Arizona lawmaker is an original co-sponsor of legislation
WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords today announced her strong support for a constitutional amendment to balance the federal budget by 2020.
“Arizona families and businesses struggle every day to make sure their expenses don’t exceed their earnings,” said Giffords. “Balancing a budget is not a complicated concept. Yet over the last decade it has proven difficult for the federal government to grasp. This amendment is intended to change that.”
Giffords is one of 33 original co-sponsors of legislation introduced today that would make a balanced federal budget a requirement of the U.S. Constitution. Arizona and 48 other states have a similar requirement in their state constitutions.
A balanced budget amendment is a key component of the Blueprint for Fiscal Reform, a comprehensive plan to pay down the national debt and balance the federal budget that recently was introduced by the Blue Dog Coalition. Giffords has been a member of the fiscally responsible coalition since taking office in 2007.
“I am proud to be part of a coalition that is actively working to begin putting our country back on a secure economic footing,” the Arizona lawmaker said. “The balanced budget amendment won’t achieve that all by itself, but it will help ensure that we don’t repeat the mistakes that helped create our current situation.”
The amendment would:
• Require Congress to produce a balanced budget every fiscal year beginning in 2020.
• Require the president to submit a balanced budget in his or her annual transmission to Congress.
• Prohibit outlays for a fiscal year from exceeding total receipts for that fiscal year unless Congress, by a three-fifths roll call vote of each house, authorizes a specific excess of outlays over receipts (in cases of emergencies).
As a Blue Dog, Giffords believes that balancing the budget is an attainable goal. Last month, she voted to rein in federal deficits by defying party leadership and opposed a proposal to increase the nation’s debt limit. She was one of only 37 Democrats to vote against the increase.
Giffords, who last week was named the most centrist member of Arizona’s congressional delegation by the respected National Journal, has been a strong supporter of pay-as-you-go legislation. Known as PAYGO, the legislation requires future spending increases or tax cuts to be paid for with either cuts to other programs or new streams of revenue.