The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday failed to pass a measure to amend the U.S. Constitution by adding a balanced budget amendment.
Supporters of the proposed amendment needed 284 votes to muster a two-third majority, and came up short -- garnering 261 votes while 165 votes were cast against it. The last time the proposed amendment came up for a vote in the House in 1995, the measure passed with 300 votes though it failed by one vote in the U.S. Senate.
All House Republicans save four -- including House Budget Committee Chairman U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin -- voted for the proposal, with 25 Democrats favoring it. Ryan argued that the proposed amendment would lead to a larger government with higher taxes.
The proposed amendment would have mandated Congress to not spend more than it received in revenue and would have required roll-call votes on any measure raising taxes and a three-fifths vote in both chambers to raise the debt ceiling. The amendment would have also required the White House to submit a balanced budget proposal to Congress. Exceptions were included in the amendment for times of national emergency, including wars.
U.S. Rep. Sandy Adams, R-Fla., backed the proposed amendment and released a statement on Friday afternoon after the vote.
I am disappointed the House failed to pass a balanced budget amendment today, Adams said. After decades of irresponsible spending, the American people know that a balanced budget amendment is the clearest way to ensure that Washington finally lives within its means. Sadly, the resolution was defeated today, even though a nearly identical measure passed the House, and almost passed the Senate, in 1995. Just recently, our national debt topped $15 trillion, adding to the mountain of debt the American taxpayer shares. With 14 million Americans out of work, the only way to get our economy back on track and to create jobs is to address the root of our nations economic crisis: overspending. Its unfortunate that some have chosen to put partisan politics ahead of the interests of the American people.
Fifteen years ago, a balanced budget amendment passed the House in a bipartisan manner, Adams added. Despite the national debt tripling since then, some of the same people who once voted for a balanced budget amendment refused to support it today. I am saddened that some members of the Democrat leadership, who once supported a nearly identical bill 15 years ago, encouraged their caucus to vote against it.The American people deserve better.
Adams fellow Florida Republican U.S. Rep. David Rivera also weighed in on the issue on Friday.
This week, the national debt reached $15 trillion. That number seems inconceivable. It took from the administration of the first president of the United States, George Washington, until the administration of the 40th president of the United States, Ronald Reagan, to amass $1 trillion in national debt.Today, our deficits are at more than $1 trillion annually, said Rivera in a statement.
I voted for the balanced budget amendment because I know that our nations economy cannot sustain that kind of spending. Job creators are hesitant to grow their companies and to invest in new employees or projects out of a concern for what new regulations, taxes and fees will be handed down to them next to cover the federal governments latest multitrillion spending package. That kind of fiscal irresponsibility must end.
A balanced budget amendment would have been the first step toward implementing long-term solutions to our countrys spending addiction, added Rivera. Forty-nine states currently abide by some kind of balanced budget requirement. The balanced budget amendment fell one vote short of passage in the United States Senate 15 years ago and our national debt has nearly tripled in size since then.
Earlier in the week, Florida Democratic Party Chairman Rod Smith issued a statement against the proposed amendment.
Rather than working for compromise and making tough choices, this week Republicans in Congress are once again trying to take the drastic step of amending our Constitution by passing a so-called balanced budget amendment that will do real harm to Floridas families, said Smith, who attacked the extreme action being considered by the House of Representatives.
Ryan was not the only Republican who expressed reservations about the proposed amendment. In a statement released Friday afternoon, Florida Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio also said he had problems with it.
I support a balanced budget amendment that is strong, meaningful and will actually help end Washingtons spending spree, Rubio said. The best measure is one that requires supermajorities to raise taxes and increase the debt limit, while enacting a cap on all federal spending, ideally at 18 percent of gross domestic product, like the amendment supported by all 47 Senate Republicans. Each of these provisions is vital to ensure that a balanced budget amendment effectively restrains spending and protects against automatic, job-killing tax increases. Unfortunately, thats not what the House considered today. Taxpayers deserve a strong balanced budget amendment that will truly help end the decades-long legacy of out-of-control spending by both parties.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or (850) 727-0859.
