A nation living in debt: Why it’s time to finally balance America’s budget | Opinion

Nearly every generation in American history has lived through a moment of intense political turmoil. A time when it seemed the nation had never been so divided. Many would argue we are living through such a moment right now. The partisan budget bickering in Washington, and the resulting failure to keep the federal government open, is exhibit one. Strangely, this dysfunction almost never occurs at the state level. The reason is simple: 49 of the 50 state constitutions include a balanced budget mandate that, among other things, requires the passage of a yearly or biyearly budget. The U.S. Constitution’s lack of such a provision leaves Washington perpetually vulnerable to shutdowns whenever Democrats and Republicans cannot agree on spending priorities. But the absence of a balanced budget requirement has produced a threat far more dangerous than just temporary shutdowns. The federal debt — now roughly $38 trillion — is seven times greater than annual federal revenue of about $5.5 trillion. This imbalance places the country on a path toward an economically catastrophic default on its interest payments if nothing changes. The first clear warning sign arrived last year, when — for the first time in American history — the United States spent more servicing its national debt than it did funding national defense. That sobering milestone is just one of many troubling financial indicators flashing red. This danger was foreseen long ago. In a 1798 letter to John Taylor, Thomas Jefferson advocated for what we now call a Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA), warning against the very debt spiral we face today. “I wish it were possible,” he wrote, “to obtain a single amendment … taking from the federal government the power of borrowing.” Amending the U.S. Constitution is intentionally difficult. It requires a two-thirds vote in both chambers of Congress to propose an amendment, followed by ratification from three-quarters of the states. The last serious congressional effort to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment occurred in 1995, when it passed the House but failed in the Senate by a single vote. Given today’s polarization, Congress is unlikely to pass a BBA anytime soon. Fortunately, the Constitution provides another path. Under Article V, the states may bypass Congress entirely by calling a convention to propose amendments. This requires applications from two-thirds of state legislatures (34 states), with ratification still required from 38 states. So far, 27 states have applied for a convention to propose a Balanced Budget Amendment. Leaders of the BBA movement, including former Republican governors and U.S. senators, believe that reaching 33 states may be enough to pressure Congress into acting on its own. President Ronald Reagan supported this strategy, knowing that the threat of an Article V convention is what compelled Congress to propose the 17th Amendment. The same dynamic could work again. For that reason, I urge the Kentucky legislature to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment convention application in 2026. Adopting a Balanced Budget Amendment is the only reliable way to prevent future government shutdowns while forcing Congress to live within its means and begin paying down the national debt. In doing so, we would honor Thomas Jefferson’s enduring warning that we are “unauthorized to saddle posterity with our debts, and morally bound to pay them ourselves.”

James Comer proudly represents Kentucky’s 1st Congressional District and serves as the Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

This story was originally published January 20, 2026 at 9:03 AM.