John Kasich meets with Arizona lawmakers
Ohio Gov. John Kasich speaks at a news conference in Arizona after meeting with state lawmakers in December to urge their support for a balanced budget amendment. Kasich plans to visit six more states this week to press them to pass state resolutions calling for a constitutional convention.
(Henry J. Gomez, Northeast Ohio Media Group)
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Gov. John Kasich will go West on Tuesday to advocate in six states that they support a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The trip follows up on one the governor made in December to Arizona to woo support for a constitutional convention to discuss the idea. Getting to a convention would require support from two-thirds of the states.
Kasich plans to appear in Idaho, Montana, North and South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming over the rest of the week before returning Friday to Ohio. As he did in Arizona, Kasich will meet with legislative leaders to make his case.
"The movement to call for a convention to set a balanced budget process in motion has great momentum, with just 10 more states needed," Kasich said in a statement. "By implementing a federal balanced budget amendment, we'll finally be able to hold the federal government to the same standards as virtually all states, businesses and families."
Kasich, a Republican, has long been an advocate for a balanced budget. He speaks proudly about his role in drafting the last balanced federal budget, which occurred in the '90s when he was chairman of the House appropriations committee in Congress and Democrat Bill Clinton was in the White House.
He launched his lobbying efforts in December, saying then that the balanced budget amendment was necessary to force the federal government to stop deficit spending.
"If the government continues on this path of spending money that they don't have, over time systems will melt down, people will be hurt and our children will be put behind the eight ball," Kasich said then. "Practical reality is that if we don't have a constitutional amendment that requires a federal balanced budget it will be hit and miss, we will continue to ring up debt and it is unconscionable what is going on."
As was the case with the trip to Arizona, administration staffers who are accompanying the governor will take off from their jobs and not attend on taxpayer time. Balanced Budget Forever, a 501(c)(4) non-profit committee created to promote the constitutional amendment, paid for the team's travel.
The six states on the travel agenda are among 11 that Balanced Budget Forever hopes to target in 2015.
Legislatures in at least 20 states, including Ohio, have agreed to join a constitutional convention to consider a balanced budget amendment. According to the Balanced Budget Amendment Task Force, 24 states have active resolutions. Three, including Arizona, have resolutions pending in state senates.
Support from 34 states is needed to trigger a convention. After that, 38 of the 50 states – three-quarters – would have to ratify any amendment before it could become part of the U.S. Constitution.