By: Ogden, Shapiro, et al. S.J.R. No. 1
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
urging the Congress of the United States to propose and submit to
the states for ratification a federal balanced budget amendment to
the Constitution of the United States and, in the event that
Congress does not submit such an amendment on or before December 31,
2011, applying to Congress to call a convention for the specific and
exclusive purpose of proposing an amendment to that constitution to
provide, in the absence of a national emergency and on a two-thirds
vote of Congress, for a federal balanced budget and requesting that
the legislatures of each of the several states that compose the
United States apply to Congress to call a convention to propose such
an amendment.
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, An exception to this pattern was at the turn of the
21st century; in January 2001, America enjoyed a $236 billion
budget surplus--with a projected 10-year surplus of $5.6 trillion;
by January 2009, however, America faced a $1.2 trillion
deficit--and projected shortfalls of $3.1 trillion for the next
decade; 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 National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility
and Reform in its report The Moment of Truth includes
recommendations to reduce the federal deficit that have not been
considered by the United States Congress; 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 Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to
propose and submit to the states for ratification a federal
balanced budget amendment to the United States Constitution; and,
be it further
RESOLVED, That, in the event that Congress does not submit a
balanced budget amendment to the states for ratification on or
before December 31, 2011, the 82nd Texas Legislature hereby make
application to the United States Congress to call a convention
under Article V of the United States Constitution for the specific
and exclusive purpose of proposing 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 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 balanced budget; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That, in the event that Congress does not submit a
balanced budget amendment to the states for ratification on or
before December 31, 2011, 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 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 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 in the
event that Congress does not submit such an amendment to the states
for ratification on or before December 31, 2011; 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.