On February 3, 2021, a group of U.S. Senators reintroduced a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution requiring the President and Congress to enact annual balanced budgets.
“A balanced budget amendment to the Constitution would compel our nation’s leaders and the American people to make difficult choices to get our fiscal house in order,” said Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), who serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee. “Our national response to the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated federal spending at a rate that compounds our already serious debt problems. The new deficit spending is a necessary answer to a national health emergency, but it would be completely irresponsible not to establish a strong framework from which to tackle our nation’s long-term fiscal problems—and ultimately the future of this great country,” she said.
Here is a link to the joint resolution. https://www.hydesmith.senate.gov/sites/default/files/2021-02/Balanced%20Budget%20Amendment%202021.pdf
To summarize, the legislation proposes a constitutional amendment that would:
– Require the President to submit a balanced budget;
– Require Congress to pass a balanced budget;
– Restrict federal spending to 18 percent of the Gross Domestic Product;
– Require two-thirds majority votes in the House and Senate to raise taxes; and
– Require a new three-fifths majority vote in both houses of Congress to raise the debt limit.
– The joint resolution also includes certain spending waivers for use during wartime or imminent danger to national security.
Some are strongly against this proposal. “Amendment proponents often argue that, because states and families must balance their budgets each year, the federal government also should do so. Yet this is a false analogy.” Said Richard Kogan, a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priority. He argues that adding a balanced budget amendment in U.S. Constitution would be “exceedingly unwise.” The BBRs would impose a heavy toll on the nation’s economy, the social safety net programs, business, and the banking system. This is a link to the full article “Constitutional Balanced Budget Amendment Poses Serious Risks”: https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-budget/constitutional-balanced-budget-amendment-poses-serious-risks
What is your opinion on this issue? Should the federal government follow the BBRs, as most of the state and local governments do? Provide a few reasons.
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