Please Contact Idaho House members and ask them to vote NO on HCR25 an Article V Constitutional Convention on a Balanced Budget Amendment.
Eagle Forum National Constitutional Issues Chairman
Janine Hansen, 775-397-6859, director@nevadafamilies.org
www.eagleforum.org. eagle@eagleforum.org
February 3, 2026, In the Year of Our Lord
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We need your help!!!
We just lost in the Idaho House State Affairs Committee 9 to 4 on HCR 25 an Article V Constitutional Convention application for a Balanced Budget Amendment. It could be up for a vote in the whole House in as soon as 2 days.
MESSAGE: Please vote no on HCR25 an Article V Constitutional Convention on a Balanced Budget Amendment. The only way to balance the federal the budget is to raise taxes or cut spending. There is no requirement in the Balanced Budget Amendment to cut spending. Idaho gets 41% of its revenue from the Federal government. When Idaho legislators continue to vote to receive more federal money and mandates, how can they say they support a balanced federal budget? Article V of the Constitution provides for a convention for proposing amendments. There is no limitation to a single amendment. Do not open our Constitution to unlimited changes. (Or better yet write your own message.) More information below.
Please Contact these Idaho House members: *Most important
*Rep. Michael Veile (new), Home (208) 223-2544, Statehouse (208) 332-1045
*Rep. Erin Bingham (new), Home (208) 332-1071, Statehouse (208) 332-1071,
*Rep. Don Hall (new), Home (208) 332-1188, Statehouse (208) 332-1188
*Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen, Home (208) 715-7770, Statehouse (208) 332-1042
Rep. Mike Pohanka, Home (208) 490-4709, Statehouse (208) 332-1174
Rep. Ted Hill, Home (208) 332-1124, Statehouse (208) 332-1124
*Rep. Brent Crane, Bus (208) 466-0613, Statehouse (208) 332-1058
*Rep. Jaron Crane, Home (208) 812-2059, Statehouse (208) 332-1059
Rep. Jon Weber, Home (208) 390-6128.Statehouse (208) 332-1053
Rep. Rod Furniss, Home (208) 589-1100, Statehouse (208) 332-1056
Rep. David Cannon, Home (208) 332-1086, Statehouse (208) 332-1086
Rep. Clay Handy, Home (208) 332-1074, Statehouse (208) 332-1074
Rep. Doug Pickett, Home (208) 862-3387, Statehouse (208) 332-1123
Rep. Steve Miller, Home (208) 332-1061, Statehouse (208) 332-1061
Rep. Chris Bruce, Statehouse (208) 332-1055
Rep. Jeff Ehlers, Home (208) 278-2818, Statehouse (208) 332-1072
Rep James Petzke, Home (208) 450-5615, Statehouse (208) 332-1043
Rep. Jeff Cornilles, Bus (208) 880-3562, Statehouse (208) 332-1033
Rep. Bruce Skaug, Home (208) 332-1178, Statehouse (208) 332-1178
Rep. Brandon Mitchell, Home (208) 596-5001, Statehouse (208) 332-1175
Rep. Lori Ann McCann, Home (208) 743-5517, Bus (208) 743-5517, Statehouse (208) 332-1184
Copy and Paste Emails for these Representatives:
MVeile@house.idaho.gov, EBingham@house.idaho.gov, DHall@house.idaho.gov, SMickelsen@house.idaho.gov, MPohanka@house.idaho.gov, THill@house.idaho.gov, BCrane@house.idaho.gov, JCrane@house.idaho.gov, JWeber@house.idaho.gov, RFurniss@house.idaho.gov, DCannon@house.idaho.gov, CHandy@house.idaho.gov, DPickett@house.idaho.gov, SMiller@house.idaho.gov, CBruce@house.idaho.gov, JEhlers@house.idaho.gov, JPetzke@house.idaho.gov, JCornilles@house.idaho.gov, BSkaug@house.idaho.gov BMitchell@house.idaho.gov, LMcCann@house.idaho.gov
Text of HCR025: https://legislature.idaho.gov/
A Balanced Budget Amendment Just Won’t Work
Like We’d Like It To Work
By, Janine Hansen, Eagle Forum National Constitutional Issues Chairman,
director@nevadafamilies.org, eagle@eagleforum.org
Leading the Pro Family movement since 1972, Pro Life, Pro Constitution and Pro Limited Government
Idaho receives 41.08% of its state revenue from the Federal Government. Other states receive like amounts. Wyoming receives 56.43%, Alaska 50.83%, Arizona 47.44%, Michigan 38.66%, and Connecticut at the lowest receives 31.56%. No Balanced Budget Amendment or Convention of States imposing “fiscal restraints” can ever be achieved until the Red and Blue States reject Federal funding and their mandates. https://smartasset.com/data-
Eight Red States dominate the top ten states receiving the largest percentage of Federal money. Idaho ranks 6th. A State delegate to an Article V Convention would never vote for a Balanced Budget Amendment or Convention of States “fiscal restraints” knowing their state would lose a huge portion of their state revenues.
