Politics

Cantor: Vote on balanced budget amendment ‘likely’ next week

Alec Jacobs Contributor
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House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) said late Friday that the House will “likely” vote on a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution next week, The Hill reports.

The bill to introduce the amendment would likely pass the GOP-led House, which just this week passed “Cut, Cap and Balance,” an attempt at raising the debt ceiling by attaching the vote to spending cuts. But a balanced budget amendment would likely meet the same fate as the “Cut, Cap and Balance” pledge did in the Senate: It’ll be dead on arrival. (Debt-limit negotiations: the state of play)

Democrats have said that even if they did support a balanced budget amendment, it would be impossible to actually amend the Constitution before August 2nd, the date on which the Treasury Department says the U.S. will default on its debt. An amendment would have to be ratified by three-fourths of the states, which would be difficult to coordinate in the next 10 days.

Senate Democrats have already announced opposition to such an amendment, and the White House has said the amendment isn’t needed to solve the debt ceiling crisis.

In spite of Senate Democrats, House Republicans have continued to push forward with their plans, and have been critical of the Senate leadership for not offering its own plan.

In addition to the balanced budget amendment, Cantor said in an email that the House will probably vote on a number of other bills dealing with the debt ceiling, and told Members of Congress that a weekend session next weekend is possible.