Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) joins Gov. Greg Gianforte (R-MT) in Helena, Montana, to promote a Federal Balanced Budget Amendment.
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NewsTranscript
00:00And looking at that, in that realm,
00:03the property is very big in the shelter,
00:05and that's where you can get the shoes.
00:08And I think it's a lot of fun.
00:10I think it's also a good chance.
00:12So it comes from a small settlement,
00:14but it's one of the largest ones.
00:16And that's what's going to happen on camera.
00:19But it's a small property.
00:21It's just a house.
00:22And I think that's what's going to happen.
00:42Good afternoon.
00:43I'm glad to be joined today by my friend,
00:45Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida.
00:48We're here to champion some of our shared priorities
00:51for holding the federal government accountable,
00:54ensuring fiscal responsibility,
00:56and urging the adoption of a balanced budget amendment
00:59to the U.S. Constitution.
01:01Reckless spending in Washington,
01:03particularly in the last four years under Joe Biden,
01:07has left us more than $36 trillion in debt.
01:12While increasing the size of government,
01:14piling debt onto the backs of future generations,
01:17in Washington, they've been spending like drunken sailors.
01:22And that's not what our founding fathers envisioned.
01:25We need a change, and fast,
01:28to prevent our children and grandchildren
01:30from inheriting this mess that they've created.
01:33As you know, there is no constitutional limit
01:37on congressional borrowing.
01:39It's up to Congress to police itself.
01:42Unfortunately, no two-year Congress
01:45can bind a succeeding two-year Congress by simple statute.
01:49And talking about balancing the federal budget in Washington,
01:52it's not a popular message.
01:54I know firsthand.
01:56When I was first sworn in as a member of Congress,
01:59I chose this very topic for my first speech.
02:03I proposed legislation on my first day in Congress
02:06to prohibit lawmakers in Washington
02:10from being paid unless they passed a balanced budget.
02:14Shockingly, I was booed by both Democrats
02:18and Republicans.
02:21So in an interesting way, I actually brought everybody together.
02:24It's clear. Washington needs some encouragement
02:28to get its fiscal house in order.
02:31We can't expect Washington to impose
02:34permanent fiscal restraints on itself.
02:37That's why we need a balanced budget amendment
02:40to the U.S. Constitution.
02:42While every business, school district, city, or family
02:46must balance their budgets,
02:48sadly, the U.S. government doesn't have to do the same.
02:52Meanwhile, at the state level,
02:54every state but one has a balanced budget requirement
02:57in its Constitution.
02:59In Montana, we've been hyper-focused on delivering
03:02not only a balanced budget,
03:04but also cutting income taxes
03:07for Montanans at every income level,
03:10holding the line on new spending,
03:12and keeping spending growth well under inflation,
03:16and even paying off the state debt.
03:19Our efforts have resulted in Montana now being
03:22completely debt-free.
03:24And while we've been fiscally responsible,
03:27the reality is the nationwide affordability crisis
03:30has harmed hard-working Montanans.
03:33Because of our conservative and balanced budgets
03:37over the last four years,
03:39Montana has a surplus, again,
03:41to deliver historic tax relief.
03:44In fact, thanks to our strong fiscal management,
03:47we were able to propose the largest income tax cut
03:51in state history,
03:53so more Montanans can keep more of their hard-earned money.
03:57That's what's possible with strong fiscal discipline.
04:01Thankfully, with President Trump in the White House,
04:04and with strong leadership of Republican governors
04:07across the nation, we're restoring common sense
04:10and putting the American people first.
04:12Again, I'm glad to have my friend,
04:14Governor Ron DeSantis, here.
04:16He knows a thing or two about balancing budgets
04:18and cutting taxes.
04:20He spent a little time in Idaho this morning,
04:23then came here to Montana to meet with legislators,
04:26which we just concluded.
04:28With that, I'll turn it over to Governor DeSantis.
04:31Well, thank you, Governor.
04:33It's great to be back in Montana.
04:36If you know anything about Florida,
04:38you know, particularly come summertime,
04:40we got quite a number of our residents
04:42that make their way up to various parts of Montana,
04:45and I've had the fortune of being able to be up here
04:48over the summer in the past, and you can see why.
04:51It's a beautiful country,
04:53a lot less humid than the state of Florida,
04:55and you see why people want to come and enjoy it here.
04:58And I also feel at home,
05:00not just because there's a lot of Floridians
05:02that are amongst us in the summers,
05:04but I also know I'm in a state
05:06that sees things similar the way the state of Florida does,
05:09and they've done a lot of great work in here,
05:11both under the governor's leadership
05:13as well as the Montana legislature.
05:15I know they got more that's in the hopper
05:17for this legislative session.
