Eagle Forum National Constitutional Issues Chairman
Janine Hansen, 775-397-6859, director@nevadafamilies.org
www.eagleforum.org. eagle@eagleforum.org
March 24, 2025
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Montana Emergency Alert!
The promoters of an Article V Constitutional Convention are desperate. They are bringing Florida’s Governor DeSantis into Montana on Monday, March 24, after his stop in Idaho to help force a vote on SJ4 on a Constitutional Convention on a Balanced Budget Amendment. (See below why a Balanced Budget Amendment won’t work.)
Supreme Court Justice Scalia called it a “horrible idea” to hold a constitutional convention in the age of special interests. “Once you get those people together, you never know what they’re going to do,”
MESSAGE: Please vote no on SJ4, the Article V Constitutional Convention for a Balanced Budget. Please do what’s best for Montana. The only way to balance the budget is to raise taxes or cut spending. An Article V Convention cannot be limited to a single subject. It will open the Constitution to unlimited changes. (Or better yet write your own message.)
Please Email All Republican Senators:
ealbus@nemont.net, Brad.Barker@legmt.gov, David.Bedey@legmt.gov, lynbennett406@yahoo.com, Marta.Bertoglio@legmt.gov, Larry.Brewster@legmt.gov, Ed.Buttrey@legmt.gov, byrneforhd11@gmail.com, curt4787@gmail.com, Lee.Deming@legmt.gov, Julie.Dooling@legmt.gov, Neil.Duram@legmt.gov, Sherry.Essmann@legmt.gov, Jodee.Etchart@legmt.gov, Terry.Falk@legmt.gov, Paul.Fielder@legmt.gov,
John.Fitzpatrick@legmt.gov, fitzpatricks@bresnan.net, Jane.Gillette@legmt.gov Steven.Gist@legmt.gov, randynformontana@gmail.com , Caleb.Hinkle@legmt.gov, Jedediah.Hinkle@legmt.gov, Llew.Jones@legmt.gov, steve@kellyforhd9.com, shaneklakkenforhd37@proton.me, Greg.Kmetz@legmt.gov, Brandon.Ler@legmt.gov, kathylove4montana@gmail.com,
shannonforhouse70@gmail.com, Bill.Mercer@legmt.gov, tom@millett4montana.com, Russel.Miner@legmt.gov, Braxton.Mitchell@legmt.gov, dvmoore@nemont.net, Fiona.Nave@legmt.gov, Terry.Nelson@legmt.gov, nicastro4mt@gmail.com, Nelly.Nicol@legmt.gov, George.Nikolakakos@legmt.gov, me.nikolakakos@yahoo.com, Greg.Oblander@legmt.gov, greg@gregoverstreet.com,
Gary.Parry@legmt.gov, Amy.Regier@legmt.gov, Linda.Reksten@legmt.gov, Jerry.Schillinger@legmt.gov, schomerforoffice@gmail.com, lukasschubertmt@gmail.com, Kerri.Seekins-Crowe@legmt.gov , tracyasharp4mt12@gmail.com, Courtenay.Sprunger@legmt.gov, thielforrichlandmt@gmail.com, Eric.Tilleman@legmt.gov, mikev@vintonlog.com, Kenneth.Walsh@legmt.gov, Zack.Wirth@legmt.gov , Katie.Zolnikov@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. https://smartasset.com/data-studies/states-most-dependent-on-the-federal-government-2022
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.com/files/20140411_R42589_f565d06c544815456eb3805d4f52c2b5749d36b7.pdf
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 losing our Second Amendment Right of the People to Keep and Bear Arms. In addition, we know the Electoral College would be in jeopardy because 17 states and the District of Columbia have already passed the National Popular Vote Compact. Thankfully there is push back 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/2nd-amendment/article-v-constitutional-convention-threatens-our-second-amendment.html
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 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/topics/concon/pdf/WarrenBurger-letter.pdf
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, just as we witnessed in the 2024 election. 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. 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.
