Florida Gov. DeSantis visits Idaho in push for U.S. Constitution balanced budget amendment

BOISE (Idaho Capital Sun) – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis visited Idaho on Monday to promote a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would require a federal balanced budget.

The amendment would be sought through a never-before used method of amending the U.S. Constitution: A convention of the states. DeSantis met privately with lawmakers in the Idaho Legislature early Monday.

“I am convinced that you are not going to have Congress all of a sudden change its behavior for the long term. I think the reason we’ve gotten into this with respect to fiscal is because there are certain incentives for the people that are in Washington to behave the way they do. And we need to change those incentives,” DeSantis, a former Republican presidential candidate, told reporters in a news conference in the Idaho governor’s office, standing between Idaho Gov. Brad Little and Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke.

Critics say a constitutional convention could put the entire Constitution up for change. But supporters argue a convention is needed to rein in the rising federal deficit and an increasingly powerful federal government.

Asked about concerns the process would be uncontrollable, DeSantis told reporters he disagreed — pointing to state-level controls for a constitutional convention and ratification requirements.

“I think the people that say somehow the whole thing would melt down, they’re basically saying that the founding fathers were wrong to give the people in the states an ability to restrain the federal Congress,” the Florida governor said. “And I don’t think they were wrong to do that. I think they understood Congress could be the problem.”

And he said he doesn’t even think a constitutional convention would happen. Once 33 states apply — before the 34-state application threshold would prompt the convention — DeSantis said it’d push Congress to pass their own balanced budget amendment.

Little suggested the risk of not acting is high.

“We don’t even think it’s going to get to 34 votes. We think things are going to happen,” Little told reporters. “There’s all those sidebars, all those guardrails we put on those. But then what’s the alternative? Do we want … our federal debt to go to $70 trillion and consume all of the capital and basically burden our children, great grandchildren and great, great grandchildren. I think there is no other usable option, and our forefathers put it in the Constitution.”

Earlier this month, the Idaho House rejected a proposal by Rep. Jordan Redman, R-Coeur d’Alene, that would’ve called for Idaho to submit three separate applications to amend the U.S. Constitution through a convention of the states, including for a balanced budget amendment.

Past attempts at getting the Idaho Legislature to call for a constitutional convention have failed. Last year, representatives of the Idaho Republican Party and the Idaho Second Amendment Alliance opposed an Idaho resolution to apply for a convention of the states.

DeSantis also plans to visit Montana on the same issue.

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