<div class="xtend"><a id="pl.1.1"></a><var>1.1</var>A joint resolution<br />
         		<a id="pl.1.2"></a><var>1.2</var>applying to Congress to call a constitutional convention to propose amendments to <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.3"></a><var>1.3</var>the Constitution of the United States to require a balanced federal budget.<br />
         		<a id="pl.1.4"></a><var>1.4</var>WHEREAS, the people of Minnesota as represented by their Legislature find that fiscal <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.5"></a><var>1.5</var>discipline and economic integrity have been core principles of American governance; and<br />
         		<a id="pl.1.6"></a><var>1.6</var>WHEREAS, the American people have historically demanded the same prudent, <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.7"></a><var>1.7</var>responsible, and intellectually honest financial behavior from their elected representatives as <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.8"></a><var>1.8</var>ultimately compels individual behavior; and <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.9"></a><var>1.9</var>WHEREAS, it is the firm conviction of the Legislature of the State of Minnesota that it is <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.10"></a><var>1.10</var>wrong for government to fund every want and whim of the present generation by robbing future <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.11"></a><var>1.11</var>Americans of their prosperity; and<br />
         		<a id="pl.1.12"></a><var>1.12</var>WHEREAS, mortgaging the birthright of our children and grandchildren is a dangerous <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.13"></a><var>1.13</var>departure from traditional American values which threatens to permanently undermine the <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.14"></a><var>1.14</var>strength and security of our nation; and<br />
         		<a id="pl.1.15"></a><var>1.15</var>WHEREAS, for the nation to pay off the entire federal debt by 2015, Congress would have <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.16"></a><var>1.16</var>to triple the federal income taxes of every American and devote the increase exclusively to <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.17"></a><var>1.17</var>debt payments; and<br />
         		<a id="pl.1.18"></a><var>1.18</var>WHEREAS, our debt is increasingly owed to the governments of foreign nations, not to the <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.19"></a><var>1.19</var>citizens of the United States; therefore, our wealth is transferred to others and will not be available <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.20"></a><var>1.20</var>to supply the means for America's future growth and prosperity; and<br />
         		<a id="pl.2.1"></a><var>2.1</var>WHEREAS, high federal deficits cause increasingly high payments for debt interest in the <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.2"></a><var>2.2</var>future, make future borrowing more costly, reduce investment activity, and thus reduce the size <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.3"></a><var>2.3</var>of the future economy; and<br />
         		<a id="pl.2.4"></a><var>2.4</var>WHEREAS, the people of Minnesota recognized the wisdom of fiscal discipline and <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.5"></a><var>2.5</var>enshrined in their State Constitution the requirement for a balanced budget to place a prudent <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.6"></a><var>2.6</var>limit on the natural tendencies of government; and<br />
         		<a id="pl.2.7"></a><var>2.7</var>WHEREAS, we the Legislature of the State of Minnesota call for the Constitution of <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.8"></a><var>2.8</var>the United States to be amended to require the federal government to operate with fiscal <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.9"></a><var>2.9</var>responsibility, common sense, and within the revenues granted to it by the people; and<br />
         		<a id="pl.2.10"></a><var>2.10</var>WHEREAS, the federal government has for too long relied on revenue increases and <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.11"></a><var>2.11</var>borrowing against our future rather than prudent spending decisions within the limits of current <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.12"></a><var>2.12</var>tax revenues; and<br />
         		<a id="pl.2.13"></a><var>2.13</var>WHEREAS, lasting resolution of this nation's budget deficit can be achieved only by <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.14"></a><var>2.14</var>addressing the spending habits of our federal government, not by increasing the tax burden <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.15"></a><var>2.15</var>under which our citizens already labor; and<br />
         		<a id="pl.2.16"></a><var>2.16</var>WHEREAS, under Article V of the Constitution of the United States, the Congress, on <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.17"></a><var>2.17</var>the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.18"></a><var>2.18</var>proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States that shall be valid to all intent and <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.19"></a><var>2.19</var>purposes if ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several states, or by conventions <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.20"></a><var>2.20</var>in three fourths thereof, as one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by Congress; <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.21"></a><var>2.21</var>NOW, THEREFORE, <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.22"></a><var>2.22</var>BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota  that it applies to the <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.23"></a><var>2.23</var>Congress of the United States to call a constitutional convention for the purpose of proposing <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.24"></a><var>2.24</var>amendments to the Constitution of the United States to achieve and maintain a balanced budget by: <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.25"></a><var>2.25</var>(1) requiring that such balanced budget account for all obligations of the federal <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.26"></a><var>2.26</var>government;<br />
         		<a id="pl.2.27"></a><var>2.27</var>(2) allowing flexibility in federal balanced budget requirements by providing exceptions <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.28"></a><var>2.28</var>related to exigencies such as national emergencies or threats to the nation's security;<br />
         		<a id="pl.2.29"></a><var>2.29</var>(3) imposing spending limits on the federal government; and<br />
         		<a id="pl.2.30"></a><var>2.30</var>(4) setting extraordinary vote requirements for new or increased federal taxes and other <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.31"></a><var>2.31</var>revenues.<br />
         		<a id="pl.3.1"></a><var>3.1</var>BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of Minnesota is directed to <br />
         		<a id="pl.3.2"></a><var>3.2</var>prepare copies of this resolution and  transmit it to the Speaker and the Clerk of the United States <br />
         		<a id="pl.3.3"></a><var>3.3</var>House of Representatives, the President and the Secretary of the United States Senate, the United <br />
         		<a id="pl.3.4"></a><var>3.4</var>States Secretary of State, and Minnesota's Senators and Representatives in Congress.<br />
         		
      </div>