal balanced budget; and, be it
further
RESOLVED, That the 82nd Texas Legislature hereby request that
the legislatures of each of the several states that compose the
United States apply to Congress requesting Congress to call a
convention to propose such an amendment to the United States
Constitution; 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 United States Congress, 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 the Congress of the United States of America for a convention to
propose an amendment to provide for a federal balanced 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 other states with the
request that they join this state in making application to the
Congress of the United States for a convention to propose an
amendment to provide for a federal balanced budget.