Illinois House Joint Resolution 19 calls for an Article V
Convention of States
to limit the scope, jurisdiction, and spending of the federal government
Federal Spending:
How can an Article V Convention help curb wasteful federal spending? [back to Federal Spending menu]
Remember the "Bridge to Nowhere?" Did you know that Alaska now has a "Harbor to Nowhere" and an "Airport to Nowhere" to go with it? It's true…and you and I helped to pay for them. Did you know that the US Department of Housing & Urban Development spends so much money on programs, regulations, and bureaucracy every year that it could give every homeless person in America $200,000 outright? This kind of reckless spending on demonstrably ineffective programs has become so commonplace that it hardly raises eyebrows anymore.
With average household income dropping and taxes rising, Americans are having to do more with less. The federal government, on the other hand, is printing money and adding to the debt at an unprecedented rate. Americans are concerned about the impact this will have on their children and grandchildren. Many fear that federal insolvency and a shrinking workforce will mean that Social Security and Medicare won’t be there for them when they reach retirement age. There is no political will in Washington, D.C. to address these challenges, but the state legislatures can.
An amendment stipulating that Congress can only spend money in furtherance of its enumerated powers would return most of the programs that have crept up to the federal level over the last century back to state and local control, where there is greater accountability, flexibility, and responsiveness.
Please contact your state legislators and ask them to support HJR19. Don't know who they are? Find out here.
