ICYMI Op-Ed in Fortune: The deficit just grew by $955 billion in 7 months. It’s time for a constitutional fix to control the budget
WASHINGTON, D.C. —A new piece by Steve Hanke and David Walker published in Fortune warns that Washington’s addiction to deficit spending is pushing the country further down an unsustainable fiscal path, with the federal deficit already reaching $955 billion just seven months into fiscal year 2026. They argue decades of failed budget enforcement efforts prove Congress is incapable of disciplining itself and make the case for a constitutional fiscal responsibility amendment through an Article V Convention.
WORD ON THE STREET
In Fortune:
The U.S. government is technically insolvent, with its liabilities far exceeding its assets, and its financial condition is deteriorating with each passing day. Washington seems to be addicted to deficit financing and the accumulation of an ever-increasing mountain of debt.
At present, 22.2% of their taxes are siphoned off to pay for interest on government debt—interest payments year-to-date are $628 billion, nearly $3 billion per day. If that’s not bad enough, the CBO projects that a whopping 29.2% of Americans’ taxes will be used to service the government’s debt load in 2036.
It is clear that constitutional strictures are needed to eliminate the federal government’s addiction to fiscal irresponsibility. As history has shown, nothing short of a constitutional constraint will firmly bind the hands of a Congress that has for half a century demonstrated that it cannot bind its own.
Under Article V, the Congress ‘shall call’ a convention to consider one or more amendments if two-thirds (34) of the states file applications. As it turns out, thirty-nine states had active applications on file for a constitutional convention that would consider a fiscal-responsibility amendment in 1979 and for many years thereafter. Yet, Congress failed to call a convention.
Members of Congress took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution. Article V of the Constitution gives them the tool. It is time for Congress to do its job and call a limited Article V Convention to propose a fiscal responsibility amendment.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Washington’s debt crisis is no longer a distant problem—it is a direct threat to America’s economic future, national security, and prosperity. With deficits nearing $2 trillion annually and interest payments consuming a growing share of taxpayer dollars, the status quo is unsustainable.
House Republicans have already taken historic steps to rein in federal spending through the One Big Beautiful Bill, which was the largest reduction in mandatory spending in U.S. history. But restoring fiscal sanity will require sustained action and structural reforms that force Washington to live within its means.
Chairman Arrington previously introduced H.Con.Res. 15, calling for an Article V Convention to address the nation’s fiscal crisis, warning: “The sad, sobering, and stunning fact: despite the urgency of our fiscal crisis, Congress is paralyzed—unable to meet the urgency of the moment. So, if Washington won’t act, then it’s time to look beyond our nation’s capital. The Founders gave us another path in Article V of the Constitution, empowering the states and the American people to step in and demand fiscal discipline.”
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