HJ109: United States Constitution; urges Congress to propose an amendment to impose a balance budget.
WHEREAS, this nation has become deeply in debt as its expenditures have exceeded available revenues so that the total federal public debt now exceeds $15 trillion and continues to increase; and
WHEREAS, the federal budget fails to reflect actual spending because of the exclusion of special outlays that are neither included in the budget nor subject to the legal public debt limit; and
WHEREAS, knowledgeable planning requires that the budget reflect all federal spending and that the budget be in balance; and
WHEREAS, attempts to curtail federal spending, confine expenditures to available revenues, and reduce the annual deficit have met with only limited success; and
WHEREAS, the requirement to balance the budget will promote responsibility at the federal level, provide checks against unnecessary and costly appropriations, and reinforce efforts to bring about fiscal integrity; and
WHEREAS, the Constitution of Virginia provides for a balanced budget, and this provision has reinforced the inherent fiscal common sense of spending only funds available and has contributed to the Commonwealth's outstanding reputation for sound fiscal management and policy; and
WHEREAS, 49 of the 50 states follow balanced budget procedures; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the Congress of the United States be urged to propose an amendment to the United States Constitution to impose a balanced budget requirement; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House transmit copies of this resolution to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the President of the United States Senate, and the members of the Virginia Congressional Delegation so that they may be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly of Virginia in this matter.