CHEYENNE, Wyo., Nov. 4, 2015—A recent editorial in the Casper Star-Tribune and a new video by the Budget Amendment Task Force kicked off a campaign to remind state legislators of the monumentally important task awaiting them when they return to work in February: Help keep America from going bankrupt.
“Wyoming is poised to become the 28th state to call for a convention of states in order to pass a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” said Tony Gagliardi, Wyoming state director for the National Federation of Independent Business, America’s voice of small business. “If legislators pass on this possibly one-time opportunity, they will owe future generations of debt-crippled Americans a good reason why.”
One of the two ways the U.S. Constitution allows for amendments to be made to it is by petition to Congress from two-thirds (34) of state legislatures for a convention to be held to propose a balanced budget. The nation is looking to Wyoming to be number 28 calling for such a convention.
“No one truly believes Congress will take the steps necessary to alleviate the $18 trillion in federal debt it has saddled America with,” said Loren J. Enns, co-founder of the Budget Amendment Task Force, which is spearheading the drive for a constitutional amendment. “If states will not seize this very vital initiative, our nation will be bankrupt, and sooner than you expect.”
The first of eight informational videos explaining the job at hand was also launched recently. In it Enns takes direct aim at the criticism thrown at a convention of state. “It’s as absurd as it is impossible for a convention of states to turn into runaway convention by straying into other subjects than balancing the nation’s books,” said Enns. “Every state will have a final say on the end product before it can be approved, so worries of what such a convention states could turn into are needless.”
The video can be viewed here and the editorial can be read here. News releases on further activities of the campaign will be forthcoming. The public-awareness part of the campaign is planned to culminate in a dinner for legislators on Sunday, February 7, the day before they return for their budget session.
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For more than 70 years, the National Federation of Independent Business has been the Voice of Small Business, taking the message from Main Street to the halls of Congress and all 50 state legislatures. NFIB annually surveys its members on state and federal issues vital to their survival as America’s economic engine and biggest creator of jobs. NFIB’s educational mission is to remind policymakers that small businesses are not smaller versions of bigger businesses; they have very different challenges and priorities.
National Federation of Independent Business/Wyoming
Box 985
Cheyenne, WY 82003
866-476-6332
Twitter: @NFIB_WY
