Burlison: An Open Letter to the Federal Government: Balance the Nation Budget!

You are a hard-working Missouri taxpayer who has bills, expenses, and every day items which you budget for. For most of us, it’s a common occurrence to sit down at the kitchen table at the end of the week and balance our budgets. In state government, we do the same thing. Every year, we go through the budget line by line and make the tough decisions necessary to keep our state on track. It’s not easy, and no one likes to do it, but it’s the responsible thing to do.

For our federal government it’s a completely different story. A balanced budget seems to be a foreign concept to them. This has caused the national budget to be out of balance by over 40% this year. In December of 2009 and again this month Moodys Investor Services threatened that the United States would lose its triple A bond rating if the budget deficit was not reduced.

We are in the midst of what economists are calling, “The Great Recession” and spending our way to prosperity isn’t the answer. Instead, we need to be putting to use wise fiscal planning and responsible use of your tax dollars.

That is why, this week the House of Representatives passed House Concurrent Resolution 34 and 35 sponsored by our Budget Chairman, Allen Icet and Representative Chris Kelly, asking Congress to balance the national budget.

HCR 34 & 35 is an official message from the Missouri General Assembly, and if adopted by Congress, has a chance of becoming an amendment to the United States Constitution. An official change will depend on ratification by ¾’s of our nation’s states. If passed Missouri would join thirty other states that have already made requests for a balanced budget amendment. Only three more states would be needed to urge congress to act.

With a budget that is over 40% out of balance, and a recent vote to raise the debt ceiling by 1.9 trillion dollars, we need to bring our elected officials in Washington DC back to reality.

You, as constituents, can help. If you agree with our resolution to require the national government to balance the budget, contact your U.S. Senators and Representatives and let them know you support us in this effort.

Congress needs to stop spending and start standing up for the future of America. This means sitting down at the table and making the hard decisions the responsible way.