Will the renewed flurry of Congressional activity result in passage of a
Constitutional amendment requiring a balanced federal budget this year?
Supporters say yes, but leadership in neither the House nor the Senate are
certain enough about the outcome to bring the issue to a vote. Opponents of
the measure have pledged – and begun waging – an all-out fight.
There is wide support for reducing the federal deficit, but that doesn’t
translate into support for the Balanced Budget Amendment. The National
Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) has reiterated “concerns we have
about any solution that would potentially shift the costs of deficit reduction
to state governments.” NCSL’s bottom line: support for an amendment only if
it includes “language that protects against cost-shifting to state and
or other means as conditions of aid.” There are no such provisions in either
House or Senate versions of the measure.
If the Balanced Budget Amendment legislation is enacted, the action will
shift to state legislatures, which will have to deal with both the ratification
issue and the even greater fiscal pressures sure to ensue.
At the request of the Organizing Committee of CPA’s Policy Leaders
Action Network, CPA is compiling information useful in opposing ratification
of the Balanced Budget Amendment should it come to the states.
