(Alexandria,VA) – Today, Andrew Moylan, Vice President of Government Affairs for the362,000 member National Taxpayers Union (NTU), testified before the HouseSubcommittee on the Constitution on the question: “Whether the ConstitutionShould be Amended to Address the Federal Deficit?” Moylan provided a clearanswer, by testifying in strong support of a Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA) tothe U.S. Constitution.
Moylan analyzed (and lauded)several current BBA proposals, including the “ConsensusBBA” introduced by Senator Hatch (R-UT) as S.J. Res. 10 and by RepresentativeWalsh (R-IL) as H.J. Res. 56. “These measures would provide a vitalcheck on irresponsible budgeting,” he said. “The fiscal crisis our nationcurrently faces clearly demonstrates the value and need for a Balanced BudgetAmendment.”
Moylan countered arguments againsta BBA saying, “Opponents contend that we have neverenshrined any specific economic policy in the Constitution and should not do sonow. But the BBA is not an economic policy and it is not a federal budget; itis a set of guidelines within which Congress can create economic policy and afederal budget.”
Additionallyhe dispelled concerns over emergency spending clearing BBA hurdles by pointingto recent history: “Congress is not only capable of achieving suchsupermajorities but has done so [if the situation truly warrants it]…when thefinancial panic of late 2008 gripped the nation, Congress passed the TroubledAsset Relief Program with strong bipartisan supermajorities in both chambers.”
The completetestimony submitted by NTU Vice President of Government Affairs Andrew Moylanto the Subcommittee on the Constitution,Committee on the Judiciary, United States House of Representatives canbe found HERE(https://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/pdf/Moylan05132011.pdf).
The362,000-member NTU is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working for lowertaxes, smaller government, and economic freedom at all levels. More informationon NTU’s history of Balanced Budget Amendment advocacy, dating back to the1970s, is available at www.ntu.org.