[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 107 (Monday, July 18, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H5147-H5149]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION FOR A BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 5, 2011, the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Brooks) is recognized 
for half the remaining time until 10 p.m., 22 minutes.
  Mr. BROOKS. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
  America is the greatest Nation in the history of the world. We enjoy 
a standard of living that is envied by most. We have a national defense 
unmatched in history. We are a beacon of freedom for all.
  Have you ever thought about why America is the world's leader? Are we 
just lucky. No. I would submit to you that there are substantive 
reasons for our greatness.
  We are blessed today because of the sacrifices of others before us, 
others who gave of themselves to ensure a better future for their 
children and succeeding generations. History shows us that great 
nations rise and great nations fall, but they rarely fall from without 
without first suffering weakness from within.
  Today, the greatest threat to America is not a foreign power. No. 
America's greatest threat is Washington's irresponsible, dangerous, and 
insatiable spending habits. Admiral Mullen, Chairman of the Joint 
Chiefs of Staff, testified recently before the House Armed Services 
Committee that America's greatest national security threat is our own 
unsustainable and growing debt burden. It wasn't al Qaeda. It wasn't 
North Korea. It wasn't the Taliban. It wasn't any other foe across the 
globe. It was our unsustainable national debt. And he is right.

                              {time}  2120

  For years, Washington has been on a spending binge of epic 
proportions. Why do Washington's politicians risk America's future? 
Because they have put their own self-interests above America's 
interests. They spend money we don't have to get votes for the next 
election. They don't care about who must pay the bill. They don't care 
about America's future generations. They don't care whether their 
spending binges risk America's future.
  Some say we don't need a balanced budget constitutional amendment to 
force Washington to spend within our means. They are 100 percent dead 
wrong. Most recently, the President stated: We don't need a 
constitutional amendment to do our jobs. The Constitution already tells 
us to do our jobs--and to make sure that the government is living 
within its means and making responsible choices.
  And he went on: We don't need more studies. We don't need a balanced 
budget amendment. We simply need to make these tough choices and be 
willing to take on our bases.
  But history has established that we need, in the United States 
Congress, a balanced budget constitutional amendment because it will 
provide the backbone that Congress has lacked for so long. History 
proves those naysayers are wrong. Three years of trillion-dollar-plus 
deficits proved them wrong. Projected trillion-dollar deficits into the 
future proved them wrong.
  America must rise up and force Washington to live within our means 
before it is too late. America must give Washington the backbone it 
lacks. That backbone is a balanced budget constitutional amendment 
forcing Washington to do the right thing.
  If this Congress will not pass an effective balanced budget 
constitutional amendment, then the States must do it for us. The Lone 
Star State of Texas recently passed a resolution calling for a 
constitutional convention for a balanced budget constitutional 
amendment if Congress fails to act. The great State of Alabama has 
joined Texas.
  I will next read into the Record of the United States House of 
Representatives Alabama's Senate Joint Resolution 100 from Alabama's 
2011 regular session just passed by the Alabama

[[Page H5148]]

State Legislature. This is Act No. 2011-400. The principal sponsor is 
Senator Arthur Orr. Cosponsors from the State of Alabama are Senator 
Scofield, Senator Sanford, Senator Holtzclaw, Senator Williams, Senator 
McGill, and Senator Beason.
  ``Enrolled, SJR100, urging Congress to propose a Federal balanced 
budget amendment.
  ``Whereas, the reluctance of the Federal Government to incur debt and 
other obligations was established early in American history, with 
deficits occurring only in relation to extraordinary circumstances such 
as war; yet for much of the 20th century and into the 21st, the United 
States has operated on a budget deficit, including the 2010 budget 
year, which surpassed an astounding $1.3 trillion, an annual deficit 
that exceeded the entire gross State product of many of the States; and
  ``Whereas, an exception to this pattern was at the turn of the 21st 
century; in FY 2001, America enjoyed $128 billion budget surplus; and
  ``Whereas, since FY 2001, America has been burdened with 10 
consecutive years of deficits, to wit:
  ``FY 2002, $158 billion deficit; FY 2003, $377 billion deficit; FY 
2004, $413 billion deficit; FY 2005 $318 billion deficit; FY 2006 $248 
billion deficit; FY 2007, $161 billion deficit; FY 2008, $459 billion 
deficit; FY 2009 $1.4 trillion deficit; FY 2010, $1.3 trillion deficit; 
FY 2011, $1.5 trillion deficit (estimated); and
  ``Whereas, as of January 2011, America's accumulated national debt 
exceeded $12 trillion now estimated at over $13 trillion; and
  ``Whereas, the Congressional Budget Office projects that, if current 
trends continue under the White House's proposed budget, each of the 
next 10 years has a projected deficit exceeding $600 billion; and
  ``Whereas, the budget deficits of the United States of America are 
unsustainable and constitute a substantial threat to the solvency of 
the Federal Government as evidenced by the comments of Standard and 
Poor's on April 18, 2011, regarding the longer term credit outlook for 
the United States; and
  ``Whereas, Congress has been unwilling or unable to address the 
persistent problem of overspending and has recently increased the 
statutory limit on the public debt and enacted a variety of legislation 
that will ultimately cause the Federal Government to incur additional 
debt; and
  ``Whereas, the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and 
Reform in its report 'The Moment of Truth' includes recommendations to 
reduce the Federal deficit that have not been considered by the United 
States Congress; and
  ``Whereas, the consequences of current spending policies are far-
reaching; United States indebtedness to governments of foreign nations 
continues to rise; costly Federal programs that are essentially 
unfunded or underfunded; mandates to States threaten the ability of 
State and local governments to continue to balance their budgets; 
moreover, future generations of Americans inevitably face increased 
taxation and a weakened economy as a direct result of the bloated debt; 
and
  ``Whereas, many States have previously requested that Congress 
propose a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget, but 
Congress has proven to be unresponsive; anticipating a situation in 
which Congress at times could fail to act, the drafters of the United 
States Constitution had the foresight to adopt the language in Article 
V that establishes that on application of the legislatures of two-
thirds of the several States, Congress shall call a convention for 
proposing amendments; and
  ``Whereas, in prior years, the Alabama Legislature has called on 
Congress to pass a balanced budget constitutional amendment, many other 
States have done the same, all to no avail; and
  ``Whereas, a balanced budget amendment would require the government 
not to spend more than it receives in revenues and compel lawmakers to 
carefully consider choices about spending and taxes; by encouraging 
spending control and discouraging deficit spending, a balanced budget 
amendment will help put the Nation on the path to lasting prosperity; 
now therefore,

