PRINTER'S NO. 856
No. 41 Session of 1989
INTRODUCED BY PECORA, JONES, REGOLI, ANDREZESKI, PORTERFIELD,
PUNT, REIBMAN AND AFFLERBACH, APRIL 4, 1989
REFERRED TO INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS, APRIL 4, 1989
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
1 Rescinding the request to the Congress of the United States that
2 it call a Constitutional Convention to propose an amendment
3 to the Constitution to balance the public debt.
4 WHEREAS, Under Article V of the Constitution of the United
5 States, amendments to the Federal Constitution may be proposed
6 by the Congress whenever two-thirds of both Houses deem it
7 necessary, or on the application of the Legislatures of two-
8 thirds of the several states, the Congress shall call a
9 Constitutional Convention for the purpose of proposing
10 amendments; and
11 WHEREAS, By House Resolution No. 236, adopted by the House of
12 Representatives on June 30, 1976, and adopted by the Senate on
13 November 9, 1976, the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of
14 Pennsylvania requested the Congress of the United States to
15 prepare and submit to the several states an amendment to the
16 Constitution of the United States requiring, in the absence of a
17 national emergency, that the total of all Federal appropriations
18 made by Congress for any fiscal year may not exceed the total of
1 all estimated Federal revenues for that fiscal year, or
2 alternatively, the General Assembly made application and
3 requested the Congress of the United States to call a
4 Constitutional Convention for the purpose of proposing such an
5 amendment to the Federal Constitution; and
6 WHEREAS, Numerous bills have been introduced in Congress
7 calling for an amendment to the Constitution requiring a
8 balanced budget, but none of these bills has been favorably
9 acted upon; and
10 WHEREAS, Less than the required number of 34 states have,
11 through their Legislatures, made application to the Congress for
12 the calling of a Constitutional Convention to propose an
13 amendment to the Constitution; and
14 WHEREAS, There has been no such Constitutional Convention
15 since the Founding Fathers met to draft the Constitution nearly
16 200 years ago, all amendments added since then having originated
17 in Congress and then having been ratified by the states; and
18 WHEREAS, One reason for the failure of the "state application
19 for a convention" option is the ambiguity of Article V of the
20 Constitution, in that it does not speak to how the "application"
21 process occurs, nor does it specify the processes to be followed
22 at the convention for proposing amendments, such as the method
23 for selection of delegates, the voting procedures and the number
24 of votes needed to propose a specific amendment, nor does
25 Article V indicate whether the convention must limit itself to
26 matters mentioned in the states' applications, or whether a
27 "runaway convention" could seek to remake the Constitution anew
28 after being called to consider only a single subject; and
29 WHEREAS, While the need for an amendment to the United States
30 Constitution mandating a balanced budget continues, the state
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1 application process should not be pursued, in that a review of
2 the 30-odd applications from states calling for a convention
3 shows no uniformity, and discloses an array of contingencies,
4 inconsistencies and conditional clauses on their face, and
5 questions have been raised as to whether proper legislative
6 procedure was followed in their adoption; and foremost, the
7 question remains as to how far-reaching any such convention
8 might be; therefore be it
9 RESOLVED (the House of Representatives concurring), That the
10 General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania rescind its
11 application and request to the Congress of the United States to
12 call a Constitutional Convention for the specific and exclusive
13 purpose of proposing an amendment to the Federal Constitution
14 requiring, in the absence of a national emergency, that the
15 total of all Federal appropriations made by the Congress for any
16 fiscal year may not exceed the total of all estimated Federal
17 revenues for that fiscal year; and be it further
18 RESOLVED, That the General Assembly continue and renew its
19 request to Congress to prepare and submit to the several states
20 such an amendment to the Constitution of the United States in
21 the same manner as all existing amendments have originated; and
22 be it further
23 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be sent to each
24 member of Congress from Pennsylvania, the Clerk of the United
25 States House of Representatives, Washington, D.C., and the
26 Secretary of the United States Senate, Washington, D.C., with
27 the request that this action by the General Assembly of the
28 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania be promptly published in the
29 Congressional Record.
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