Vern Buchanan Doubles Down on Balanced Budget Amendment

With a constitutional amendment requiring the federal government to balance the budget headed to the floor of the U.S. House next week, Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan doubled down on his support of it this week.

First elected to Congress in 2006, Buchanan, who is the Sunshine States only member of the Ways and Means Committee, has been active in pushing for the balanced budget amendment, introducing a version of it as his first piece of legislation.

On Thursday, during a media appearance with U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, Buchanan argued that forcing Congress to have a balanced budget would be the only way to reduce the size and scope of the federal government.

"We can't wait any longer," said Buchanan, who has left the door open to running against Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012 though he has not done much in the way of setting up a campaign. "Forty-nine out of 50 states, including Florida, have balanced budget requirements. It's imperative that Washington does the same."