Freshman Senator Backing a Balanced Budget Constitutional Amendment

It's a shame that it has to come down to an amendment for congress to the job we hired them to do. While I applaud Mike Lee for all he is trying to do, I have to wonder if it will do any good. The Constitution is already ignored by congress except when they can twist it to fit stealing our rights. Another amendment will be just as ignored as all the rest.

We expect these people to be good stewards of the hard earned tax dollars we send to washington, only to have those expectations abused and thrown back in our face.

As far as obama calling for bipartisan support in reducing the deficit, we have already seen where he stands on spending money he doesn't have. It seems to be his favorite thing to do. Anyone that trusts him to do anything to fix the deficit is an idiot. I do expect him to make it much worse though...

by Lauren Torlone - FoxNews

Buoyed by strong Tea Party support during his campaign, freshman Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) has arrived in Washington and says he's determined to take significant steps to rectify the staggering U.S. deficit. Lee talked to Fox News on Sunday about his proposed constitutional amendment to balance the budget.

In order to propose such an amendment, several steps would need to be taken. The first option, which Lee says is the path he will choose, is for both houses of Congress to pass a two thirds majority vote. The second option would be a Constitutional Convention, which would also require a two thirds vote from state legislatures. The proposal would then need to be ratified.

When asked about cutting government programs, including those that could be lifelines for Americans, Senator Lee took a strong stance, saying "no program will be held immune from review" and that Congress needs to consider "categorical across the board cuts" regardless of a program's perceived importance.

If the U.S. government's budget functioned more like a typical American household, Lee says "the credit cards would have been "cut to pieces" a long time ago. While acknowledging that a serious reduction in spending would not necessarily help ease existing debt, Lee said its still time to start "paying off the bill. It may take time but we need to stop accumulating new debt."

Speaking during his weekly internet and radio address over the weekend, President Obama called for bipartisanship among both parties in Congress, citing reduction of the budget deficit as a top priority.