AUGUSTA – The quest to add Maine to the growing list of states calling for a federal balanced budget hit a snag in the Maine Legislature today, as many Senate Democrats indicated they don’t support such a requirement.
Senate President Michael Thibodeau (R-Waldo) left the rostrum and spoke from the Senate floor today in support of Senate Paper 499, “Making Application To The Congress Of The United States Calling A Constitutional Convention To Propose An Amendment To The United States Constitution To Require A Balanced Federal Budget And Further Fiscal Restraints.”
So far, 27 states have passed resolutions calling for a Constitutional Convention to vote on whether to require the federal government to balance its budget. For a convention to occur, 34 states must pass such resolutions.
“This nation is $18 trillion in debt,” Senate President Thibodeau said. “That is debt that is going to be passed on to our children and grandchildren, and that is an outrage. We are literally mortgaging their future, asking future generations to pay for our overspending.”
Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason (R-Androscoggin) said it is up to the states to ensure the federal government finally controls its spending. “It is unreasonable for us to think that if we continue to send people down to Washington, that someone is going to go down and fix our problems for us,” he said.
Senate President Thibodeau asked that the bill be tabled when it became unclear whether there were enough Democrats to reach the two-thirds threshold necessary for the resolution to pass.
“Some fear passing this because of the uncertainty of a Constitutional Convention, “Senator Thibodeau said. “I am more fearful of the certainty of the road to financial ruin we will be on if we don’t control our spending.
“This is too important, and we have to get this right for future generations. It’s not a Democrat or Republican issue. Hopefully we can get the votes necessary to pass this important legislation.”