[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 181 (Tuesday, November 29, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2128-E2129]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       PROPOSING A BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                       HON. JESSE L. JACKSON, JR.

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 17, 2011

  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I wish to further submit for 
the Record the following letter signed by 281 different organizations 
opposed to this or any Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution. 
It is my intent that this letter supersedes a version previously 
submitted.

       Dear Representative/Senator: The 281 undersigned national 
     organizations strongly urge you to oppose any balanced budget 
     amendment to the United States Constitution.
       A balanced budget constitutional amendment would damage the 
     economy, not strengthen it. Demanding that policymakers cut 
     spending and/or raise taxes, even when the economy slows, is 
     the opposite of what is needed to stabilize a weak economy 
     and avert recessions. Such steps would risk tipping a 
     faltering economy into recession or worsening an ongoing 
     downturn, costing large numbers of jobs while blocking worthy 
     investments to stimulate jobs and growth and address the 
     nation's urgent needs in infrastructure and other areas.
       According to a new analysis of a balanced budget amendment 
     by Macroeconomic Advisers, one of the nation's preeminent 
     private economic forecasting firms, if a constitutional 
     balanced budget amendment had already been ratified and were 
     now being enforced for fiscal year 2012, ``the effect on the 
     economy would be catastrophic.'' The analysis reports that if 
     the 2012 budget were balanced through spending cuts, those 
     cuts would have to total about $1.5 trillion in 2012 alone, 
     which they estimate would throw about 15 million more people 
     out of work, double the unemployment rate from 9 percent to 
     approximately 18 percent, and cause the economy to shrink by 
     about 17 percent instead of growing by an expected 2 percent.
       Additionally, all versions of the balanced budget amendment 
     being considered also contain a provision requiring three-
     fifths of the whole membership of both houses to raise the 
     debt limit, making risk of default more likely and empowering 
     a willful minority to hold the full faith and credit of the 
     U.S. hostage to whatever other political demands they may 
     have. The difficulty of raising the debt limit this summer 
     illustrates how hard it can be to secure the necessary votes 
     even when the consequences are so grave. Only three of the 
     last 11 debt limit increases obtained three-fifths vote in 
     both chambers; two of those instances occurred amidst the 
     financial crisis in 2008 when the debt limit increases were 
     included in larger legislation to respond to the meltdowns 
     already occurring in the housing and financial markets, and 
     the third occurred this August as part of the Budget Control 
     Act and came only after a bitter process that led the nation 
     to the brink of default.
       In short, a balanced budget amendment is a recipe for 
     making recessions more frequent, longer, and deeper, while 
     requiring severe cuts that would harshly affect seniors, 
     children, veterans, people with disabilities, homeland 
     security activities, public health and safety, environmental 
     protection, education and medical research. It would almost 
     certainly necessitate massive cuts to vital programs 
     including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, veterans' 
     benefits and lead to even deeper cuts than the House-passed 
     budget.
       A balanced budget amendment has no place in the 
     Constitution of the United States. Our Constitution has 
     served the nation well because it represents enduring 
     principles that are the foundations of our government. It 
     should not be used as a substitute for real leadership on 
     fiscal policy. We strongly urge you to oppose any 
     constitutional balanced budget amendment.
           Sincerely,
       9to5, National Association of Working Women; AFL-CIO; AIDS 
     Alliance for Children, Youth & Families; AIDS Community 
     Research Initiative of America; The AIDS Institute; AIDS 
     Project Los Angeles; AIDS United; Alliance for a Just 
     Society; Alliance for Excellent Education; Alliance for 
     Justice; Alliance for Retired Americans; American Association 
     of Colleges for Teacher Education.
       American Association of Community Colleges; American 
