Rep. Obernolte introduces constitutional amendment to balance the budget and reduce national debt

On Thursday, U.S. Congressman Jay Obernolte (R-Hesperia) reintroduced his constitutional amendment to balance the federal budget and return fiscal responsibility to the federal government. H.J. Res. 15, known as the Obernolte Balanced Budget Amendment, would amend the U.S. Constitution to ensure total federal spending for any fiscal year, as appropriated by Congress, does not exceed the amount of federal revenue.

“When I introduced this constitutional amendment last Congress, I noted that if we didn’t immediately work to put our fiscal house in order, the result would be skyrocketing inflation, higher interest rates, and slower economic growth,” said Rep. Obernolte. “We are now experiencing all three, thanks in large part to a continuing series of large spending packages and a lack of fiscal responsibility on the part of both the executive and legislative branches of federal government. We must act now to remove wasteful federal spending, get our federal deficit under control, and restabilize our economy.”

The Obernolte Balanced Budget Amendment implements a constitutional mandate to require that Congress balance the federal budget over five years, and to ensure in the future that there is not a deficit between what is appropriated and what is received as federal revenue in any given year unless a fiscal emergency exists. The current United States national debt is over $31.4 trillion, or $94,000 for every American. Projections from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office indicate that number will increase rapidly unless Congress balances its budget, with the federal spending deficit predicted to average $1.2 trillion between 2022 and 2031 as a result of recent spending increases. The federal debt is projected to reach 195% of the nation’s GDP by 2050, the highest in U.S. history.

Read the Obernolte Balanced Budget Amendmenthere.