One Vote Away: The Balanced-Budget Amendment That Almost Passed

One Vote Away: The Balanced-Budget Amendment That Almost Passed

Thirty years ago, Congress failed by just one vote to send to the states a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget. Today, federal debt held by the public stands at $29 trillion. As a percentage of the economy, it has doubled since 1996. When you add in other liabilities for federal employee pensions and health care, not even including the entitlement programs of Social Security and Medicare, the federal government’s liabilities ext…