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