Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas House Bill HCR61 Compare Versions

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1	1	83R8516 BPG-D
2	2	By: Raymond, Burkett H.C.R. No. 61
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5	5	CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
6	6	WHEREAS, Year after year, the federal government has failed
7	7	to make fiscally responsible choices, and Washington must now take
8	8	aggressive steps to address our burgeoning national deficit; and
9	9	WHEREAS, According to the Congressional Budget Office, the
10	10	federal deficit will reach $845 billion in 2013; the CBO projects
11	11	that if the laws that govern taxes and spending do not change,
12	12	federal debt held by the public will reach 76 percent of gross
13	13	domestic product by the end of the fiscal year, the largest
14	14	percentage since 1950; and
15	15	WHEREAS, The United States Congress routinely passes budgets
16	16	leading the government to spend more than it receives in revenue; in
17	17	order to finance the resulting budget deficit, the U.S. Treasury
18	18	must sell bonds and the government must pay interest on those bonds;
19	19	this cycle of deficit spending leaves less money for new programs or
20	20	tax cuts, and it could prove detrimental to the future stability of
21	21	our nation; and
22	22	WHEREAS, In the past, such statutory restraints as the failed
23	23	Gramm-Rudman-Hollings legislation and "PAYGO" rules have proven
24	24	ineffective and unenforceable, since simple majorities in Congress
25	25	can alter, weaken, or dismantle fiscal reforms; an amendment to the
26	26	U.S. Constitution, which requires the assent of two-thirds of
27	27	Congress and three-quarters of the states, is the only means of
28	28	guaranteeing permanent enforcement of spending restraints; and
29	29	WHEREAS, A federal balanced budget amendment will ensure that
30	30	Congress uses taxpayer dollars wisely, and it is vital that we take
31	31	this step to avert fiscal calamity and eliminate future deficits;
32	32	now, therefore, be it
33	33	RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas
34	34	hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to
35	35	propose and submit to the states for ratification an amendment to
36	36	the United States Constitution providing for a balanced federal
37	37	budget; and, be it further
38	38	RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
39	39	copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
40	40	the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of
41	41	Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the
42	42	members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that
43	43	this resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record
44	44	as a memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.