{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.rickscott.senate.gov/2025/12/sen-rick-scott-backs-bill-for-balanced-budget-constitutional-amendment", "Sen. Rick Scott Backs Bill for Balanced Budget Constitutional Amendment", "2025-12-11", "2025", "2025-12", "Republican", "Senate", "FL", "Rick Scott", "S001217", "www.rickscott.senate.gov", "rickscott", "https://www.rickscott.senate.gov/press-releases/", "page_html", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, Senator Rick Scott announced his sponsorship of Senator Jon Husted\u2019s Principles-Based Balanced Budget Amendment, which would amend the Constitution to require the federal government to balance its budget, just like every American family and business has to do. Once implemented, the amendment would require a supermajority in Congress to authorize any emergency spending that exceeds the nation\u2019s revenues.\n\nAs Governor of Florida, Senator Scott implemented policies and made the hard choices that turned Florida\u2019s debt and large budget deficit into a balanced budget, while also cutting taxes, paying off one-third of the state\u2019s debt, and making record investments in education, transportation, and the environment.\n\nSenator Rick Scott said, \u201cIn the past five years alone, our nation has added $11 TRILLION to our now $38 TRILLION national debt and fueled inflation for the American people because Washington just can\u2019t stop spending outside of its means. Democrats spent our nation into oblivion for years, making $2 trillion deficits and spending like drunken sailors the norm in Washington, all with zero consideration for the American people left footing the bill. A balanced budget is only a foreign concept in Washington. Families across our nation don\u2019t have the luxury of spending money they don\u2019t have; neither do businesses, and neither should our government. I\u2019ve worked for years to rein in this wasteful spending and do what we did in Florida: go through the budget line-by-line and make sure every single dollar spent makes sense for the American people. But, clearly, we have to do more to bring fiscal sanity and change Washington\u2019s dysfunction. Our constitutional amendment will force accountability on Washington politicians, making sure Congress is using your dollars in your best interests and spending within our means.\u201d\n\nThis legislation builds on Senator Rick Scott\u2019s Make Washington Work plan to end the tired, dysfunctional status quo in Washington and ensure the U.S. government works in the best interests of American families. This includes:\n\nThe No Budget, No Pay Act prohibits Members of Congress from being paid in a fiscal year until both chambers approve the budget resolution and pass all regular appropriations bills for that fiscal year. Funding the government is a basic job of Congress, and this bill holds members accountable for meeting appropriations deadlines or forgo their taxpayer-funded salaries until the job is done.\n\nConstitutional Amendments to provide the President line-item veto power, establish term limits for Members of Congress, and require a supermajority to raise taxes or fees on the American people. This joint resolution proposes constitutional amendments that bring much-needed reform to the federal government, prioritizing return on investment for American tax dollars and ensuring Washington is working in the best interests of American families.\n\nRepealing automatic pay raises for Members of Congress; and\n\nHis Let\u2019s Get to Work Act encourages every individual who can work to do so, which will help our nation\u2019s economy thrive.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-03-30T11:08:25Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.rickscott.senate.gov/2025/12/sen-rick-scott-backs-bill-for-balanced-budget-constitutional-amendment"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7639869581907988, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}