This is the ninth of many weekly analysis pieces detailing what Congressman Platts has voted on, or bills that he has sponsored/co-sponsored. I will briefly describe his action, the bill, and then detail how I would handle the same. Since it is not my full time job to read the entire bill (yet – with your help), I will read the summaries and base my decisions on those. I will also try and describe how libertarian principles apply in my decisions. During weeks that Congressman Platts is not in session or co-sponsoring bills, I will re-visit some of his older votes on legislation that has a had detrimental effect on our liberties.

Yet again, this week provided no new bills that Congressman Platts sponsored or co-sponsored. What I will discuss this week is a guest column http://www.ydr.com/letters/ci_19307983 written by Congressman Platts for the local papers entitled, “Force U.S. To Balance its Budget.” Please take the time to read the column (it is fairly short) and then return to this analysis.

It is articles like this one that make me wonder if he wrote this column, or if a member of his staff did. In the first paragraph, Congressman Platts states that the $14 trillion national debt has grown to be as large as our entire economy, and that it borrows close to forty cents of every dollar it spends. Keep in mind that this column comes a few months after he voted to raise the national debt ceiling! He then states that he opposed the $800 billion stimulus plan in 2009.Well that is like me telling my children not to eat candy, but to eat their vegetables, and then eating a candy bar in front of them! How can he seriously expect the government to live within its means and lower the national debt by voting to increase the amount of money it can spend?

He then begins to talk about “one of the most important actions that Congress can take,” and that is to adopt a balanced budget amendment. To even seriously consider paying off our national debt and returning our country back to some semblance of fiscal sanity, the very first thing to do is to STOP SPENDING! It also needs to cut many of the agencies and departments it currently runs. Only then can a balanced budget have meaning. I would certainly support and vote for one, however cutting spending and eliminating portions of our federal government must be a part of the process.

One disclaimer Congressman Platts mentioned in current bills calling for a balanced budget is “recognizing a common-sense exception for defense under limited circumstances.” However, House Resolution 1 calls for a 3/5 majority vote to increase revenues (taxes) and a 3/5 majority vote to spend more than it takes in. What good is a balanced budget amendment if it only takes a 3/5 majority to disregard it? The “common-sense” exception for defense must be what is in H.R. 1 that states, “the provisions of this article may be waived for any fiscal year in which the United States is engaged in military conflict…” Well, that is at least 10 of the last 10 years and many more to come with the direction our “defense” policy is taking. Basically, the balanced budget amendment proposals currently being submitted can essentially be disregarded whenever Congress declares it can be. That is NOT a check and balance on the power of our government to spend.

Congressman Platts states that during this upcoming week, a required up or down vote on a balanced budget amendment is required for both houses of Congress as a provision for raising the debt ceiling. This allows our Congress to state that it is concerned about our fiscal future and vote for a balanced budget with all of the loopholes I mentioned above. Now it is time for the politician speak from Congressman Platts: “As we approach this vote, I will continue to actively advocate for the adoption of a responsible balanced budget amendment to the United States Constitution. Such an amendment will help to restore fiscal integrity in Washington, boost confidence in the American economy, and stop Washington’s practice of saddling future generations with insurmountable levels of debt.” I cannot see, after voting to raise the debt ceiling, how Congressman Platts can say that with a straight face! He must be counting on our forgetfulness to hold Congress accountable for their past actions. The citizens of this district and the country have been calling for someone to say what they mean and mean what they say. The only thing a balanced budget amendment needs to say is that a balanced budget will be submitted to the President each fiscal year. Only a constitutionally declared war would be acceptable in not submitting a balanced budget. Period. Not four pages of legal jargon and loopholes that is portrayed as an amendment in H.R.1.

This week was yet another week lost without Congressman Platts submitting a bill to return our lost liberties, regain fiscal sanity, bring our troops home, or return our government to its Constitutional limitations. This is one of the main reasons that I am challenging him in the 2012 elections. To my knowledge, he has never submitted one bill that would greatly affect a return to the principles above. He consistently submits or supports small pieces of legislation that further regulate every facet of our lives.

Follow my campaign at mikeforpa.com and the home page of the York County Libertarian Party: yorklp.org.
For Liberty,
Mike Koffenberger
Libertarian Candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives