TITLE: Urging Congress to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to provide for a balanced federal budget except during a time of national emergency.

SUMMARY: Urging Congress to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to provide for a balanced federal budget except during a time of national emergency.

FULL TEXT:
WHEREAS, Year after year, the federal government has failed to make fiscally responsible choices, and Washington must now take aggressive steps to address our national deficit; and WHEREAS, The United States Congress routinely passes budgets leading the government to spend more than it receives in revenue; in order to finance the resulting budget deficit, the U.S. Treasury must sell bonds and the government must pay interest on those bonds; this cycle of deficit spending leaves less money for new programs or tax cuts, and it could prove detrimental to the future stability of our country; and WHEREAS, 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, A federal balanced budget amendment will ensure that Congress uses taxpayer dollars wisely, and it is vital that we take this step to avert fiscal calamity and eliminate future deficits; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the 84th Legislature of the State of Texas hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to propose and submit to the states for ratification an amendment to the United States Constitution requiring that, except during a time of national emergency, 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, together with any related and appropriate fiscal restraints; 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 president of the Senate and speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.