     Association of School Administrators (AASA); American 
     Association of University Professors; American Association of 
     University Women (AAUW); American Counseling Association; 
     American Dance Therapy Association; American Educational 
     Research Association; American Federation of Government 
     Employees, AFL-CIO; American Federation of School 
     Administrators, AFL-CIO; American Federation of State, County 
     and Municipal Employees (AFSCME); American Federation of 
     Teachers, AFL-CIO; American Jewish Committee.
       American Medical Rehabilitation Providers Association 
     (AMRPA); American Medical Student Association (AMSA); 
     American Network of Community Options and Resources; American 
     Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO; American Psychiatric 
     Association; American Public Health Association; American 
     Rights at Work; American School Counselor Association; 
     Americans for Democratic Action; American-Arab Anti-
     Discrimination Committee (ADC); The Arc of the United States; 
     Asian American Justice Center, member of Asian American 
     Center for Advancing Justice.
       Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum; Association 
     for Career and Technical Education; Association of Adult 
     Literacy Professional Developers; Association of Assistive 
     Technology Act Programs (ATAP); Association of Education 
     Service Agencies (AESA); Association of Flight Attendants--
     CWA; Association of School Business Officials; Association of 
     University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD); Autism National 
     Committee; AVAC: Global Advocacy for HIV Prevention; Bazelon 
     Center for Mental Health Law; Bienestar Human Services; Bread 
     for the World.
       Break the Cycle; Building and Construction Trades 
     Department, AFL-CIO; B'nai B'rith International; Campaign for 
     America's Future; Campaign for Community Change; CANN--
     Community Access National Network; Cascade AIDS Project; 
     Center for Family Policy & Practice; Center for Law and 
     Social Policy (CLASP); The Center for Media and Democracy; 
     Center for Medicare Advocacy; Center on Budget and Policy 
     Priorities; Child Welfare League of America (CWLA); 
     Children's Defense Fund.
       Children's Dental Health Project; Cities for Progress, 
     Institute for Policy Studies; Citizens for Global Solutions; 
     Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington; 
     Citizens for Tax Justice; Clinical Social Work Association; 
     Coalition for Health Funding; Coalition of Labor Union Women; 
     Coalition on Human Needs; Commission on Adult Basic 
     Education; Committee for Education Funding; Common Cause; 
     Communications Workers of America (CWA); Community Action 
     Partnership.
       Community Food Security Coalition; Community Organizations 
     in Action; Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED); 
     Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders; Council for 
     Exceptional Children; Council for Opportunity in Education; 
     Council of Administrators of Special Education; Council of 
     the Great City Schools; CREDO Action; Defenders of Wildlife; 
     Democracy 21; Demos; Department for Professional Employees, 
     AFL-CIO; Direct Care Alliance.
       Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund; Division for 
     Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children 
     (DEC); Easter Seals; Elev8 (Baltimore, Chicago, New Mexico, 
     and Oakland); Every Child Matters Education Fund; FairTest, 
     the National Center for Fair & Open Testing, Inc.; Families 
     USA; Farmworker Justice; Feminist Majority; First Focus 
     Campaign for Children; Food & Water Watch; Food Research & 
     Action Center (FRAC); Forum for Youth Investment; Foster 
     Family-based Treatment Association.
       Franciscan Action Network (FAN); Friends Committee on 
     National Legislation; Friends of the Earth; Gamaliel; Gay 
     Men's Health Crisis (GMHC); Generations United; GLSEN; Gray 
     Panthers; Growth & Justice; Half in Ten; Health & Disability 
     Advocates; Health Care for America Now; Health GAP (Global 
     Access Project); HealthHIV; HIV Law Project.
       Horizons for Homeless Children; Housing Works; Interfaith 
     Worker Justice; International Association of Fire Fighters; 
     International Association of Machinists and Aerospace 
     Workers; International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship 
     Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers, and Helpers, AFL-CIO; 
     International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers; 
     International Brotherhood of Teamsters; International Society 
     for Technology in Education; International Union of

