Governors and campaign leaders tell AEI audience states must force a balanced-budget amendment

A panel at the American Enterprise Institute on the state-driven balanced-budget amendment campaign argued states must use Article V to force congressional change, saying recent federal budgeting shows the legislature will not self-impose meaningful limits.

"If you take all the debt that's accumulated in Florida's history, 181 years, just since I've been governor, we retired more than half of it," Governor Ron DeSantis said, using Florida's record of debt reduction and heavy use of line-item vetoes to argue that constitutional constraints are required at the federal level. "You're never going to be able to solve it unless you have constitutional constraints on the ability of Congress to bankrupt the country," he said.

Why it matters: Panelists said the federal debt trajectory—cited during the session alongside a referenced $1.88 trillion budget deficit—creates urgency for a structural fix. They framed Article V's state-application route as the most viable lever: when enough states apply, Congress will either draft a credible amendment or face a convention that could do so.

Campaign status and strategy: Bill (identified in the transcript as Bill King), a long-time organizer in the modern campaign, said the state campaign has won 28 states' calls for an amendment and is six short of the 34-state threshold historically needed to trigger a convention. "So, we're at 28 states," he said, adding that limited resources and narrow defeats in several legislatures have kept the campaign from finishing the job.

Panelists repeatedly emphasized a two-step political dynamic: states can generate pressure (what Constantine Kurard called 'preemption') and, once the campaign nears the threshold, the movement can pivot to press Congress to propose an amendment acceptable to a broad coalition. Governors and organizers said that while a convention is a legal route, Congress historically has acted when states approach the threshold.

Bipartisan framing and risks: Governor Chris Cenounu said the effort must be bipartisan, noting the amendment has historically attracted support across party lines. Panelists acknowledged concerns raised by critics—some worry a convention could exceed its mandate—but they argued those risks can be managed politically and procedurally while stressing that without action the fiscal trajectory threatens federal programs.

What comes next: Speakers said drafting details would be worked out by whomever proposes the amendment—Congress or a convention—but the campaign will continue to press state legislatures. The panel closed by opening the floor to audience questions; the transcript cuts off as the first question about private funding began.