Senator Braun calls for Convention of the States to add term limits, balanced budget Constitutional amendments

Press Release

Today, Senator Mike Braun spoke on the Senate floor to voice his support for a Convention of the States to amend the Constitution, and introduced an amendment to a spending bill that would make it easier for the American people to call a Convention of the States as outlined in Article V of the Constitution.

In his speech, Senator Braun criticized Congress's failure to pass a budget, relying instead on "continuing resolutions" which kick the can down the road for months at a time.

Senator Braun also took the Senate to task for spending with yearly $1 trillion deficits, contributing to the $30 trillion of national debt, $45 trillion in debt we're heading to based on President Biden's spending blueprint, and the inflation crisis hurting every American family.

Senator Braun called for a Convention of the States to be held to amend the U.S. Constitution with constitutional amendments that would add term limits to the House and Senate and require a balanced federal budget.

Braun introduced an amendment to the CR that would specifically direct the Archivist of the United States to publicly publish applications from States for a Convention, and to notify Congress when the Constitutional threshold (two-thirds, or 34 states) has been met. This Constitutional threshold for a Convention has been met twice before, most recently in 2021, but Congress failed to call a Convention. Senator Braun's amendment would add some structure to the process, make the State petition count transparent, and help hold Congress accountable to public desire for a Convention.

Article V of the Constitution lays out the two processes for amending the Constitution: through Congress, or through a Convention of States where amendments would need to be ratified by three-quarters of all states. Americans overwhelmingly support term limits for Congress regardless of party affiliation.

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