Today, all 8 Republican members of the Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Senator Dick Durbin, Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution calling for immediate hearings on the Hatch-Lee Balanced Budget Amendment.  As our astounding national debt mounts, Congress must take swift action to correct the fundamental and structural problems with the way Washington spends money.  The current system encourages Congress to overspend, and only a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution will make subsequent spending reforms enforceable. 

 

June 7, 2011

 

The Honorable Dick Durbin, Chairman

Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights

Senate Judiciary Committee

United States Senate

Washington, DC 20150

 

Dear Chairman Durbin,

 

Our nation is facing a fiscal crisis that is only getting worse.  The national debt, now over $14 trillion, has increased by more than one-third since January 2009.  The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the deficit for the current fiscal year will be approximately $1.4 trillion and the national debt will soon be larger than the economy.  The debt also has implications on national security.  Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, calls the debt “the most significant threat to our national security.”  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warns that the debt “sends a message of weakness internationally.”  

Therefore, we ask that you immediately hold hearings on S.J.Res. 10, which calls for a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  S.J.Res. 10 would also put in place a much-needed restraint on runaway Washington spending and protect working Americans from higher taxes.  S.J.Res. 10 is supported by 47 Senators and has the support of various grassroots organizations.   

Undoubtedly, Washington has a spending problem and this problem is getting worse.  The budget deficit is now almost fifteen times the size it was when the Senate came within one vote of passing a balanced budget amendment in 1997.  A balanced budget amendment is a measure that is long overdue and whose time has come.  

The American people are demanding action from Washington to get our fiscal house in order once and for all.  

 

Sincerely,

 

Sen. Chuck Grassley

Sen. Orrin G. Hatch

Sen. Jon Kyl

Sen. Lindsay Graham

Sen. Jeff Sessions

Sen. John Cornyn

Sen. Mike Lee

Sen. Tom Coburn