Bill Text: TX HCR61 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: Urging the U.S. Congress to propose and submit to the states for ratification a federal balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Sponsorship: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-04-30 - Committee report sent to Calendars [HCR61 Detail]

Download: Texas-2013-HCR61-Comm_Sub.html

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83R8516 BPG-D
By: Raymond, Burkett H.C.R. No. 61

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Year after year, the federal government has failed
to make fiscally responsible choices, and Washington must now take
aggressive steps to address our burgeoning national deficit; and
WHEREAS, According to the Congressional Budget Office, the
federal deficit will reach $845 billion in 2013; the CBO projects
that if the laws that govern taxes and spending do not change,
federal debt held by the public will reach 76 percent of gross
domestic product by the end of the fiscal year, the largest
percentage since 1950; and
WHEREAS, The United States Congress routinely passes budgets
leading the government to spend more than it receives in revenue; in
order to finance the resulting budget deficit, the U.S. Treasury
must sell bonds and the government must pay interest on those bonds;
this cycle of deficit spending leaves less money for new programs or
tax cuts, and it could prove detrimental to the future stability of
our nation; and
WHEREAS, In the past, such statutory restraints as the failed
Gramm-Rudman-Hollings legislation and "PAYGO" rules have proven
ineffective and unenforceable, since simple majorities in Congress
can alter, weaken, or dismantle fiscal reforms; an amendment to the
U.S. Constitution, which requires the assent of two-thirds of
Congress and three-quarters of the states, is the only means of
guaranteeing permanent enforcement of spending restraints; and
WHEREAS, A federal balanced budget amendment will ensure that
Congress uses taxpayer dollars wisely, and it is vital that we take
this step to avert fiscal calamity and eliminate future deficits;
now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to
propose and submit to the states for ratification an amendment to
the United States Constitution providing for a balanced federal
budget; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of
Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the
members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that
this resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record
as a memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.