Politics

Senate GOP Lawmakers Want Balanced Budget Amendment Added To Constitution

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During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing presided over by Texas Sen. [crscore]John Cornyn[/crscore] Wednesday, GOP lawmakers called for the addition of a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

With the national debt quickly approaching the $20 trillion mark, Republicans said the government’s out of control spending is stifling economic growth.

“We are seven years into the current administration and President Obama’s plan to spend our way out has proven a failure,” Cornyn said, adding that tackling the country’s debt crisis should be a top priority for Congress.

“We all understand we are on an unsustainable course, and so far we’ve done nothing to address it,” Cornyn said in his opening statement. “We can address our nation’s runaway debt through a balanced budget amendment, the kind of fiscal rule that can put us back on course.”

Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley agreed, saying the president has not taken his responsibility of living within the country’s means seriously.

“A balanced budget will help consumers by keeping interest rates low. It also will reduce interest payments on the debt, freeing up valuable resources for important priorities, rather than wasting them on interest payments,” Grassley said at the start of the hearing. “The more our budget is out of balance, the greater the amount of the budget that is used to pay the interest on the national debt. Money spent on interest payments is not funding vital spending.”

Under the resolution, introduced by Senate Finance Committee Chairman [crscore]Orrin Hatch[/crscore] of Utah, the commander in chief would need to submit an annual budget in which total outlays don’t exceed total receipts of 18 percent of the gross domestic product, unless two-thirds of Congress agrees.

“In no other way except through a constitutional amendment can Congress be compelled to balance its budget in peacetime,” Hatch said.

Sen. Dick Durbin slammed Republicans for proposing the idea of changing the Constitution when they have failed to produce a balanced budget that passes both chambers in decades.

“If you believe a balanced budget is the best thing for America, where is it?” the Illinois Democrat asked.

New York Sen. Chuck Schumer took a swing at GOP lawmakers for opting out of considering Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, arguing the upper chamber needs to do their job before altering the document.

“Before we consider editing the Constitution… shouldn’t we make sure we’re following it?” he said.

Stephen Moore, a senior economic contributor at FreedomWorks, said during his testimony he doesn’t believe Congress will get it passed unless the amendment is put in place.

“I once believed, like Sen. Durbin did, that we did not need a BBA to balance the budget, but I’ve come to the conclusion that we do need a BBA,” Moore said. “Neither party has shown the courage or backbone to do anything about federal spending and borrowing. To ask Congress to restrain its spending is like asking a cat to put a bell on itself.”

The constitution has been amended 27 times over the last 200 years.

Toni Ann Booras contributed to this report.

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