[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 114 (Thursday, July 14, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S5153]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                        PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS

  The following petition or memorial was laid before the Senate and was 
referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated:

       POM-197. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of New Hampshire urging the United States 
     Congress, pursuant to Article V of the United States 
     Constitution, to call a convention of the states for the sole 
     and exclusive purpose of proposing an amendment to the United 
     States Constitution that would provide for a balanced budget; 
     to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                     House Concurrent Resolution 40



 =========================== NOTE =========================== 

  
  On page S5153, July 14, 2016, in the first column, the following 
head appears: House Concurrent Resolution 10
  
  The online Record has been corrected to read: House Concurrent 
Resolution 40


 ========================= END NOTE ========================= 

       Whereas, with each passing year this nation becomes deeply 
     in debt as its expenditures grossly and repeatedly exceed 
     available revenues so that the public debt now exceeds $12 
     trillion; and
       Whereas, attempts to limit spending, including the 
     impoundment of funds by the President of the United States, 
     have resulted in strenuous assertions that the responsibility 
     for appropriations is the constitutional duty of the 
     Congress; and
       Whereas, the annual federal budget repeatedly demonstrates 
     the unwillingness or inability of both the legislative and 
     executive branches of the federal government to curtail 
     spending to conform to available revenues; and
       Whereas, the unified budget does not reflect actual 
     spending because of the exclusion of special outlays which 
     are not in the budget; and
       Whereas, knowledgeable planning and fiscal prudence require 
     that the budget reflect all federal spending and that the 
     budget be in balance; and
       Whereas, believing that fiscal irresponsibility at the 
     federal level is one of the greatest economic threats which 
     faces our nation, we firmly believe that constitutional 
     restraint is necessary to bring the fiscal discipline needed 
     to reverse this trend; and
       Whereas, the mounting debt level is putting our country not 
     only at economic security risk, but it is opening our country 
     up to a national security risk as our debt level restricts 
     our capacity to act and shows weakness to our enemies; and
       Whereas, under Article V of the Constitution of the United 
     States, amendments to the United States Constitution may be 
     proposed by the Congress whenever two-thirds of both Houses 
     deem it necessary, or on the application of the legislatures 
     of two-thirds of the several states the Congress shall call a 
     constitutional convention for the purpose of proposing 
     amendments; Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate 
     concurring:
       That the New Hampshire general court hereby petitions the 
     Congress of the United States of America to adopt an 
     amendment to the Constitution of the United States, for 
     submission to the states for ratification, requiring, with 
     certain exceptions, that for each fiscal year the president 
     of the United States submit and the Congress of the United 
     States adopt a balanced federal budget; or
       That pursuant to Article V of the Constitution of the 
     United States, the New Hampshire general court makes 
     application to the Congress of the United States of America 
     to call a convention for the specific and exclusive purpose 
     of proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United 
     States, for submission to the states for ratification, 
     requiring, with certain exceptions, that for each fiscal year 
     the president of the United States submit and the Congress of 
     the United States adopt a balanced federal budget; and
       That if Congress adopts, within 90 days after the 
     legislatures of two-thirds of the states have made 
     application for such convention, an amendment to the 
     Constitution of the United States similar in subject matter 
     to that contained in this resolution, then this application 
     for a convention shall no longer be of any force or effect; 
     and
       That this application and request be deemed null and void, 
     rescinded, and of no effect in the event that such convention 
     not be limited to the aforementioned specific and exclusive 
     purpose of a Federal Balanced Budget Amendment; and
       That this application shall be deemed null and void, 
     rescinded, and of no effect in the event the United States 
     Supreme Court rules that a convention cannot be limited to 
     the subject stated in 34 such applications; and
       That this application by the New Hampshire general court 
     constitutes a continuing application in accordance with 
     Article V of the Constitution of the United States until at 
     least two-thirds of the Legislatures of the several states 
     have made application for a similar convention pursuant to 
     Article V or Congress has proposed an amendment to the 
     Constitution of the United States similar in subject matter 
     to that contained in this concurrent resolution; and
       That certified copies of this concurrent resolution be 
     transmitted by the house clerk to the President of the United 
     States Senate, to the Speaker of the United States House of 
     Representatives, to each member of the New Hampshire 
     delegation to the Congress, and to the presiding officer of 
     each house of each state legislature in the United States.

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