Republican Governors Hold Press Conference Advocating For New Constitutional Amendment

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Idaho Gov. Brad Little held a joint press conference at the Idaho Capitol to support a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

“The Governors are discussing an Article V amendment to the Constitution that would force the Federal Government to operate on a balanced budget. To trigger an Article V change to the Constitution requires 2/3rds of the States to ratify the change,” CBS2 wrote.

“27 States have already ratified,” the outlet added.

“There are certain incentives for the people in Washington to behave the way they do,” DeSantis said.

“We need to change those incentives. And that involves we the people in our states doing what the Founding Fathers put in the Constitution to propose an amendment to provide some of those constraints on their behavior. In this case, requiring a balanced budget for the U.S. government,” he continued.

“I have to balance the budget in Florida. Idaho has to balance the budget. Don’t tell me it can’t be done,” DeSantis said.

“We had to make tough choices, but part of the reason we had to do that is because there’s never a question of if we have to balance the budget. It’s either balance, or surplus,” he continued.

WATCH:

CBS2 reports:

Governor DeSantis pointed to the Federal Governments ballooning national debt, the interest payment on which is now the second largest expenditure behind the military.

Opponents have pointed to concerns that a States Convention could lead to unintended consequences, but Governor DeSantis says that with a majority of states being conservative there is no way that “say, the second amendment could be changed for example.”

Governor DeSantis believes that once 32 or 33 states have ratified an Article V convention, that Congress would act quickly to write their own legislation to avoid being left out of the process.

“States like Idaho and Florida are precisely what President Trump envisions for America. Our states run balanced budgets not just because our state constitutions require it but because it is just the right thing to do,” Governor Little said. “Now is the time to step up and help President Trump stop the runaway freight train of federal spending. It’s not what the founders envisioned for our great country. I want to thank Governor DeSantis for coming all the way to Idaho for this important message.”

Per Florida Politics:

And he’s assuring reporters in Idaho that if anything went awry during a constitutional convention involving Florida delegates, he could keep them in line by recalling them or even locking them up.

“We have limitations on what the delegates can do. I as Governor can recall people,” DeSantis said.

“I mean, just think about it. If someone in one of our states got up and for a balanced budget amendment convention, and they said, ‘Well, we really want to look at reining in the Second Amendment,’ I would have those people on the plane to Tallahassee before they could even get those words out of their mouth. It would not happen. We’ve even put criminal penalties in for delegates that go wayward.”

DeSantis went on to say if delegates generated a proposal that was “really, really bad,” that “it would take us an afternoon” to root out dissident talk.

“I could call (Idaho Gov.) Brad Little. I could call (Montana Gov.) Greg Gianforte. I’d call (Georgia Gov.) Brian Kemp. I can call these Governors and say this is bad. We’d put out a thing saying, you know, with our legislative leaders saying no, and it would die. Like immediately we would be able to rally 13 states,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis made the comments Monday at the Idaho Capitol while making the case that 38 states should ratify the balanced budget change to the U.S. Constitution.

The goal is to have Idaho and Montana, where he is later on Monday, join with 27 other states that have certified, he said.

A few other states are “on the precipice.”

To start the process, 34 states must agree. But DeSantis told Idaho media that just 33 of them would make Congress “see the writing on the wall” and push forward, sending an amendment to the states for ratification.

Watch the full press conference below:



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