| 1 | House Memorial |
| 2 | A memorial to the Congress of the United States urging |
| 3 | Congress to balance the federal budget and hold itself to |
| 4 | the same fiscal standards to which it expects its citizens |
| 5 | to adhere. |
| 6 |
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| 7 | WHEREAS, the Congressional Budget Resolution for fiscal |
| 8 | year 2011 is pending in Congress, and |
| 9 | WHEREAS, the current national debt is approaching $12 |
| 10 | trillion, a cost of nearly $40,000 for each man, woman, and |
| 11 | child in the United States, and is growing at an alarming rate |
| 12 | with the Obama Administration predicting the addition of almost |
| 13 | $5 trillion in new debt over the next 5 years, and |
| 14 | WHEREAS, the 2009 national deficit is equal to nearly 10 |
| 15 | percent of the country's entire economic output, a precedent not |
| 16 | seen since 1950, and |
| 17 | WHEREAS, if the White House budget projections come to |
| 18 | pass, the national debt will exceed the current gross domestic |
| 19 | product of the United States of $16.2 trillion by the end of |
| 20 | 2012, and |
| 21 | WHEREAS, the governance that authorized such debt and |
| 22 | deficits has led to unfunded federal liabilities for Social |
| 23 | Security and Medicare of more than $106 trillion as of December |
| 24 | 2009, equal to $345,548 per American, and |
| 25 | WHEREAS, this spending has created national security |
| 26 | concerns that the amount of funds paid by the Federal Government |
| 27 | on debt interest alone in 2008, over $400 billion, was |
| 28 | approximately 10 times the amount of funds spent on the |
| 29 | Department of Homeland Security that year, and |
| 30 | WHEREAS, equally as concerning, foreign nations owned |
| 31 | approximately 30 percent of the federal debt in 2009 and are, |
| 32 | therefore, in a unique position of authority with respect to the |
| 33 | United States, and |
| 34 | WHEREAS, the Obama Administration's projections show our |
| 35 | national budget deficits not returning to sustainable levels |
| 36 | over the next 10 years, rising sharply after President Obama |
| 37 | leaves office, and |
| 38 | WHEREAS, credit agencies have begun to warn that the nation |
| 39 | may lose its AAA credit rating because of the size of these |
| 40 | federal budget deficits, deficits that could potentially |
| 41 | destabilize government finances and financial markets, and |
| 42 | WHEREAS, millions of people in this country have made |
| 43 | difficult choices discerning between wants and needs and have |
| 44 | taken the responsible steps to curb personal spending in these |
| 45 | difficult economic times, NOW, THEREFORE, |
| 46 |
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| 47 | Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 48 |
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| 49 | That the Congress of the United States is urged to balance |
| 50 | the federal budget and hold itself to the same fiscal standards |
| 51 | to which it expects its citizens to adhere. |
| 52 | BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be |
| 53 | dispatched to the President of the United States, to the |
| 54 | President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the |
| 55 | United States House of Representatives, and to each member of |
| 56 | the Florida delegation to the United States Congress. |