State Legislators, both Republicans and Democrats, continue to vote for Federal Mandates and money. How can they honestly say they support limiting spending by the Federal Government when they continue to vote to take more money from the Feds?
The only way to balance a budget is to raise taxes or cut spending? There is no requirement in Article V Balanced Budget applications or in Convention of States applications that prohibits tax increases and in case of “emergency” the balance budget requirements would have to be set aside.
In 2012, the National Republican Committee adopted a Resolution opposing all Article V Constitutional Convention applications and for good reason. Their Resolution still stands.
The Balanced Budget sounds very good to conservatives. We wish there were some way to rein in the out-of-control spending of the Federal Government. However, the Constitution is not the problem. The Federal Government has ignored the Enumerated Powers listed in the Constitution and spends money on countless things that are not authorized by the Constitution, like education. If a Balanced Budget Amendment were in the Constitution, it would make matters worse by actually constitutionally authorizing Federal Spending outside of the Enumerated Powers.
An Article V Convention should be of great concern especially to conservative states like Idaho, because all previously proposed rules for an Article V Convention by the U.S. Congress include representation based on the formula of the Electoral College, which is 1 delegate for each Congressional District and 2 delegates for U.S. Senate seats. Unlike the original Constitutional Convention in which each state had one vote, a new Constitutional Convention will mean that Idaho will have 4 delegates while California will have 54 delegates and New York will have 28. As a conservative that is very scary!
“Between 1973 and 1992, 22 bills were introduced in the U.S. House and 19 in the U.S. Senate that sought to establish a procedural framework that would apply to an Article V Convention…The Senate…passed the ‘Federal Constitutional Convention Procedures Act,’ on two separate occasions; as S 215 in 1971 and as S 1272 in 1983.” Source Congressional Research Service, April 11, 2014.
With all of these concerns about a BBA, the greatest concern is that an Article V Constitutional Convention cannot be limited.
Phyllis Schlafly the founder of Eagle Forum often quoted Chief Justice Warren Burger as the highest authority in the United States to ever speak out on a Constitutional Convention. He stated: “I have also repeatedly given my opinion that there is no effective way to limit or muzzle the actions of a Constitutional Convention. The Convention could make its own rules and set its own agenda. Congress might try to limit the Convention to one amendment or to one issue, but there is no way to assure that the Convention would obey. After a Convention is convened, it will be too late to stop the convention if we don’t like its agenda…”
http://www.eagleforum.org/
In addition, in 2015 the New Jersey Law Journal reported that Supreme Court Justice “Scalia called it ‘a horrible idea’ to hold a constitutional convention in this age of special interests.”
What can we do with an out-of-control Federal Government? Elections are a big answer. And State Legislators can refuse federal mandates and federal money. One encouraging sign is that States have realized they can push back against Federal Bullying.
What else do we RISK? California, which will be a participant in an Article V Constitutional Convention, passed in September of 2023 an application for an Article V Convention that completely guts the Second Amendment. Eagle Forum has long contended that an Article V Constitutional Convention for proposing amendments would result in the loss of our Second Amendment Right of the People to Keep and Bear Arms. This California Article V application was rescinded last year when they rescinded all previous Article V applications, in fact, like Idaho 15 other states have rescinded all previous Article V applications. However, California’s actions do not diminish its anti-Second Amendment agenda. They will participate in any Article V Convention.
In addition, we know the Electoral College would be in jeopardy because already 17 states and the District of Columbia have passed the National Popular Vote Compact. In this world saturated by the “woke” agenda we also risk losing our Freedom of Speech and the Free Exercise of Religion. Free Speech and Religion are obstacles to the imposition of the Radical Left’s view of their Socialist Society.
The Balanced Budget Amendment won’t work. We must reject a very dangerous Article V Constitutional Convention which jeopardizes our precious fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
Article V of the U.S. Constitution:
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; provided that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.
Congressional Research
https://www.everycrsreport.
