Missouri has become the 12th state to pass legislation calling for an Article V Convention of States that would propose constitutional amendments to rein in the federal government.

The COS resolution, SCR4, passed last Friday by a vote of 85 to 50. It was sponsored by state Sen. Mike Kehoe, R-Jefferson City.

Article V of the U.S. Constitution states the Constitution may be amended if two-thirds of the state legislatures apply to Congress to call a convention for proposing amendments. All state applications must ask for a convention dealing with the same subject matter. The 12 applications submitted so far request a convention to propose amendments to limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, impose fiscal restraint on the federal government and limit the terms of federal officials and members of Congress.

Now that Missouri has passed the COS resolution, more than one-third of the necessary 34 states have submitted applications for a Convention of States.

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The driving force behind the nationwide push for a convention is the Convention of States Project. Keith Carmichael, state director for COS Project Missouri, celebrated his organization's victory in the Show Me State.

"Many Missourians, including a clear majority of the members in the Missouri House and Senate, have concluded that we as citizens must act now to save ourselves from a federal government that has grown far beyond its constitutional limits," Carmichael stated in a press release.

"It is past time for the states to come together as Article V of our Constitution provides in order to propose solutions in the form of amendments. We must quickly come to grips with the real crisis we have created – a 'house of cards' we call the national debt and the immorality of forcing it upon future generations – plus interest! We should honor our Founders, who gave us Article V and expected us to use it. Article V is a remedy – a rudder that needs to be used now to steer America back on course. It is in the Constitution for this exact time."

Mark Meckler, co-founder of the Convention of States Project, said when the House of Representatives passed a bill that failed to fully repeal Obamacare earlier this month, it only served as further evidence that Republican control at the federal level is not enough to ensure the changes America needs. Rather, he said, the states and the people must be empowered to take control of the country's destiny.

"I think for a lot of people there was a momentary pause and a sigh of relief when Trump was elected, that this might fix things, and certainly it's better that he was elected than Hillary Clinton was elected," Meckler told WND.

"But what we've seen is that Congress doesn't have, and frankly never had, the will to take power away from itself and from Washington, D.C., and give it back to the people."

Former Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., now serves as a senior adviser for the Convention of States Project. He argues for the necessity of an Article V convention in his new book "Smashing the DC Monopoly: Using Article V to Restore Freedom and Stop America's Runaway Government." From his perch as a member of both the House and Senate, he came to realize Washington did not have the answers to the country's problems.

"After sixteen years in Congress, it became chillingly clear to me that the constitutional safety feature in Article V had become necessary," Coburn writes in the introduction to his book. "Only the people could restore American ideals. Washington politicians could not and would not save us. Our steady delegation of power to and unhealthy dependence on our national government had lowered us to this condition.

"The Founders, who had incorporated the 'experience of all ages' in the Constitution, understood how the American people might someday have to save the republic from their central government. We the People would have to assert our rightful sovereignty under the Constitution and rebalance our badly unbalanced federal government. Washington had grown too self-interested, politically correct, and feckless to meet the challenge.'

Popular talk-radio host Mark Levin has been another champion of the movement for an Article V convention. He enthusiastically endorsed Coburn's book.

"The federal government is out of control," Levin stated. "It's time for the states to take back control from Congress, and Senator Coburn explains how in this fantastic book. By amending the Constitution through an Article V convention, we the people can limit the spending, limit the regulation, and limit the time in office. 'Smashing the DC Monopoly' is essential for any politician who loves liberty and for all of us who want to hold our representatives accountable."

Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a former colleague of Coburn in the Senate, also offered hearty praise.

"Tom Coburn is one of the most remarkable senators who have served. ... His whole philosophy and approach to government, had it been more effectively followed by other members of this body, would have led us to a better country."

Are you tired of D.C. elitists looking out only for their own interests? The federal government will never willingly relinquish the powers it has usurped – it's up to We the People to wrest control from an overreaching federal leviathan and give it back to our state and local representatives where it belongs. Retired U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn reveals how we can do that in "Smashing the DC Monopoly: Using Article V to Restore Freedom and Stop America's Runaway Government," available now at the WND Superstore.