U.S. Congressman Mike Conaway traveled through Brown County on Wednesday speaking to several different groups, but focusing on a specific topic – passing a federal balanced budget amendment.

Conaway said that the Budget Control Act of 2011 offered a chance for the U.S. Legislature to pass a balanced budget amendment to the constitution during the last quarter of this year.  Both the U.S. House and Senate will have to vote on some form of a balanced budget amendment before the end of the year, and a two-thirds vote in the House will force that exact bill to be voted on in the Senate as well.

“Our goal in the next three months is to craft a balanced budget amendment that can attract 50 Democrats,” Conaway said. “This is one we want adopted, it’s the right thing for this country.”

Conaway made his appeal for support to a group at a town hall meeting at the Early Chamber of Commerce and at the Rotary Club on Wednesday to help him gather grassroots support for this amendment.

“What I am asking folks to do who are members of trade associations, members of their families, whoever might have contacts around this country, to be in contact with them; helping them help their member of Congress or their Senator understand how important this is,” Conaway said. “If we can get this done, the future generations of Americans will be fundamentally better if we are able to do that.”

Conaway said that a version of a balanced budget amendment passed the House in 1995-’96 with over 290 votes but failed in the Senate by 1 vote.

“Think how much differently the future of America would look if a balanced budget amendment had been put in place in 1996,” Conaway said. “What I would like to happen in 2026, 15 years from now, is for folks about that point and time to say – look how much better off America is today because the folks in charge in 2011 had the political will to get it done.”

Conaway said that if passed, the amendment would then go to the states for ratification which he expects to move quickly.

“There is nothing to get done in the next quarter at the federal level more important than getting this to the states for ratification,” Conaway said.  “I think the 38 states necessary to ratify will happen very quickly.”

Conaway said that even if a balanced budget amendment is passed, the road to actually balancing the federal budget will be difficult.

“The transition to whatever that is will be hard; it will be spectacularly difficult, I get it,” Conaway said.

Conaway also talked about the future of Medicare and social security for those under the age of 55.

“We have to have a very frank, honest, and open conversation with folks under 55,” Conaway said. “Here is the harsh reality, you will, as a senior, pay higher percentages of your healthcare costs than your parents and grandparents did.  There is no other way to do it.”

Conaway said that the systems will be unsustainable at current levels according to projections and that the exact solutions at this point are unclear.  He did say that solutions to these issues need to be addressed now instead of waiting.

“Changes we can make today will be less draconian than the changes we will have to make in 5 years or 10 years,” Conaway said.

Conaway took questions from those in attendance at both events after his presentations, and made a scheduled stop at Howard Payne University before taking his presentation to other parts of District 11.

See the video below of Conaway’s presentation to the Rotary Club on Wednesday.

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