Alert
Montana!
SJ4: HEARING January 28, Tuesday, 8 am, Room
303, on SJ4 Article V Constitutional Convention on a Balanced Budget
Amendment. The Balanced Budget just won’t work like we’d like it to work.
You can participate by attending the hearing
and testifying.
Or Sign up to testify on Zoom at least 2 hours before the
hearing at this link:
https://www.legmt.gov/
You can submit written testimony at the same link.
CONTACT THE Senators, info below.
MESSAGE: Please vote NO on SJ4 the
Article V Constitutional Convention for a Balanced Budget. The only way to
balance the budget is to raise taxes or cut spending. There is no requirement
in Montana’s Article V Balanced Budget applications that prohibits tax
increases and in case of an “emergency,” the balance budget requirements would
have to be set aside. Because Montana receives 46% of its state revenue from
the Federal Government taxes would have to be raised on Montanans. An Article V
Convention cannot be limited to a single subject. It will open the Constitution
to unlimited changes. Give the Trump administration a chance to cut the
federal budget. (Or better yet write your own message) Much more
information is below.
Please CONTACT these Republican members of the Senate Judiciary
Committee:
Senators: Very likely in favor:
Barry Usher: 406 252-2888 (Chair of Committee)
Daniel Emrich: 406 781-3955
Senators position unknown:
Vince Ricci: 406 855-9153 (Vice Chair of
Committee)
Gayle Lammers: 406 679-0020
Sue Vinton: 406 855-2625
Copy and Paste EMAIL for Senators on Committee:
barry.usher@legmt.gov, daniel.emrich@legmt.gov, Vince.ricci@legmt.gov, gayle.lammers@legmt.gov, sue.vinton@legmt.gov
Copy of SJ4: https://bills.legmt.gov/#/
A Balanced Budget
Amendment Just Won’t Work Like We’d Like It To Work
Janine Hansen, Eagle Forum National Constitutional Issues
Chairman,
director@nevadafamilies.org, eagle@eagleforum.org
The only way to balance a budget is to raise
taxes or cut spending. There is no requirement in Article V
Balanced Budget applications like Montana’s that prohibits tax increases and in
case of “emergency” the balance budget requirements would have to be set aside.
Montana receives 46.58% of its state revenue from the Federal
Government. Montana would have to raise taxes if
a Federal Balanced Budget Amendment was adopted to cover the 46% of
state revenue that comes from the Federal Government. on
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 Balanced Budget sounds very good to conservatives. We wish
there was an easy way to reign 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 was 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
small population conservative states like Montana. Article V
does not tell us how many delegates there will be or how they will be
selected. But, “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.” Although these bills did not pass
Congress, they asserted Congress’s intent on setting the formula for delegates
and all other procedures for an Article V Convention. Source
Congressional Research Service, April 11, 2014. https://www.everycrsreport.
These bills called for proportional
representation of States based on the formula for the Electoral College,
which adds the state’s number of Congressmen and 2 Senators, not one
vote per state. So, Montana would have 4 votes
and California 54 at a Convention. As a conservative that’s
very scary.
California, which will be a participant in an
Article V Constitutional Convention, passed in September 2023 an application
for an Article V Convention which 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. 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. Thankfully there is pushback nationally to the “woke”
agenda, but we still at are risk of losing our Freedom of Speech and
the Free Exercise of Religion in a Constitutional Convention. https://eagleforum.org/topics/
In 2012 the National Republican Committee adopted a Resolution
opposing all Article V Constitutional Convention applications and
for good reason. Their Resolution still stands.
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 ensure 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? First of
all, give the Trump administration a chance to cut the federal budget. Elections
are a big answer, just as we witnessed in the 2024 election. State
Legislators can refuse federal mandates and federal money. One encouraging
sign is that States have realized they can push back against Federal Bullying.
Texas is a prime example. They have passed laws to deal in their state with the
massive illegal immigration invasion and 25 state Governors are supporting
them.
The Balanced Budget Amendment won’t work and will result in
higher taxes. Let’s not take a chance on losing our precious fundamental
rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
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