Coats Calls for Balanced Budget Amendment

Statement

Senator Dan Coats (R-Ind.) today joined all Senate Republicans in supporting a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution that requires the federal government to balance its budget, limit the growth of government spending and require supermajorities for tax increases.

"Since my first days in public service, I have advocated for a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. In 1995 and 1997, I voted for a balanced budget amendment to set limits on spending and require the federal government to balance its checkbook. Each time, the Senate came one vote short of passage. If this amendment had passed and been ratified by three-fourths of our states, we would not be faced with the dangerous debt crisis that exists today.

"Washington must stop spending money we do not have and start making the difficult decisions necessary to preserve the future of our country. Any solution to this financial crisis must require spending cuts and belt-tightening just like families in Indiana have done over the past few years. Passing a balanced budget amendment will help clean up our country's fiscal house and prevent the government from mortgaging our children's future."

The Balanced Budget Amendment:

* Mandates that total budgetary outlays for any fiscal year not exceed total revenues.
* Caps federal spending at 18 percent of GDP.
* Requires the President to submit a balanced budget to Congress every fiscal year.
* Requires a two-thirds supermajority for any new tax, any increase in tax rates, or any bill that is a net revenue raiser. Requires a supermajority to raise the debt limit.
* Allows for waiver of limits if there is a formal declaration of war, if the U.S. is engaged in a military conflict constituting a threat to national security, or if two-thirds of both the House and Senate approve.

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