[[Page E2129]]

     Police Associations, AFL-CIO; International Union, United 
     Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of 
     America (UAW).
       Jewish Council for Public Affairs; Laborers' International 
     Union of North America, (LiUNA!); Latino Commission on AIDS; 
     The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; The 
     Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; Leadership 
     Team, Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia; League of 
     Conservation Voters; League of Rural Voters; League of United 
     Latin American Citizens (LULAC); League of Women Voters of 
     the United States; Learning Disabilities Association of 
     America; Main Street Alliance; Medicare Rights Center; Mental 
     Health America.
       NAACP; National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys; National 
     Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE); 
     National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity; National 
     Alliance of State & Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD); 
     National Assembly on School-Based Health Care; National 
     Association for Adults with Special Learning Needs; National 
     Association for Children's Behavioral Health; National 
     Association for College Admission Counseling; National 
     Association for Hispanic Elderly; National Association for 
     Music Education; National Association for the Education of 
     Young Children; National Association of Area Agencies on 
     Aging (n4a); National Association of Colored Women's Clubs, 
     Inc. (NACWC).
       National Association of Councils on Developmental 
     Disabilities; National Association of County Behavioral 
     Health and Developmental Disability Directors (NACBHDD); 
     National Association of Elementary School Principals; 
     National Association of Federally Impacted Schools; National 
     Association of Government Employees/SEIU; National 
     Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO); 
     National Association of Letter Carriers; National Association 
     of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs (NANASP); National 
     Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA); National Association 
     of Private Special Education Centers; National Association of 
     School Psychologists; National Association of Secondary 
     School Principals (NASSP); National Association of State 
     Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium; National 
     Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE).
       National Association of State Head Injury Administrators; 
     National Association of Thrift Savings Plan Participants; 
     National Black Child Development Institute; National Center 
     for Family Literacy; National Center for Law and Economic 
     Justice; National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence; 
     National Coalition Against Domestic Violence; National 
     Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development; 
     National Coalition for LGBT Health; National Coalition for 
     Literacy; National Committee to Preserve Social Security and 
     Medicare; National Congress of American Indians; The National 
     Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care; National Council 
     for Community and Education Partnerships (NCCEP).
       National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare; 
     National Council for the Social Studies; National Council of 
     Jewish Women; National Council of La Raza (NCLR); National 
     Council of Women's Organizations (NCWO); National Council on 
     Independent Living; National Disability Rights Network; 
     National Education Association (NEA); National Employment Law 
     Project (NELP); National Fair Housing Alliance; National 
     Family Caregivers Association; National Federation of Federal 
     Employees; National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund; 
     National Health Care for the Homeless Council.
       National Hispanic Council on Aging (NHCOA); National 
     Housing Trust; National Immigration Law Center; National 
     Latina Institute for Reproductive Health; National Law Center 
     on Homelessness & Poverty; National Low Income Housing 
     Coalition; National Organization for Women (NOW); National 
     Partnership for Women & Families; National Pediatric AIDS 
     Network; National People's Action; National Priorities 
     Project; National Respite Coalition; National Rural Education 
     Advocacy Coalition; National Rural Education Association 
     (NREA).
       National School Boards Association; National Skills 
     Coalition; National Superintendents Roundtable; National 
     Treasury Employees Union; National Urban League; National WIC 
     Association; National Women's Conference Committee; National 
     Women's Law Center; Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC); 
     NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby; Not Dead 
     Yet; OMB Watch; Paralyzed Veterans of America; People For the 
     American Way (PFAW); Population Action International; 
     Progressive States Action.
       Project Inform; Public Citizen; Public Education Network; 
     Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Coalition (REHDC); 
     Rebuild The Dream; RESULTS; Sargent Shriver National Center 
     on Poverty Law; School Social Work Association of America; 
     Service Employees International Union (SEIU); Sexuality 
     Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS); Share 
     Our Strength; Sisters of Mercy Institute Justice Team; Social 
     Security Disability Coalition; Social Security Works; 
     Southeast Asia Resource Action Center; Stand Up for Rural 
     America, Robert S. Warwick, Steering Committee; Stewards of 
     Affordable Housing for the Future (SAHF); Strengthen Social 
     Security Campaign.
       Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice; TESOL 
     International Association; Transportation Communications 
     Union; Transportation Equity Network; Transportation Trades 
     Department, AFL-CIO; Treatment Access Expansion Project; 
     Treatment Action Group (TAG); Trust for America's Health 
     (TFAH); Union for Reform Judaism; United Association of 
     Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting 
     Industry of the United States and Canada; United Cerebral 
     Palsy; United Church of Christ Justice and Witness 
     Ministries; United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of 
     America (UE); United for a Fair Economy; The United Methodist 
     Church--General Board of Church and Society.
       United Methodist Women; United Mine Workers; United Spinal 
     Association; United States Student Association (USSA); United 
     Steelworkers (USW); USAction; US Psychiatric Rehabilitation 
     Association (USPRA); VillageCare; Voices for America's 
     Children; Voices for Progress; Wider Opportunities for Women 
     (WOW); Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER); The 
     Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance; Working America; YouthBuild 
     USA; YWCA USA; ZERO TO THREE.

                          ____________________