Jerrod Shouse, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, released the following statement today in response to the Oklahoma Senate voting “yes” on SJR 4, a resolution supporting a federal balanced budget amendment:
“This makes Oklahoma the 29th state to pass a resolution in support of a federal balanced-budget amendment.
“Today’s vote sends a message to Congress that we, the people, are tired of them spending us deeper and deeper into debt.
“SJR 4 authorizes state delegates to attend a limited convention of the states, as authorized by Article V of the U.S. Constitution, for the purpose of proposing a federal balanced budget amendment.
“Thirty-four states must authorize such a convention. Thirty-eight states would have to approve any agreed-upon language in order to ratify the amendment.
“This was a ‘key vote’ for NFIB/Oklahoma, meaning we alerted legislators that their votes would be monitored and reported back to our members, who overwhelmingly support a balanced-budget amendment.
“When we balloted our members about this issue in 2015, 77 percent of said we need to hold Congress accountable and pass a balanced-budget amendment.
“Congress needs to learn a lesson from Oklahoma’s small-business owners and learn to live within its means. If small businesses can stick to a budget, so can our politicians in Washington.”
NFIB/Oklahoma is the state’s leading small-business association representing a cross-section of the state’s economy. Learn more at www.NFIB.com/OK or follow @NFIB_OK on Twitter.