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Congressman Dennis A. Ross & Judiciary Colleagues Pass Balanced Budget Amendment

Statement

Date: June 15, 2011
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Constitution Government Budget and Spending

Both Parties Have Demonstrated They Cannot be Trusted With America's Checkbook

Congressman Dennis A. Ross, a co-sponsor of H.J. Res 1, the Balanced Budget Amendment, released the following statement upon the passage of the Amendment out of the Judiciary Committee.

"In November, America sent a clear message on spending that they'd had enough. If past is prologue, the Congress will never learn to live within its means until it is forced to. As a Member of the Florida Legislature, we lived under a Balanced Budget Amendment every year. It required difficult choices and principled leadership -- something sorely lacking in Washington. It is high time we live up to our voter's standards, the principles of the U.S. Constitution and the expectations of our founding fathers. Passing a Balanced Budget Amendment is a first step toward renewing economic growth and putting our national financial house in order."

*HJ Res 1 requires Congress never to spend more than it takes in

*Requires a 3/5 majority vote to raise the debt ceiling, with an exception in times of national emergency

*Requires a supermajority to raise taxes

*Requires Spending as a Percentage of GDP to not Exceed 18% - Preventing Tax Increases to Balance the Budget

Dennis Ross, son of Bill and Loyola Ross, was born in 1959 and raised in Lakeland, Florida. He graduated from Auburn University and the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University. He has served as in-house counsel to the Walt Disney Company and as an associate of the law firm of Holland & Knight. He previously served in the Florida Legislature from 2000 until being term limited in 2008. Dennis and his wife, Cindy Hartley, were married in 1983 and have two sons, Shane and Travis.

In the 112th Congress, Dennis will serve on the Committee on Oversight & Government Reform (Chairman of the Federal Workforce, Postal Service & Labor Policy Subcommittee) as well as the Education & the Workforce and Judiciary Committees.


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