WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 (UPI) -- Senate Republican leaders say they will inject a balanced budget amendment into the mix when Democrats debate taxes after returning from the August recess.
GOP Sens. Jim DeMint and Lindsey Graham, both of South Carolina, John McCain of Arizona and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma indicated they will lead the fight in the fall when Democrats plan to debate raising taxes on families earning more than $250,000 a year, The Hill reported Monday.
They believe the proposal, which fell one vote short of congressional passage in 1995, has legs in the final weeks before the midterm election because many voter polls indicate the federal deficits are a chief concern.
In February, lawmakers introduced a resolution to create a balanced budget amendment and DeMint reintroduced it last week so he could bring it to the floor after the recess, The Hill said. The amendment would bar the federal government from spending more than the it collects each year and would require a two-thirds majority vote in each chamber to raise taxes.
"We'll bring that back between now and the election," DeMint, chairman of the Senate Republican Steering Committee, told The Hill.
The Congressional Budget Office reported last week the federal deficit reached $1.2 trillion after the first 10 months of the fiscal year.
"In the last week there's been a lot of movement in terms of Republican senators saying we need to press this issue," said a Senate GOP aide.
