The Virginia House of Delegates on Tuesday approved, by a 55 to 44 vote, House Joint Resolution 90, an application for an Article V convention backed by the Balanced Budget Amendment Task Force. The application calls for a convention solely for the purpose of a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
The resolution now goes to the Virginia State Senate. If the measure is approved there, Virginia would be the 28th state to fully enact a resolution backed by the Balanced Budget Amendment Task Force.
The following statements from constitutional reform experts at The Heartland Institute – a free-market think tank – may be used for attribution. For more comments, refer to the contact information below. To book a Heartland guest on your program, please contact Donald Kendal, new media specialist, The Heartland Institute, at [email protected] or 312/377-4000.
“The Virginia House of Delegates decided today that actions matter more than words by approving House Joint Resolution 90. Virginia is on the verge of becoming the 28th state in the nation to approve a resolution calling for an Article V convention to finally fix our nation’s monstrous debt load.
“While Congress continues to do nothing to fix the level of our national debt, the Virginia House continues to demonstrate it is a national leader in constitutional and fiscal reform.”
Kyle Maichle
Project Manager, Constitutional Reform
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000
“Just as the Constitution assures Americans their right to vote, speak freely, and run for office, so it also assures Americans the ability to control their federal government. A key part of the Constitution empowers the people, acting through their state legislatures, to enact further constitutional restraints on Washington, DC.
“The Virginia House of Delegates has now shown that it understands the opportunity, and the duty, the Constitution gives us. By applying for a balanced budget convention, Virginia resumes the leadership role she played in interstate conventions in 1786 and 1787 – as well as in the convention she called in 1861 in a last-ditch effort to avert Civil War and save the Union.”
Rob Natelson
Retired Law Professor and Director of the Article V Information Center
The Independence Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000
“Congratulations to Virginia, which just passed a call for an Article V convention for constitutional amendments to protect the rights and freedoms of the American people, and to enhance the powers of the states to serve as a further check and balance on an increasingly overreaching federal government, which borders on tyranny. In doing so, Virginia is using the process enshrined in the Constitution itself by the original founders to protect and preserve the rights and freedoms of the people as threats arise.”
Peter Ferrara
Senior Fellow
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000
“Congratulations to the Virginia House of Delegates on passing this important resolution.”
David Guldenschuh
Policy Adviser for Constitutional Reform
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000
The Heartland Institute is a 32-year-old national nonprofit organization headquartered in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. For more information, visit our Web site or call 312/377-4000.
Peter Ferrara, J.D., is a senior fellow at The Heartland Institute and an advisor for entitlement reform and budget policy at the National Tax Limitation Foundation.
David Guldenschuh is a leader in the nationwide movement of states to call a convention of states pursuant to Article V of the U.S.
