Amdt to Limit Federal Spending Introduced

CNS News reports Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) and Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) have introduced a constitutional amendment to limit the spending of the federal government.

HJR 79 reads:

SECTION 1. Total annual outlays shall not exceed one-fifth of economic output of the United States of America, unless two-thirds of each House of Congress shall provide for a specific increase of outlays above this amount. Total outlays shall include all outlays of the United States Government, except for those for repayment of debt principal.

SECTION 2. The Congress may waive the provisions of this article while a declaration of war is in effect.

SECTION 3. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

SECTION 4. This article shall take effect beginning the fifth fiscal year after its ratification.

This would definitely be a start in the right direction, and it is actually very generous–as in, it doesn’t limit spending by nearly as much as it should–but it’s better than the current “drunken sailor” approach to spending in Washington.

The figures I read peg the U.S. GDP at about $14 trillion ($14,204,322,000,000 to be exact).  One-fifth of that would be $2.8 trillion ($2,840,864,400,000 to be exact).  The budget President Obama called for last month was $3.6 trillion, so if this amendment was in place right now, the budge would be limited by 23% below what Obama wants.

When you consider that over 50% of the 2009 federal budget is comprised of unconstitutional social programs for which there is no constitutional authority,  our budget should really be cut to something on the order of $1.8 trillion…without even looking at the massive waste with which most areas of the federal government are riddled.

No, HJR 79 definitely isn’t what we need to fix this nation’s spending problem, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Note: Reader comments are reviewed before publishing, and only salient comments that add to the topic will be published. Profanity is absolutely not allowed and will be summarily deleted. Spam, copied statements and other material not comprised of the reader’s own opinion will also be deleted.