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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndiana Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne, is pushing for an Article V Constitutional Convention by speaking at national meetings and trying to garner support beyond Indiana.
During the 2013 session of the Indiana General Assembly, Long introduced two bills and one resolution which established the framework for a state-sponsored constitutional convention to curb federal spending.
Long was the keynote speaker at the Balanced Budget Amendment Task Force’s day-long seminar Aug. 10 in Chicago. His remarks were titled, “How Nullifying Faithless Article V Delegate Votes can safely break Congress’s Amendatory Monopoly and save the American Dream.”
The task force has been advocating for states to draft and ratify a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Long is calling for states to take a more active role in passing such amendments by convening to push the limitation of the federal government’s control over commerce and its powers of taxation.
Wednesday, Aug. 14, Long will be part of a panel discussion at the National Conference of State Legislatures 2013 Summit in Atlanta. He will participate in the breakout session, “Amending the Constitution by Convention: The States’ Role,” and be joined by Mississippi Representative Thomas Upton Reynolds and Independence Institute Senior Fellow Robert Natelson, along with moderator Karl Kurtz, NCSL Trust for Representative Democracy Division.
Talking about his effort during the legislative session, the senate president said states have a right to defend themselves against the flood of unfunded mandates that flows from Washington. He asserted that through a convention, convened under the provisions set forth in Article V of the Constitution, the states could reign in Congress and protect their sovereignty.
Long promoted his bills as keeping tight control and preventing a runaway convention. Senate Bill 224, which outlined the duties of the Article V Convention delegates, and SB 225, which provided the means for appointing delegates to the Article V convention, passed the Legislature with heavy Republican support.
His resolution making application to Congress to call a Constitutional Convention stalled in the Indiana House of Representatives.
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