ENROLLED
       2023 Legislature                                          SM 176
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                                              2023176er
    1  
    2         A memorial to the Congress of the United States,
    3         urging members of Congress to take immediate action to
    4         address the current national debt and balance the
    5         federal budget.
    6  
    7         WHEREAS, the United States’ national debt for the federal
    8  fiscal year 2021-2022, which ended September 30, 2022, totaled
    9  $30.93 trillion, which represents an increase of $2.5 trillion
   10  in debt from the previous fiscal year, and
   11         WHEREAS, the amount of debt carried by the Federal
   12  Government affects the amount of interest it pays in a fiscal
   13  year, and
   14         WHEREAS, as of October 2022, the first month in the 2022
   15  2023 federal fiscal year, maintaining the national debt costs
   16  the Federal Government $48 billion per month or 12 percent of
   17  total federal spending, and
   18         WHEREAS, as inflation and interest rates increase, the
   19  Federal Government encounters higher interest rates on borrowed
   20  moneys, and
   21         WHEREAS, as the national debt increases, Congress is forced
   22  to raise the debt ceiling or risk not being able to pay Federal
   23  Government expenditures, resulting in government shutdowns and
   24  employee furloughs that threaten national security, and
   25         WHEREAS, 41 states, including Florida, require their state
   26  legislatures to pass balanced budgets that ensure fiscal
   27  discipline and responsibility, and
   28         WHEREAS, Congress has attempted, unsuccessfully, to
   29  introduce and enact legislation requiring its members to pass a
   30  balanced budget, and
   31         WHEREAS, the people of Florida recognized the wisdom of
   32  fiscal discipline and enshrined in the State Constitution the
   33  requirement for a balanced budget, thereby placing prudent
   34  limits on government spending, and
   35         WHEREAS, the Florida Legislature has made fiscally
   36  responsible decisions, has maintained a balanced budget, and has
   37  saved residents of this state from crippling deficits, massive
   38  debt burdens, and bankruptcy, and
   39         WHEREAS, the Florida Legislature calls on members of
   40  Congress to enact legislation requiring a balanced budget; to
   41  mandate the Federal Government operate with fiscal
   42  responsibility, discipline, and common sense; and to operate
   43  within the revenues granted to it by the people, and
   44         WHEREAS, in order to ensure the stability of government and
   45  business functions at the local, regional, state, and national
   46  levels, it is imperative that the Federal Government take action
   47  to cut costs, reduce the tax burden on American families and
   48  businesses, operate according to principles of fiscal
   49  responsibility and discipline, and balance the federal budget,
   50  NOW, THEREFORE,
   51  
   52  Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   53  
   54         That the Congress of the United States is urged to take
   55  immediate action to begin to reduce the national debt and enact
   56  legislation requiring a balanced federal budget.
   57         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State is
   58  directed to dispatch copies of this memorial to the President of
   59  the United States, to the President of the United States Senate,
   60  to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives,
   61  and to each member of the Florida delegation to the Congress of
   62  the United States.