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Former Republican Candidate Ken Buck Launches Nonprofit

Weld County: Office of District Attorney

Weld County District Attorney and 2010 U.S. Republican Senatorial candidate Ken Buck announced a new effort today aimed at passing a Federal Balanced Budget Amendment.

The idea of amending the U.S. Constitution and restricting the government from spending more than it earns is not new. It’s been debated for decades, and drew recent attention when Colorado Senator Mark Udall co-sponsored a version this year with Republicans.

But Ken Buck’s new nonprofit Balance America approach seems novel. In a press release, Buck says chapters would be started in every state to act as a clearinghouse of information and identify where each state legislator stands on the topic of a Balanced Budget Amendment.

If Congress approves an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, three-fourths of states would need to ratify the measure. But even getting a proposal through Congress is seen as difficult. According to US News & World Report, a version of the Balanced Budget Amendment has been introduced every year since 1987. The last time it was seriously considered was 1995.