(originally published in Must Read Alaska
Our growing national debt is beginning to impact every American. The inflation caused by federal overspending is hurting us all. The interest on the debt is crowding out other national priorities. Economists of all political persuasions agree that this level of deficit spending cannot be sustained. Neither Trump nor Biden offer a solution. The problem is in Congress, where neither Republicans nor Democrats are capable of reducing spending. Congress is a broken institution, corrupt and dysfunctional. What can be done?
The Alaska legislature has responded to this situation by passing Article V resolutions calling for a Convention of States to propose a constitutional amendment to control federal spending. The first passed in 1982, as the national debt first surpassed $1 trillion. Another, modified, version passed in 2014, with the support of none other than then-Senator Mike Dunleavy. Back then the debt was $17 trillion. It has doubled since, to $34 trillion. It is now rising by a trillion dollars every 100 days.
Article V is the remedy the Framers of the Constitution gave to the states to control Congress. There is no other solution to congressional deficit spending available. Article V instructs Congress to issue a call for a Convention of States once it receives valid resolutions from 34 states, a threshold which has arguably already been reached.
The principal argument against the use of Article V is the fear of a runaway convention. The convention of 1787 was called by the Confederation Congress to propose amendments to the Articles of Confederation. Instead, it proposed an entirely new Constitution. What’s to stop another Convention of States from doing the same thing?
Congress itself has the power to prevent that from happening. It can simply declare that the Convention exceeded its authority and refuse to refer the Convention’s proposal to the states for ratification. The Confederation Congress of 1787 could have done exactly that. It could have rejected the proposed Constitution and refused to refer it to the states for ratification. It chose not to do so.
Under Article V, a Convention of States has legal authority only when it is called by Congress. Any amendment proposed by a Convention can only be ratified when it is referred to the states by Congress. The United States Congress can prevent a runaway convention.
I believe the day will soon come when Congress reluctantly acknowledges that it has received 34 valid Article V Resolutions calling for fiscal reform, and that it has no choice but to call for a Convention of States. That Convention will be charged with finding a solution.
When that Convention meets, it must necessarily proceed in a bipartisan manner. Unless the amendment it proposes is ratified, the Convention will be a failure. In order to be ratified, an amendment needs a 3/4 supermajority of the states to approve. In practice, no constitutional amendment has ever been ratified without broad, bipartisan support.
The delegates to any Article V Convention will be selected by each state legislature. It will be a high honor, which will only be given to legislators with talent and experience. All of these men and women will have assembled supermajorities in their own legislature. It’s not easy. To get a 3/4 supermajority is extremely difficult. But it can be done, if the matter is urgent, and the stakes high. Republicans and Democrats will have no choice but to cooperate. The amendment they agree to propose will be one which can and will be ratified.
Article V offers the states a lifeline, to be used when all else fails. I believe it will happen, eventually, because there is no real alternative. Time is running out.
reaganproject.blog 