House to vote on $2.4 trillion debt increase, cuts

[franksolich]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-15/house-to-vote-on-2-4-trillion-debt-increase-spending-cuts.html

House to Vote on $2.4 Trillion Debt Increase, Cuts

U.S. House Republicans plan a vote next week on a measure to raise the government’s debt limit by $2.4 trillion, cut spending, cap expenditures and include a proposed constitutional amendment to balance the budget.

While the plan could win acceptance by the Republican-led House, the Democrat-controlled Senate is unlikely to approve it, according to Representative Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the House’s No. 2 Democrat. It will enable Republicans to put their stance on the record while offering no immediate resolution to talks in Washington aimed at reaching a deficit-cutting deal by an Aug. 2 deadline for raising the U.S. debt ceiling.

A constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds vote of both House and Senate, and then ratification by states.....

It won't work, but it's good political strategy for the (R)s anyway.

[docstew]

The article is incorrect.  An amendment doesn't require Congress at all, it can be proposed by "Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States" and ratification by 3/4 of state legislatures.

Get hold of your state houses, get this thing proposed.  One more point, whichever version gets proposed needs to not have a time limit on ratification, so that future generations can take up the cause as debt and deficits get worse.