Ohio Gov. John Kasich, left, speaks at the West Virginia Capitol Thursday while flanked by state Senate President Bill Cole. Kasich visited the state to drum up support for a federal balanced budget amendment, which will require a constitutional convention of states.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Ohio Gov. John Kasich met with West Virginia lawmakers Thursday to drum up support for a federal balanced budget.
Kasich has been touring states to generate support to pass a resolution calling for an Article V Convention to write a federal balanced budget amendment.
Kasich’s visit to West Virginia followed trips to seven western states over the past few months: Arizona, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Utah and Idaho. Officials with Balanced Budget Forever said many of those states are now moving forward with legislative consideration of a resolution, with Wyoming and South Dakota having won passage in their respective House of Representatives.
Kasich and West Virginia legislators held a press conference late Thursday afternoon following private meetings to discuss the amendment. Kasich came to West Virginia at the behest of Sen. Ryan Ferns, R-Ohio, who is the lead sponsor of Senate Concurrent Resolution 13, which calls for the state’s participation in a constitutional convention. The resolution is pending in the Senate Finance Committee.
“As a young legislator myself, I look to the leadership of Gov. Kasich,” Ferns said Thursday. “He has been out front on a national level on this issue, an issue I think is critical for myself, the younger generation, for our state and our nation.”
Kasich said the national debt stands at more than $18 trillion and continues to increase.
“I would think it wouldn’t be long to get this up to $25 trillion, and when the interest rates go up, Katie bar the door. We will have immense problems,” he said. “Presidents come and presidents go and the debt keeps going up, and that’s not the way it ought to be in America.”
It takes 34 states to call for an Article V Convention and 38 states to ratify a constitutional amendment. Twenty-four states have resolutions calling for an Article V Convention to enact a balanced budget amendment. Since Ohio passed its balanced budget amendment in 2013, Georgia, Tennessee, Michigan and Louisiana have passed similar resolutions.
Kasich said a balanced budget amendment will force lawmakers to make difficult and responsible decisions. All departments and programs will be on the table, he said, but it does not necessarily require the complete elimination of any departments or programs.
Kasich acknowledged there are some concerns that a constitutional convention could be seen as an opportunity by groups and special interests to address a slew of different issues, but said delegates to the convention can be ordered to address a single topic, allowing everyone to focus only on the balanced budget amendment.
For more information on Kasich’s plan and the requirements for a constitutional convention, visit www.BalancedBudgetForever.com.
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