  ``Be it resolved by the Legislature of Alabama, both houses thereof 
concurring, That the legislature of the State of Alabama hereby 
respectfully urges the Congress of the United States to propose and 
submit to the States for ratification a Federal balanced budget 
amendment to the United States Constitution.
  ``Be it further resolved, That, in the event that Congress does not 
submit a balanced budget amendment to the States for ratification on or 
before December 31, 2011, the Alabama Legislature hereby makes 
application to the United States Congress to call a convention under 
Article V of the United States Constitution for the specific and 
exclusive purpose of proposing an amendment to that Constitution 
requiring that, in the absence of a national emergency (as determined 
by the positive vote of such Members of each house of Congress as the 
amendment shall require), the total of all Federal appropriations made 
by Congress for any fiscal year not exceed the total of all Federal 
revenue for that fiscal year.
  ``Be it further resolved, That, unless rescinded by succeeding 
legislature, this application by the Alabama Legislature constitutes a 
continuing application in accordance with Article V of the United 
States Constitution until at least two-thirds of the legislatures of 
the several States have made application for a convention to provide 
for a balanced budget.
  ``Be it further resolved, That, in the event that Congress does not 
submit a balanced budget amendment to the States for ratification on or 
before December 31, 2011, the Alabama Legislature hereby requests that 
the legislatures of each of the several States that compose the United 
States apply to Congress requesting Congress to call a convention to 
propose such an amendment to the United States Constitution.
  ``Be it further resolved, That this application is rescinded in the 
event that a convention to propose amendments to the United States 
Constitution includes purposes other than providing for a balanced 
Federal budget.
  ``Be it further resolved, That the copies of this resolution be 
provided to the following officials:
  ``1. The President of the United States.
  ``2. The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
  ``3. The President of the United States Senate.
  ``4. All members of the Alabama delegation to Congress with the 
request that this resolution be officially entered in the Congressional 
Record as an application to the Congress of the United States of 
America for a convention to propose an amendment to provide for a 
Federal balanced budget in the event that Congress does not submit such 
an amendment to the States for ratification on or before December 31, 
2011.
  ``Be it further resolved, That copies of this resolution be provided 
to the Secretaries of State and to the presiding officers of the 
legislatures of the other States.''
  Signed by Kay Ivey, President and Presiding Officer of the Alabama 
State Senate; signed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives of 
the State of Alabama, Mike Hubbard; signed by the Governor of the State 
of Alabama, the Honorable Robert Bentley on June 7, 2011.
  Congress clearly has the duty to pass a balanced budget 
constitutional amendment to prevent unsustainable spending sprees that 
threaten America's future.

                              {time}  2130

  Quite frankly, and in my judgment, a balanced budget constitutional 
amendment is the only way to prevent a Federal Government insolvency 
and bankruptcy and the ensuing economic and national security 
consequences of such a bankruptcy. I urge this Congress to do the right 
thing and pass an effective balanced budget constitutional amendment.
  But if Congress shirks its duty to America, then I plead for the 
States to join Texas and Alabama by demanding a constitutional 
convention for the limited purpose of drafting a balanced budget 
constitutional amendment. I urge the States to act with haste. America 
rapidly approaches an economic abyss. The States are our last best hope 
for American greatness and surviving in generations to come.

[[Page H5149]]

  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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