05:19I know the governor's pushing tax relief
05:21and some really good stuff,
05:23and hopefully we see all that get to a landing,
05:25but you guys have done a great job,
05:27and the proof's in the pudding.
05:29People have gravitated to Montana.
05:31They have fled states that have performed poorly
05:33as a matter of policy,
05:35and they've gravitated to states like Florida and Montana,
05:37and I expect that to continue into the future.
05:39But no matter how well we can do in Florida,
05:42and I can sit here and tell you,
05:44you know, we're ranked number one in economy
05:46two years in a row, number one in education,
05:4850-year low in the crime rate.
05:50We got the lowest of any state that has debt,
05:52the lowest per capita debt in the country.
05:55We're spending less money this year than last year
05:57cutting taxes.
05:59I can go through all that, and it's great,
06:01and it's important to show leadership,
06:03but ultimately the states are not going to be successful
06:06if federal spending and the Congress
06:09does not get under control.
06:11When the turn of the 21st century happened,
06:14we were about $5.6 trillion in debt as a country.
06:18So that's from the time George Washington
06:20put his hand on the Bible
06:22as the first president in 1789
06:24all the way until the turn of the 21st century.
06:28It was $5.6 trillion.
06:30Today, 25 years later,
06:32we're at over $36 trillion in debt.
06:36Just the interest
06:38that we pay to service our existing debt
06:41is over a trillion dollars annually.
06:43That's more than what we spend
06:45on the core function of the federal government,
06:47our national defense.
06:49And in the budget that the Republicans
06:53in the House passed,
06:55they project that the total national debt
06:58by the year 2034
07:00will be almost $56 trillion.
07:04That is not sustainable.
07:07The one thing I've learned
07:09having been in the Congress for a few terms,
07:12and I've recovered from that experience,
07:14but I was there,
07:16is Congress is just not going to start behaving differently.
07:19That is not going to happen.
07:21And even if somehow they had an epiphany
07:25and they governed a little bit differently,
07:27the next Congress would come in and undo it,
07:29and none of this stuff would ever have staying power.
07:31So the Founding Fathers understood this could happen.
07:34They understood that the federal officials,
07:37particularly in Congress, could be the problem.
07:40And they provided the states with the ability
07:43to propose amendments to the Constitution
07:45to fix things.
07:47And so a balanced budget amendment
07:49to the U.S. Constitution
07:51is basically limiting
07:53the ability of politicians in Washington
07:55to bankrupt the country.
07:57It's saying that you can't just keep putting things
07:59on a credit card
08:01and passing the buck to future generations.
08:03Just think.
08:05Go back to the late 1990s.
08:07We actually had a balanced budget in this country.
08:10And while that was being done,
08:12you had Republicans in Congress,
08:14you had a Democrat president,
08:16and they were fighting over it,
08:18but the momentum was to balance the budget.
08:20You also had a debate in the Congress
08:22about a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.
08:24And in Congress came one vote short
08:26of certifying a balanced budget amendment
08:29to the Constitution
08:31for ratification by the states.
08:33Just imagine,
08:35if they had actually enacted that
08:37back 25 years ago,
08:39how much different would things look
08:41fiscally for this country?
08:43We would be in great shape had they done that.
08:45They came one vote short.
08:47So now we're in a situation
08:49where this is reaching levels
08:51that are going to plunge us
08:53at some point.
08:55And full disclosure,
08:57I can't tell you when it's going to be
08:59when we hit $37 trillion, $38 trillion.
09:01I don't know when that point is going to be,
09:03but I think we all know there will become a point
09:05where just servicing the debt
09:07is going to be cost prohibitive for us.
09:09So we have an opportunity to do something about it.
09:11I know 27 states,
09:13including Florida,
09:15have certified this proposal
09:17for a balanced budget amendment.
09:19Voting for it doesn't mean
09:21you have to amend the Constitution,
09:23yet that's on the back end when you have a chance to vote to ratify.
09:25And you would need 38 states to do that.
09:27But I think it would be great
09:29if Montana,
09:31I was also in Idaho,
09:33and we have some other states in the hopper
09:35that are considering that, if they do this.
09:37That's going to put a lot of pressure on Congress.
09:39I guarantee you, if this gets to 32,
09:4133 states,
09:43you're going to see Congress scurrying
09:45to be able to write and pass
09:47a balanced budget amendment and send to the states
09:49for ratification.
09:51So I thank the governor for his support on this.
09:53I thank all the great folks I've met here in Montana
09:55and the legislature
09:57who are supportive.
09:59I know there were some folks that had some good faith concerns
10:01about what direction this would go.
10:03And hopefully we were able to answer enough questions
10:05that you guys can get this
10:07on the docket
10:09and get it out the door.
10:11And then we'll go to South Carolina and Kentucky
10:13and a lot of these other states to get the job done.
