Opinion: Time for the States to Use Their Power to Limit National Debt – Inside Sources

Over the last 40 years, Congress has repeatedly tried and failed to curb its addiction to dangerously increasing federal debt. The current budget fight has taken down a House speaker but still leaves our nation drowning in $1 trillion-plus annual deficits as far as the eye can see. The interest payments required to service the resulting debt have become the greatest threat to shared prosperity, social stability and U.S. national security.

The prospect is remote that Congress will reach the two-thirds majority needed to propose a fiscal responsibility amendment to the Constitution.

Fortunately, our Constitution’s framers anticipated that Congress could become unresponsive, granting the states equal power to propose corrective amendments. Article V states that “Congress … on the Application of the Legislatures of two-thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which … shall be valid … when ratified by … three-fourths of the several States.”

The states have submitted more than 400 Article V applications to Congress since 1789. As of 1983, at least 35 states — greater than the required two-thirds — had submitted valid applications for a convention to propose an amendment limited to fiscal responsibility. Unwilling to yield its power to buy votes by dispensing debt-financed goodies paid for by future taxpayers, Congress has failed to acknowledge receipt of even one of these applications and has breached its plainly stated constitutional obligation to call the amending convention.

Several states are now considering filing a Declaratory Judgment action to compel Congress to adhere to its “shall call” obligation. State leaders are understandably cautious. Because an Article V amending convention would be a first in U.S. history, pro-deficit special interests have been able to spread the baseless fear that an amending convention would somehow assign power to itself to replace the existing Constitution.

This “runaway” convention fear-mongering is rebutted by the plain language of Article V. The Constitution grants an amending convention power only to propose and zero power to amend. Any proposed amendment must be ratified by 38 states. Just 13 of the 50 states have absolute veto power over any proposed amendment, meaning that any proposed amendment must be carefully balanced to gain the support of supermajorities across the political spectrum.

To assist the states in filing decisions, former comptroller general of the United States David Walker and several leading economists have formed the Federal Fiscal Sustainability Foundation. As of December, FFSF has completed the first accurate record of the valid convention applications, drafted a sample declaratory judgment filing, and retained a renowned constitutional litigator to act as co-counsel at no cost to the states, should they wish.

On November 28, Utah became the first state to go public, issuing a  signed by its Senate president and House speaker and concluding, “we look forward to working with our fellow states in pursuit of respecting and protecting the states’ role in amending the U.S. Constitution.” 

Americans are frustrated by congressional inaction on multiple pressing issues, including debt, term limits and campaign finance. Under our system of federalism, our Constitution grants equal power to the states to propose amendments when Congress fails to act. Now is the time for states to add a successful governing philosophy of fiscal responsibility to the U.S. Constitution.