H-0561.1 _______________________________________________
HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 4002
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State of Washington 54th Legislature 1995 Regular Session
By Representatives Buck, Goldsmith, Sherstad, D. Schmidt, Thompson, Sheahan, McMorris, Mulliken, McMahan, Hargrove, Pelesky, Schoesler, Benton, Sheldon and Johnson
Read first time 01/10/95. Referred to Committee on Government Operations.
TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED:
We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:
WHEREAS, With each passing year this Nation becomes deeply in debt as its expenditures grossly and repeatedly exceed available revenues so that the public debt now exceeds three trillion dollars; and
WHEREAS, Attempts to limit spending, including impoundment of funds by the President of the United States, have resulted in strenuous assertions that the responsibility for appropriations is the constitutional duty of the Congress; and
WHEREAS, The annual Federal budget repeatedly demonstrates the unwillingness or inability of both the legislative and executive branches of the Federal government to curtail spending to conform to available revenues; and
WHEREAS, The unified budget does not reflect actual spending because of the exclusion of special outlays that are not in the budget; and
WHEREAS, Knowledgeable planning and fiscal prudence require that the budget reflect all Federal spending and that the budget be in balance; and
WHEREAS, Believing that fiscal irresponsibility at the Federal level is one of the greatest economic threats that faces our Nation, we firmly believe that constitutional restraint is necessary to bring the fiscal discipline needed to reverse this trend; and
WHEREAS, Under Article V of the Constitution of the United States, amendments to the Federal Constitution may be proposed by the Congress whenever two-thirds of both Houses deem it necessary, or on the application of the Legislatures of two-thirds of the several States and the Congress shall call a constitutional convention for the purpose of proposing amendments;
NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists, a majority of all members of the two houses, voting separately, concurring herein, petition the Congress of the United States of America to adopt an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, for submission to the states for ratification, requiring, with certain exceptions, that for each fiscal year the President of the United States submit and the Congress of the United States adopt a balanced federal budget; or, in the alternative, that pursuant to Article V of the Constitution of the United States, the Legislature of the State of Washington makes application to the Congress of the United States of America to call a convention for the specific and exclusive purpose of proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, for submission to the states for ratification, requiring, with certain exceptions, that for each fiscal year the President of the United States submit and the Congress of the United States adopt a balanced federal budget. If Congress adopts, within sixty days after the Legislatures of two-thirds of the States have made application for the convention, an amendment to the Constitution of the United States similar in subject matter to that contained in this resolution, then this application for a convention shall no longer be of any force or effect.
This application and request is null and void, rescinded, and of no effect in the event that the convention is not limited to such specific and exclusive purpose.
This application by this Legislature constitutes a continuing application in accordance with Article V of the Constitution of the United States until at least two-thirds of the Legislatures of the several States have made application for a similar convention pursuant to Article V or the Congress has proposed an amendment to the Constitution of the United States similar in subject matter to that contained in this Memorial.
BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to each member of Congress from the State of Washington, and to the presiding officer of each house of each state legislature in the United States.
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