WASHINGTON — Congress must put the country on a spending diet and balance the federal budget, the Shenandoah Valley's congressman says.
Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke, has reintroduced a proposal to add a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution.
"Now's the time to begin a new, serious effort to do something that Thomas Jefferson first called for almost 200 years ago — and that is to limit the ability of the federal government to borrow money, which is what the balanced budget amendment does," said Goodlatte, a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee.
Goodlatte introduced similar measures in the previous two Congresses, but they didn't advance. This year's proposal has more than 200 co-sponsors.
Earlier this month, the Senate rejected a measure that amounted to a test of support for an amendment. The last time a balanced-budget amendment passed the House was in 1995, but it failed in the Senate.
A constitutional amendment requires two-thirds support in the House and the Senate and approval from at least 38 state legislatures.
Last fall's elections brought a crop of tea party-backed lawmakers to Congress who are worried about federal spending and the debt, which has reached $14.3 trillion. Goodlatte, first elected to the House in 1992, shares those feelings.
"The government has way overpromised the American people what it can do," Goodlatte said in a recent interview. "It borrowed 40 percent of what it spent last year and this year — that's a plain, unsustainable pathway."
Goodlatte isn't looking for political gain, said Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia political scientist and a Goodlatte acquaintance.
"This is the real Bob Goodlatte," Sabato said. "He's deeply conservative. He's been concerned about the deficit and debt for a long time."
Still, his proposal is symbolic and stands little chance of clearing Congress, said Mark Rozell, a George Mason University political scientist.
Congress can cut spending on its own without a constitutional amendment, he said.
"Goodlatte knows this," Rozell said, adding the proposal "is a signal to constituencies that he and other conservatives are really serious about budgetary issues."
The proposed balanced budget amendment is only one way Goodlatte wants to reduce the nation's debt, which he says is his top priority for this Congress.
He supports the congressional ban on lawmaker-directed spending for hometown projects - or earmarks - even if that means less money for projects in his district.
Local governments used to getting earmarks now must compete for federal grants, even as Congress slashes funding for competitive grant programs, said Goodlatte, who has sought earmarks in the past.
Ending earmarks sends a message to state and local governments "that the likelihood of the federal government being able to step in and help with projects large and small is going to be far more difficult," he said.
As vice chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, Goodlatte is pushing to dramatically cut agricultural subsidies in the next farm bill, which Congress may unveil next year. As an alternative, he said, the government should help farmers buy adequate crop insurance to protect against losses.
The fierce determination among conservatives to cut spending has some constituencies worried Congress will cut too much too fast.
Thirty-two agricultural groups opposed a House bill that proposed cutting $61 billion from this year's budget. They said the bill, which passed the House but was defeated in the Senate, would have taken a disproportionately large bite from the Agriculture Department's budget.
"We all, as Americans, understand that our deficit needs to be dealt with," said Roger Johnson, president of the National Farmers Union. "(But) we need to be thoughtful about places where cuts will be made."
"Goodlatte knows this," Rozell said, adding the proposal "is a signal to constituencies that he and other conservatives are really serious about budgetary issues."
The proposed balanced budget amendment is only one way Goodlatte wants to reduce the nation's debt, which he says is his top priority for this Congress.
He supports the congressional ban on lawmaker-directed spending for hometown projects - or earmarks - even if that means less money for projects in his district.
Local governments used to getting earmarks now must compete for federal grants, even as Congress slashes funding for competitive grant programs, said Goodlatte, who has sought earmarks in the past.
Ending earmarks sends a message to state and local governments "that the likelihood of the federal government being able to step in and help with projects large and small is going to be far more difficult," he said.
As vice chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, Goodlatte is pushing to dramatically cut agricultural subsidies in the next farm bill, which Congress may unveil next year. As an alternative, he said, the government should help farmers buy adequate crop insurance to protect against losses.
The fierce determination among conservatives to cut spending has some constituencies worried Congress will cut too much too fast.
Thirty-two agricultural groups opposed a House bill that proposed cutting $61 billion from this year's budget. They said the bill, which passed the House but was defeated in the Senate, would have taken a disproportionately large bite from the Agriculture Department's budget.
"We all, as Americans, understand that our deficit needs to be dealt with," said Roger Johnson, president of the National Farmers Union. "(But) we need to be thoughtful about places where cuts will be made."
