Wisconsin Assembly joins calls for constitutional convention to tackle debt

Fredreka Schouten | USA TODAY

The Wisconsin Assembly has joined the growing movement of conservatives pushing for something unprecedented in American history: a state-led constitutional convention to consider a balanced budget amendment.

The measure passed the GOP-controlled Assembly on Wednesday by a 54-41 vote, as Patrick Marley of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. It now moves to the state Senate, also run by Republicans.

If the plan wins final approval, Wisconsin could become the 28th state calling for a convention to force Congress to balance the federal budget, according to the Balanced Budget Amendment Task Force. Under the Constitution, there are two ways to propose amendments: Two-thirds of each house of Congress can vote to do so or two-thirds of the states – 34 in total – can request the convention.

Any proposed amendments must be ratified by 38 states before they become part of the Constitution.

A separate effort by the Convention of the States Project, adopted by 12 states so far, would allow broader array of amendments to impose "fiscal restraint" on Washington and term limits on federal officials and to give states more authority.

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This week's debate in the Wisconsin Assembly mirrors the national debate about the growing "convention of the states" movement.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, a Republican, said a convention is needed to force Congress to contend with the nation's finances. "We are drowning in debt," he said. "Congress has failed to act in any meaningful way to curb our growing debt."

Rep. Fred Kessler, a Milwaukee Democrat, opposed the proposal, arguing a convention could bring dramatic change to longstanding rights. "There is no way to limit what can be brought up in a constitutional convention," he said. "It can repeal the Bill of Rights."

Contributing: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel