Amodei: Balanced Budget Amendment breaks Washington's spending addiction

MMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Brian Baluta (202) 225-6155

November 17, 2011

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Congressman Mark Amodei (NV-2) today issued the following statement in support of H.J. Res. 2 -- Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States:

"Washington, D.C. has a fatal spending problem, which is every American's problem because it's dragging down our economy and our way of life. Unless we get spending under control now, the country we give our grandchildren will be in far worse shape than the one we inherited.

"This is a town where a spending increase can be called a spending cut, because it wasn't as big as desired. This is a town that's proven time and again that it can't help itself -- it's addicted to spending. The Balanced Budget Amendment says to Congress and the President, 'Enough is enough. Mortgaging the future of our grandchildren is not an option.'

"Unfortunately, like any addict, there are people in Washington that don't want to quit spending. Instead, they want more taxes, more of your money, and more of your company's money to spend. They'll tell you that they only want to tax the rich and corporations, but when taxes are raised, we all pay more in the form of fewer jobs, lower wages and higher prices for goods and services.

"So strong is their addiction to spending, they'll also resort to claiming that a balanced budget will end Medicare and Social Security, which is a lie. The truth is that if Washington keeps spending like it does, debt and liabilities will consume the federal budget. A sure fire way to end Medicare and Social Security is to maintain the status quo, ignore the problem, and keep spending like there's no tomorrow."

"We need to break the addiction. Federal government spending is not the answer to every problem. And I firmly believe that Nevadans want less federal spending, not more."

Background:

If approved by a two-thirds majority of each chamber of Congress and ratified by three-fourths of state legislatures, H.J. Res. 2 would amend the Constitution to prohibit federal spending in any fiscal year from exceeding receipts for that year. The balanced budget requirement could be waived in a given year if three-fifths of both chambers approve a law to allow spending to exceed revenues.

In addition, the amendment would require a vote of three-fifths of both chambers to increase the statutory debt limit. The amendment would also require the President to submit a balanced budget to Congress each fiscal year and would require a majority vote of Congress to approve any tax increase. Total spending would include all U.S. outlays except those for repayment of debt principal.

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