President Barack Obama says America does not need a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, and he once again blamed much of the fiscal problem on Bush-era tax cuts.
“We don’t need a constitutional amendment to do our jobs,” Obama told reporters at his Friday news conference. “The Constitution already tells us to do our jobs -- and to make sure that the government is living within its means and making responsible choices.”
The House will consider a balanced budget amendment next week. It is an idea supported by both conservatives (including Sen. Jim DeMint of S.C.) and liberal Republicans (including Sen Olympia Snowe of Maine). In fact, every Republican in the U.S. Senate now supports a balanced budget amendment as a way of offseting a $2 trillion increase in the debt ceiling.
The public overwhelmingly supports a balanced budget amendment by 72 percent, while just 20 percent oppose it, according to a Fox News poll.
