House Prepares To Take Up Balanced Budget Amendment

By Mike Hothi

The House is set to vote on a balanced-budget amendment (BBA) by the end of the week.

Passing the amendment would require a two-thirds majority vote in the House, a number that is unattainable without Democratic support.

“[I] hope that this passes,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) told reporters Tuesday. “I will be voting for it because I do think ultimately that the biggest check we can put on the government’s unbridled spending is a forced balanced budget amendment like most states have.”

Although in support, Cantor expressed a desire to see stronger version of the proposed amendment, noting that in its current form, the BBA does not include a spending cap or provide supermajority voting requirement to increase taxes like many Republicans had hoped for.

On the other side of the aisle, Democratic leaders are holding firm in their opposition to the amendment.

The bill would have to pass by a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate before being ratified by three-quarters of the states to take effect.

No Presidential signature is required for a Constitutional amendment but the Obama administration did release a statement Tuesday warning that it “would impose serious risks for our economy… by requiring the government to raise taxes and cut spending in the face of a contraction, which would accelerate job losses.”

The administration emphasized the importance of finding a bipartisan solution to the country’s economic woes instead.