Americans for a Balanced Budget Amendment is a non-partisan national organization dedicated to the passage of a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. We currently have over 2500 members in all 50 states. Our goal is to have so many members that Congress cannot ignore us. Hit the "JOIN" page to the left to show your support for this cause.

The current national debt recently topped 15 Trillion dollars. The portion of the debt that we pay interest on (publicly held debt) has doubled in the past Four YEARS ALONE!! Many economists are saying that we are now headed toward "the most predictable crisis in history." Even Hillary Clinton on Sept. 8, 2010 said our national debt "poses a national security threat."

Interest on the debt now represents the third largest item on the federal budget after defense and programs for the elderly (social security and medicare).

The need for this amendment was probably best laid out by Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA) on March 16, 2010 when he said, "The only way to get Congress to balance the budget is to give them no choice. The only way to keep them out of the cookie jar is to give them no choice. Which is why, whether its balanced budget acts or pay as you go legislation or any of that -- it's the only thing. IF YOU DON'T TIE OUR HANDS, WE'LL KEEP STEALING."

We believe that the best way to "tie their hands" is with a balanced budget amendment (BBA).

Recent votes in Congress on Amendment

All 47 Republicans in the Senate recently voted in favor of Sen. Hatch's (R-UT) version of the BBA. Twenty Democrats in the Senate voted in favor of Sen. Udall's (D-CO) version. To see how your Senator voted on these two versions, go to:
(Udall version): http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm...
(Hatch version):
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm...

The House voted on the BBA last November. The vote was 261 in favor, 165 opposed to the amendment. 98.3% of the Republicans and 13.4% of Democrats voted in favor of the amendment. To see how your Rep. voted (Democrats italicized), go to:
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2011/roll858.xml

ABBA would like to welcome our new State and Regional Directors:
Kenneth Madison, Connecticut
Tim Munsell, Florida
Scot Byrd, Louisiana
Mark Goeller, Maryland
John Lumbard, New Hampshire
Clayton Peterson, Northwest Region
Frank Bown, Washington State
Bill Leggett, Arizona

National VP of Membership
Tim Munsell

The time to act is now. To learn more about our organization and philosophy, go to the "About" link at the top of this page