Beckley Register-Herald – A balanced federal budget sounds like a good thing. But state lawmakers are at odds this week over what that means and how to get there. Read
Senate Concurrent Resolution 13 passed out of the Committee on Finance Monday afternoon on a split voice vote.
The resolution urges Congress to propose a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and calls for a convention of the states to force the issue.
So far, more than 20 states have voted on similar resolutions, according to SCR 13, which was sponsored by Sen. Ryan Ferns, R-Ohio, in his freshman year in the Senate.
Ferns said that at 32, he wants “to see the future be something positive for my generation.” He said the $18 trillion deficit is a sign of “out of control spending and a potential for economic collapse.”
The convention, he said is a measure that was put in place by the founding fathers for states to take action.
“It’s a message to Congress; if they don’t take action, we’re going to,” he said.
Opponents to the measure say the country is at an all-time high of division, and that changing the Constitution now is a bad idea.
