NFIB/Michigan is backing a nationwide effort to use the Article V process outlined in the U.S. Constitution to move Congress toward adopting a Balanced Budget Amendment. The process requires 34 state legislatures to adopt similar resolutions that would call for a convention to propose a balanced budget amendment. Twenty states have already passed the Resolution.
Such a resolution, SJR V – sponsored by Senator Mike Green (R-31), has already passed the Michigan Senate with NFIB being the only business group to voice support. Governor Snyder said that he would also support a resolution to Congress under Article V of the U.S. Constitution during his annual State of the State Address. Another version of the resolution, House Joint Resolution HJR CC – sponsored by Representative Ray Franz (R-101), has also been introduced in the Michigan House.
Thirty three states, including Michigan, have a Balanced Budget requirement in their constitution. However, the federal government does not. Although many attempts have been made by Congress to place a balanced budget requirement in our U.S. Constitution, big spending Democrats and Republicans have blocked these efforts over the last three decades.
Over 90% of NFIB members support a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution to require Washington DC to live within its means just like everyone else has to do. Right now NFIB is supporting this effort in Congress like we have for many years and we will continue to fight in Congress for its adoption. But now, we are stepping up our game by also getting behind an effort by the states to get a Balanced Budget Amendment through the U.S. Constitution’s Article V process as well. This little known section of our Constitution allows the states to amend the Constitution and bypass Congress and the executive office.
As of now, NFIB is the only business group in Lansing and DC supporting this Article V effort!
There is no time limit on an Article V call for convention effort. A review of the history concerning the 17th Amendment to the Constitution illustrates that this is a realistic and achievable goal. After almost 85 years of resistance, the U.S. Senate finally consented in 1913 to Congressional proposal of what became the 17th Amendment when it became apparent that the states were on the verge of succeeding with only one state needed to call a convention under Article V.
Whether the Article V effort motivates Congress to act or it succeeds on its own, taxpayers and citizens are the winners, It should also be understood that since the Executive office does not have a constitutional role in the amendment process, the joint resolution does not go to the White House for signature or approval, but to the states for final three fourths (38 states) ratification.
It is interesting to note that this process has detractors from both conservatives and liberals – Democrats and Republicans. They all like to raise the specter of a “runaway convention” where the entire U.S. Constitution could be changed. Most of this rhetoric is based on their fear of an “end run” by the citizens and losing face as “beltway insiders” that are incapable of resolving our nation’s budget woes. They are more interested in promoting their own narrow agenda rather than reviewing history or any credible research on the subject. One of the checks on this unlikely scenario is the specificity of the resolutions in question. SJR V and HJR CC meet this requirement and are consistent with the other resolutions passed by the other states that narrow a call for a convention to propose a balanced budget amendment.
As one researcher on the subject, constitutional scholar Robert J. Natelson observed, “There are far more political and legal constraints on a runaway convention than on a runaway Congress.”
