Kentucky legislators, both Republican and Democrat, appeared to agree with the premise that the nation's debt is unsustainable and Congress has proven itself incapable or unwilling of reining it in.
At some point, reality is going to bite.Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, on the national debt
Wednesday, DeSantis made his pitch for Kentucky to join the national campaign to reach the necessary threshold to call for an Article V Constitutional Convention — or at least gather enough states to convince congressional leaders to act.
"Unless you have changes, permanent constitutional changes to the incentive structure in Congress, you are not going to solve this problem," he argued.
"And then the question is how much more can you go into debt before we have a major, major debt crisis? I mean, at some point, reality is going to bite."
State lawmakers had plenty of questions: who would be the arbiter of a "balanced budget," have any states flat-out refused and why, and could the president invoke emergency powers, potentially indefinitely, to judge whether the budget is balanced.
I am not willing to put... our entire country, our entire way of government, at risk.Rep. Anne Donworth (D-Lexington)
But the biggest concern voiced, primarily by Democrats, was the fear of what's frequently called a "runaway convention" that steps outside the call for a balanced budget.
"In an era of disinformation, hyper-partisanship, and outside funding influencing campaigns, how can you all ensure that the convention wouldn't be captured by well-financed special interest like the donors behind this push for the convention rather than reflecting the will of the citizens?" asked Rep. Erica Hancock.
Lexington Democrat Anne Donworth voiced a similar fear.
"I am not willing to put... our entire country, our entire way of government, at risk," she said, citing a specific clause in the Constitution that some argue is too vague to ensure a guaranteed single-issue convention.
DeSantis said sufficient guardrails are in place.
"The legislature will be able to impose rules on the delegates, including even criminal penalties, if they go beyond what the convention call is, and so I think there are adequate safeguards that can be done," the governor countered.
As of now, 28 states have signed on to the balanced budget amendment campaign. While 34 is the magic number, backers note that even a number close to that could pressure Congress into drafting its own amendment.