10:15So I appreciate it
10:17and I'm happy to take some questions.
10:19Great. Thanks, Ron.
10:21And I would just say, we have something in common.
10:23Because of your fiscally conservative policies
10:25and pro-business policies,
10:27Montana and Florida
10:29are the only two states in the country
10:31where wage growth
10:33exceeded inflation over the last four years.
10:35So congratulations on that.
10:37You too.
10:39Questions?
10:41Do we have time for a couple?
10:43Yes.
10:45I'm curious.
10:47We're in the middle of a legislative session right now.
10:49Why are we talking about this at this moment?
10:53Well, I think it's because this is something
10:55during the session that the legislature can certify.
10:57And I think if they certify,
10:59they'd be the 28th state.
11:01Idaho could be the 29th state.
11:03We feel really good about South Carolina
11:05being the 30th state.
11:07And then you have Kentucky and a handful of others
11:09that you would want to go to.
11:11What will happen is, if we're right,
11:1334 states would trigger
11:15to where the states would write the amendment
11:17and then vote on it,
11:19and then send it to the states for full ratification.
11:21But we think 33 votes,
11:2333 states,
11:25would cause Congress to rush in.
11:27They would want to draft an amendment.
11:29Obviously, people of our ilk
11:31would work with them to get something that would be good.
11:33And then the Congress potentially
11:35could pass something.
11:37Then it would go right to the states for ratification.
11:39And you'd have a great debate across this country
11:41about how do we think
11:43Congress should manage our finances?
11:45Do we want to continue going with the
11:47failed model of the last 25 years?
11:49Or do we want to
11:51pose some constraints?
11:53So now's the perfect time to do it.
11:55The founding fathers understood that
11:57change needed to be driven in some
11:59instances by the states.
12:01And it's not enough for Montana
12:03and Florida and Idaho to say,
12:05hey, look, we're governing well.
12:07Look at all the great things we've done.
12:09We're also our key players in the
12:11constitutional system.
12:13And the founding fathers envisioned us having a role
12:15in these national affairs.
12:17And so we're taking that role seriously.
12:19Yes?
12:21We've had a couple bills
12:23come through in our table
12:25that we're dialing for so far this session.
12:27Sort of the same fate as last session
12:29with most of these bills there.
12:31Are you going to try to urge another bill
12:33to come forward or something to come off the table
12:35to sort of facilitate this decision?
12:37Well, it's not over until it's over.
12:39As you know, there's still a lot of bill titles
12:41in play. I think close to
12:43around 1,000.
12:45So there's still time to get stuff done.
12:47It's not done until they sign a die
12:49and go home.
12:51Yes?
12:53John Riley, Montana Intelligence Network.
12:55Governors, every
12:57conservative group
12:59that's proposed this or every nonpartisan
13:01group that's proposed this,
13:03it's a multiyear step. But all
13:05of those proposals that I've looked at
13:07either have deep cuts to
13:09federal spending or
13:11a sharp increase to
13:13income taxes. What do you guys
13:15see as the potential going forward?
13:17Well, I'll comment and then I'll let the governor
13:19comment as well.
13:21The federal government, just like every
13:23business and every family
13:25and most states, need to live within their means.
13:27We need to match
13:29revenue with
13:31expenses. I think
13:33we've done without
13:35significant tax increases.
13:37But it means being
13:39really prudent.
13:41Just like we've done in the state.
13:43As you know, we've been able to cut taxes
13:45significantly. We've been able to pay off
13:47all of our debt. How did we do that?
13:49We funded essential services.
13:51We increased
13:53efficiencies. And then
13:55we let the economy
13:57grow our way out of the problem.
13:59This was done after World War I
14:01in the United States at the federal level.
14:03It was done after World War II.
14:05We accumulated war debt.
14:07We grew our way out of the solution.
14:09I think the same thing is possible again
14:11now.
14:13Yeah, I mean, look. The way
14:15this amendment is structured,
14:17I mean, there's a period of time where
14:19Congress would be able to work this in.
14:21It wouldn't require it immediately
14:23because we understand we're in a hole.
14:25So they would have a period.
14:27What are you calling it in terms of
14:29the period that they would have?
14:31The debt break.
14:33Yeah, so there's going to be a debt break.
14:35But, I mean, one of the things
14:37that irks me about how some of this stuff is
14:39discussed is Congress will
14:41propose a budget sometimes
14:43and it'll take one program from
14:45X to X plus
14:47whatever, and people will say, that's a cut.
14:49And you're like, well, how is it a cut
14:51if you're spending more than you were
14:53before? And they say, well, that's
14:55less than the anticipated increase.
14:57So all this budgeting
14:59stuff is hot-wired for
15:01more spending. Because they say,
15:03if you don't increase a certain program by
15:057%, if you only increase it
15:07by 3, then that's actually a cut.
