4 senators pitch idea of amending U.S Constitution

Four Missouri state senators think it's time Congress calls a convention to amend the U.S. Constitution.

The state Senate's Rules Committee heard testimony on their four bills Wednesday afternoon, but didn't endorse or reject any of them.

The U.S. Constitution allows "the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States (to) call a Convention for proposing Amendments" to the federal Constitution, and all four senators want the Missouri Legislature to be one of the 34 states needed to get Congress to call for an "Article V convention of the states."

The U.S. Constitution mandates any proposed amendments by that convention would have to be ratified by three-fourths of the states' legislatures, or 38, in order to go into effect.

Republicans Kurt Schaefer, Columbia; Eric Schmitt, Glendale; and Bob Dixon, Springfield, introduced proposals this year with nearly identical language.

Sen. Jason Holsman, D-Kansas City, supports the idea of a "convention of the states," but thinks it should focus on different issues than the other three.

Dixon said he was reluctant, at first, to support the proposal.

"My caution was really born out of, "What would happen if we were in a situation where there was a runaway convention?'" Dixon explained, adding he's overcome that concern: "If that's to happen, I don't believe you're going to have the requisite number of states to ratify whatever a convention like that would do."

Schaefer said his resolution seeks a federal amendment convention "for the very limited purpose of imposing fiscal restraints on the federal government, limiting the power and jurisdiction of the federal government and limiting the terms of office of its officials and of members of Congress."

He added: "The federal government is never, ever going to fix this problem."

Missouri and most other state governments are required to have a balanced budget - but the federal government has no such mandate.

Schmitt agreed with Schaefer that a federal balanced budget amendment is a major reason for seeking the convention.

With an $18 trillion federal deficit, Schmitt argued, "We have a moral cause here to fight - the idea that every child born in this country is saddled with a $50,000 credit card debt the day that they're born is a serious problem."

Holsman wants the national convention to look at overturning the U.S. Supreme Court's "Citizens United" decision that allowed corporations to make campaign contributions under the same "freedom of speech" guidelines individuals have, as well as campaign finance reform and transparency in campaign finance policies.

Holsman added: "My feeling is that once a convention is called, we will have to have some kind of grand bargain," that would include a balanced budget amendment and federal campaign finance reform.

Michael Farris, Percival, Virginia, and national director of the Convention of the States Project - a group pushing the balanced budget amendment in the state legislatures supported the three GOP lawmakers' resolutions, but said Holsman's idea was too broad and would lead to "a wide-open convention" that most people want to avoid.

Jan Engelbach of the Missouri-based Eagle Forum group said the proposal isn't needed because the federal Constitution already limits the national government's jurisdictional power.