U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, today joined with all 44 of his Republican colleagues to again push for a Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA) to the Constitution. Today's introduction of the BBA comes a day after President Obama again called for higher taxes and increased spending to grow the size and scope of government. Hatch has long supported a BBA during his service in the Senate, and was the lead Senate sponsor of a BBA last Congress that was supported by all 47 Senate Republicans.
"The President talked a lot last night about spending more of the American people's money, but very little about the number one issue I hear from Utahns about -- our national debt," Hatch said. "The President and his liberal allies just don't get it. Spending is the reason our debt is nearing $16.5 trillion, and a Balanced Budget Amendment would force Washington live within its means, just like Utah families must do."
Specifically, the BBA requires that the federal budget must be balanced, requires the President to submit to Congress a balanced budget that limits outlays to 18 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), requires a supermajority in Congress to raise taxes, and requires a supermajority in Congress to increase the debt limit.
The BBA introduced today is supported by Americans for Prosperity, Americans for Tax Reform, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste, National Taxpayers Union, National Federation of Independent Business, and the 60 Plus Association.