Support for Balanced Budget Amendment

Statement

U.S. Representative Kristi Noem (R-SD) voted for a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution today as the national debt pushed past the $15 trillion mark earlier this week. The measure failed to garner enough support to reach the 2/3 threshold for such constitutional amendments. A similar measure passed the House of Representatives 15 years ago with bipartisan support and went on to die in the Senate by one vote. Many of the Democratic legislators who supported the amendment then, opposed it today.

"When I served in the South Dakota State Legislature, we were required by law to make sure we passed a budget that was balanced each year. Forty-eight other states have a similar requirement. Yet the federal government has never enacted this kind of constraint on spending at the national level," said Noem.

"I supported the Balanced Budget Amendment today because it is the only truly effective measure to stop politicians from spending our future generations further into debt. This amendment is a game?changer. It is a much-needed solution to our nation's fiscal crisis," said Noem. "Since President Obama took office on January 20, 2009, the national debt has increased by 3.7 trillion dollars. To put that in perspective, it took the U.S. from 1776 until 1992 to accumulate the same amount of debt that President Obama accumulated in two and a half years. The time to act is right now. We can't wait another two and a half years."

Noem concluded, "I'm disappointed that a measure, which had bipartisan support and came so close to passage 15 years ago, failed along mainly partisan lines today. This is yet another testament to the brokenness in Washington. I hope every American takes note of who supported this measure and who opposed it."

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