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(Alexandria, VA) – Today, Andrew Moylan, Vice President of Government Affairs for the 362,000 member National Taxpayers Union (NTU), testified before the House Subcommittee on the Constitution on the question: “Whether the Constitution Should be Amended to Address the Federal Deficit?” Moylan provided a clear answer, by testifying in strong support of a Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA) to the U.S. Constitution.

Moylan analyzed (and lauded) several current BBA proposals, including the “Consensus BBA” introduced by Senator Hatch (R-UT) as S.J. Res. 10 and by Representative Walsh (R-IL) as H.J. Res. 56. “These measures would provide a vital check on irresponsible budgeting,” he said. “The fiscal crisis our nation currently faces clearly demonstrates the value and need for a Balanced Budget Amendment.”

Moylan countered arguments against a BBA saying, “Opponents contend that we have never enshrined any specific economic policy in the Constitution and should not do so now. But the BBA is not an economic policy and it is not a federal budget; it is a set of guidelines within which Congress can create economic policy and a federal budget.”

Additionally he dispelled concerns over emergency spending clearing BBA hurdles by pointing to recent history: “Congress is not only capable of achieving such supermajorities but has done so [if the situation truly warrants it]…when the financial panic of late 2008 gripped the nation, Congress passed the Troubled Asset Relief Program with strong bipartisan supermajorities in both chambers.”

The complete testimony submitted by NTU Vice President of Government Affairs Andrew Moylan to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Committee on the Judiciary, United States House of Representatives can be found HERE (http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/pdf/Moylan05132011.pdf).

The 362,000-member NTU is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working for lower taxes, smaller government, and economic freedom at all levels. More information on NTU’s history of Balanced Budget Amendment advocacy, dating back to the 1970s, is available at www.ntu.org.