Rep Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) Calls for Passage of Balanced Budget Amendment

Excerpts from Email of Rep Hensarling, Republican Conference Chair:

On Friday the House of Representatives took a historic vote on a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States (H.J. Res. 2), a measure that I supported. The bill fell short of the 2/3 supermajority needed for passage by a vote of 261-165.

Even though I am disappointed that today’s vote failed, we must keep up the fight for a permanent solution to our spending-driven debt crisis. Let’s save our country. Let’s amend the Constitution. Let’s balance the budget. 

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A little background on Rep Hensarling:

Congressman Hensarling is a co-author of the "Spending, Deficit, and Debt Control Act", a landmark budget reform bill that was heralded as the "Gold Standard" of budget enforcement legislation by a coalition of conservative groups, including the Americans for Tax Reform, Citizens Against Government Waste, Citizens for a Sound Economy, and the National Taxpayers Union. Jeb also authored the “Spending Limit Amendment”—a Constitutional amendment that would limit spending to no more that 20% of the economy (the historic average since WWII). For his work to rein in wasteful Washington spending and put our country back on a fiscally sustainable path, National Review Online dubbed him “Rep. Budget Reform” and the Dallas Morning News called him, a “truth teller” who “has become one of the most important GOP members of Congress”.

He must be going nuts with the obstructionists Democrats on the Super Committee who want to tax our way out of the deficit which would make this Country one of the highest taxed countries in the world and make the economy worse.  Will someone please tell me why the Representatives from Middle America understand that the budget has to be trimmed and the budget balanced but 161 Democrats and 4 Republicans (Amash (MI), Dreir (CA), Gohmert (TX), and Paul Ryan(WI)) voted against the measure.  There were 25 Democrats joining the 236 Republicans who supported the Balanced Budget Amendment.  Eight members did not vote include Ron Paul.  The reason for the NO votes by the few Republicans was that this bill did not go far enough.

Under Article 5 of the Constitution, a constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress—290 votes in the House and 67 votes in the Senate--to be sent to the states for ratification. It then requires ratification by three-fourths of the states--38 out of 50--to become part of the Constitution.

It is obvious why we need a Balanced Budget Amendment when most of the Democrats in Congress have no intention of cutting spending or even passing a budget.  Democrats in the Senate illustrate that point as they have not passed a budget since the fall of 2007 so what does that tell you about the majority of Democrats in Congress?  They could care less about balancing the budget and will continue to borrow and tax to get all of their agenda passed if they could even when it is bankrupting the Country.  If Republicans were not in control of the House and picked up seats in the Senate, I cannot imagine what would be happening right now as taxes would have been increased dramatically.

Out of 192 Democrats, there are only 25 Democrats who join Republicans on a routine basis like Rep Dan Boren of OK or Rep Heath Schuler of NC who understand you have to cut the deficit starting today and you need a Balanced Budget Amendment because Congress is incapable of balancing it on their own which we have seen for years.

The Balanced Budget Amendment was defeated but at least it came up for a vote and members can continue to tweak the bill to make it stronger and take it to the people.  We need more common sense people elected to the House and Senate who understand the way to getting America backs on its feet is not raising taxes on the middle class but a good start would be closing tax loopholes we have today.

Democrats talk about taxing the rich but when it comes up that closing the loopholes in the tax code e.g., those who own private jets, the Democrats balk. (Via Newsbusters, we are reminded that the corporate jet tax “loophole” – which Obama beat like a rented mule during his press conference yesterday – was actually part of Obama’s failed “stimulus” plan.) They want those loopholes left in place so even if they tax the wealthy at a higher rate, they still wont pay that much thanks to all the loopholes in the tax code put in by Democrats over the years.

Word out of the Senate is that Senator Kyl is trying to save the Pentagon from deep cuts.  When Leon Panetta says the cuts would gut the Defense Department it makes you wonder just how bad they are.