15:09To me, you're still increasing spending.
15:11So a lot can be
15:13done. One, I think the DOJ
15:15has the potential to really help
15:17streamline in significant numbers.
15:19But two, so much
15:21can be done. If you literally will just
15:23freeze spending.
15:25If we go back to 2019
15:27levels, and not counting
15:29Social Security, but just the discretionary budget,
15:31if you just went back to that level
15:33and froze it, heck, if
15:35you went back to that level, froze it, and even allowed
15:37defense to grow, you would
15:39still have significant savings.
15:41So so much of this stuff is
15:43just put on top
15:45of spending increase on top of spending increase
15:47and it's hot-wired. I think a balanced budget
15:49requirement, all that changes
15:51and they're going to approach it much differently.
15:53And I'll give you an example of the federal government.
15:55I mentioned this when we were talking to legislators.
15:57We had during the Biden
15:59administration various things passed.
16:01They would send money to the states, but there
16:03were certain strings attached that were
16:05going to require us to change our policies.
16:07And so I rejected that.
16:09Particularly on infrastructure, on some of this
16:11refugee money.
16:13And so we told them that.
16:15We said, we're going to send it back to you.
16:17Let us know. They didn't even know
16:19how to accept the money.
16:21It's like nobody had ever done that before.
16:23And so I met with Elon
16:25Musk on Friday and I said,
16:27I said, hey Elon,
16:29I've got almost a billion dollars here
16:31in federal spending we've
16:33rejected. We wanted to give it back
16:35to the Biden administration. And Elon's like, oh, we'll take
16:37care of that. He got a guy, one of his guys,
16:39they called Treasury. We had like the routing
16:41number and like off to the races.
16:43And so it is going to just force
16:45them to change behavior and change
16:47the way they do things. And so much
16:49of the way things are done in Washington
16:51is hot wired to produce
16:53the results we do. I mentioned
16:55it with the legislature. In Florida, no agency
16:57is entitled to any money.
16:59Every year you've got to justify your budget in
17:01Florida. And that's what you have to do.
17:03And that's how it should be. It should be the same
17:05for federal agencies as well.
17:07So there's going to be a lot of change in
17:09thinking if we have some restraints
17:11on the ability of the people in Congress
17:13to plunge us deeper into debt.
17:15Okay.
17:17Last question. Yes.
17:19On the floor discussion, you kind of talked
17:21about this too, about Congress sort of
17:23preempting what the convention
17:25would be once we get close here.
17:27I think that was a contribution to
17:29why I died on the floor last week.
17:31That we get close enough
17:33here and then Congress all of a sudden is like,
17:35well, well, well, let's just do our own thing
17:37and get ahead of this. Any thoughts
17:39on that? Well, but that would actually be a
17:41good thing if they did that because
17:43we are not going to be satisfied if
17:45they do anything less than something that will actually
17:47work, right? And so you would have
17:49all these states would reject Congress
17:51doing some type of half measure.
17:53So they are going to have to write something
17:55that is going to work
17:57and it may not be 100%
17:59what Greg and I would write,
18:01but my thing is in some
18:03of these things, they're pass-fail
18:05exercises. It either gets the job
18:07done or it doesn't. And if it doesn't get
18:09the job done at all, whether
18:11that's my way or someone else, it doesn't work.
18:13If I'm doing it a way to get the
18:15job done, then that gets the job done. If you're doing
18:17it a different way to get the job done, that's fine.
18:19So there will be details that will be worked
18:21out, but I think it will be something
18:23that will be good. So
18:25I don't think it will preempt
18:27positive constitutional change
18:29if Congress is going to try to do a bait
18:31and switch. That's not going to work
18:33and we would continue to then seek the
18:3534th state. The reason why you
18:37want Congress to do it after
18:3933 is it just saves a lot
18:41of time because then
18:43you have the final product, it goes
18:45back to Montana, back to Florida,
18:47and then we have the great ratification debates
18:49across the country. Now there won't be much of a
18:51debate in Florida about passing
18:53it. We will pass it. I'm sure
18:55most of the states would probably
18:57pass it, but you've got to get to 38. And so that
18:59will be a great debate for this country to have
19:01and shouldn't we in the states have
19:03an important role to play
19:05in the future viability of
19:07the republic? Because make no mistake, this
19:09is not just some cosmetic
19:11reform or some tangential
19:13issue. This is an
19:15existential threat the way our
19:17fiscal trajectory is on the
19:19very viability of the
19:21country. And we can be as
19:23great as we want statewide, but if the
19:25country has a major debt crisis
19:27we're all going to feel that. So let's do something
19:29about it and I'm confident that this
19:31is a viable
19:33and productive way to go about it.
19:35Alright, thanks everybody. Appreciate it.