Portman: It is Time to Insist on a Balanced Budget

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) released the following statement urging Congress to adopt a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution:

"It is time to insist on a balanced budget.  The last few years under President Obama have demonstrated why the only way it is likely to happen is through a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution.  Without it, the federal government may never act responsibly and balance its books.  The first four years of the Obama presidency produced budget deficits in excess of a trillion dollars. With our national debt already north of $16 trillion, every day we fail to act to rein in spending is another day that our government mortgages our children's future and condemns them to higher taxes, higher interest rates, and higher unemployment.  I am a cosponsor of a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution that would then go to the states for ratification.  Despite the record debt, however, the Democrat-controlled Senate refuses to even consider legislation for a balanced budget constitutional amendment.

“That's why I also support a constitutional convention to debate and adopt a Balanced Budget Amendment.  I also believe such a convention should be limited to a vote on a constitutional amendment to balance the budget.”