Marco Rubio Backs Balanced Budget Amendment

Fiscal hawks, led by tea party favorite U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, attempted on Wednesday to forward a constitutional amendment requiring Congress to pass a balanced budget. While the measure failed, as expected, Florida Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio said he was proud to back it.

In the Florida House of Representatives, we had to make the tough choices to cut spending where necessary because it was required by a balanced budget amendment, said Rubio. By no means was this an easy process, but it was our duty as elected officials to be accountable to our constituents and to future generations of Floridians. In Washington, a balanced budget amendment is not just a fiscally responsible proposal, its a necessary step to bring to an end the decades-long legacy of out-of-control spending by both parties.

With a national debt exceeding $14 trillion and a budget proposal from the White House to add even trillions more, we need every tool at our disposal to seriously confront our fiscal crisis, added Rubio. While todays amendment did not pass, we will keep working until the requirement that Congress pass a balanced budget is enshrined in our Constitution.