WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), a member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, today released the following statement on the importance of passing the Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution, which will likely come to the Senate floor for a vote in mid-July:

“Kansans understand they have to live within a budget and they expect the federal government to do the same. Unfortunately when members of Congress are not required to prioritize their spending, they have a proven track record of simply borrowing more and tucking the invoices away when the bills come due. We are one month away from hitting the Aug. 2 deadline to raise the debt ceiling – a vote we’ll be taking for the eleventh time in the last decade. And our message to the American people and to the Administration on the debt limit vote is simple: spending beyond our means is no longer an option. By passing the Balanced Budget Amendment and forcing Congress to be disciplined and live within a budget, we will turn away from record deficits and toward fiscal responsibility.”

The Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution – co-sponsored by all 47 Senate Republican – would require the president to submit and Congress to pass a balanced budget each year, cap federal spending at 18 percent of gross domestic product (below the 25.3 percent proposed in President Obama’s 2012 budget), and require a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate to raise taxes.

According to the National Association of State Budget Officers, 46 states have constitutional or statutory balanced-budget requirements.

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