The Goldwater Institutes "Compact for America"

From my friend at the Goldwater Institute Nick Dranias here is the policy summary of the Compact for America Fact Sheet: States Must Take the Wheel to Avoid the Next Fiscal Cliff Now that Washington has kicked the can yet again instead of fixing the debt, isn’t it time for the States and the People to amend the Constitution to enforce a balanced budget? Unlike any prudent household, Washington simply refuses to balance its budget. • Washington has become so addicted to borrowing money that the outstanding national debt exceeds $16.4 trillion. • Our outstanding national debt now exceeds 100% of Gross Domestic Product, a figure not seen since World War II. • The 2012 federal fiscal year operating deficit will likely exceed $1.5 trillion. • For the fourth fiscal year running, Congress has failed to pass an annual federal budget under which to operate our country. The solution to our national debt problem will not be found in Washington. The country faces an overconcentration of power to incur debt that is too easily leveraged by special interests to enrich themselves at the expense of current and future generations. No matter which party is in control, Congress has been borrowing trillions of dollars from future generations, whose voices cannot be heard, to shower money on special interests who dominate Washington. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again under the same circumstances and expecting different results. For decades, Americans have tried to reform the political class in Washington by replacing one candidate with another or one party’s dominance with that of another. The problems facing our country have only continued to grow. Washington will never control its addiction to debt. It is time for the People, acting through their state representatives, to intervene and save our future. The Compact for America makes it possible to fix the debt. Using an agreement among the states, the Compact for America invokes Article V of the United States Constitution to advance a Balanced Budget Amendment. The proposed BBA would require a majority of State legislatures to approve any increase above an initial debt limit. In other words, state legislatures would provide oversight and intervention as the nation’s board of directors when it comes to requested increases in the federal debt. This BBA is designed to force Washington to balance its budget or prepare a budget to make the case for more debt long before the midnight hour arrives. It would require the President to start designating spending cuts when spending exceeds 98% of the debt limit. Congress must then override those cuts within 30 days with alternatives if they disagree. In short, the proposed BBA would force both the executive and legislative branches to put their cards on the table face-up long before hitting a hard debt limit, protecting our country’s credit rating from being held hostage to a game of political chicken. The CFA’s BBA also recognizes that our national debt is primarily a spending problem. It requires any new or increased income or sales tax to secure two-thirds approval of both houses of Congress. But the amendment allows for simple majority approval of increases in tax revenue that result from ditching the income tax code in favor of a sales tax or reducing or eliminating tax exemptions, deductions and credits. Any new tax burden would only result from making our tax code flatter, fairer and far more conducive to economic growth—which is the best way to prevent both debt spending and tax increases. With the states serving as an active board of directors for our wayward federal executive and legislative branch “CEOs,” the Compact for America’s BBA would powerfully check and balance Washington’s debt addicts. Some may question whether the states should have a voice in the national debt debate; but the states should have a voice for the same reason that the U.S. Constitution originally gave state legislatures control over the U.S. Senate. A centralized authority should not have a free hand in determining—or mortgaging—the future of every community in the nation. Moreover, if the case can be made to a majority of state legislatures that the federal government should borrow more money, then the BBA will allow such borrowing. The state debt approval requirement creates flexibility for the federal government to finance justifiable wars and to address genuine crises without easily exploited loopholes. An interstate compact provides the vehicle for this crucial reform because it transforms the state origination of a Balanced Budget Amendment into a “turn-key” operation that will cut the time and resources needed by more than 60%. It does this by consolidating all of the state legislation involved in the Article V amendment process—from the application to Congress, to delegate appointments and instructions, to the selection of the convention location and rules, to the ultimate ratification of the BBA. By fully defining and regulating the Article V process, the Compact also eliminates any possibility of a “runaway convention.” • It compels all member state delegates to follow convention rules that limit the convention agenda to an up or down vote on the BBA and to return home if those rules fail to hold. • It prohibits member states from expanding the scope of the convention, violating the convention rules, or ratifying anything other than a BBA. In short, the Compact for America is just the sort of powerful, yet pragmatic reform that could only be originated outside of Washington. It is also what the People want. According to the political polling firm of McLaughlin & Associates: • Support for an interstate compact to advance constitutional amendments exceeds opposition by more than two to one. • 61% agree that a majority of state legislatures should be required to approve any increase in the federal debt • 71% agree that Congress should cut spending before raising taxes. • 86% agree that Congress should be required to balance its budget. For good reason, the People are demanding the Compact for America’s reforms. They need your leadership.

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