Governors Gianforte, DeSantis Promote Balanced Budget Amendment to U.S. Constitution

Advocate for strong fiscal management and permanent tax cuts

• March 24 2025

HELENA, Mont. – Governor Greg Gianforte and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis today championed a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution as a solution to the out-of-control spending in Washington, D.C.

“In Washington, they’ve been spending like drunken sailors – that is not what our Founders envisioned,” Gov. Gianforte said. “We need a change, and fast, to prevent our children and grandchildren from inheriting this mess and we can’t expect Washington to impose permanent fiscal restraints on itself. That’s why we need a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.”

Gov. Gianforte (right) and Gov. DeSantis (left) speaking during a press conference at the Montana State Capitol

A balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution would require the federal government to spend within its means. In the United States, every state but one has a balanced budget requirement in its constitution.

Currently, the U.S. Constitution contains no limit on congressional borrowing. And, despite the requirements of the Budget Control Act of 1974, Congress hasn’t passed a yearly budget on time since 1996.

During the press conference, the governors emphasized their concern about the national debt and the need for the federal government to commit to fiscal responsibility like states do.

“Reckless spending in Washington, and particularly the last four years under Joe Biden, has left us more than $36 trillion in debt while increasing the size of government and piling debt onto the backs of future generations,” Gov. Gianforte said.

In addition to urging the adoption of a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, Gov. Gianforte and Gov. DeSantis praised the work of President Trump to eliminate unnecessary federal spending and to identify waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government.

“An amendment to the U.S. Constitution requiring a balanced federal budget would force Congress to get their act together and take action necessary for us to become a fiscally sound country once again. Most importantly, a constitutional amendment would make responsible federal spending practices—including those currently advocated for by DOGE—permanent, so that no future Congress or President could undo them,” Gov. DeSantis said.

He continued, “Congress will never cut off the spending spigot voluntarily. We the People must stop the gravy train. That’s why people across the country should advocate for their state to join those 27 others and call for a Balanced Budget Amendment.”

Governor Gianforte has been a long proponent of reining in out-of-control spending. While serving in Congress, the first bill then-Congressman Gianforte introduced in 2017 was H.R. 2977, the Balanced Budget Accountability Act, which would have withheld pay from members of Congress until they passed a balanced budget.

And, in 2023, Gov. Gianforte introduced a proposal to use the state’s surplus to pay off all general obligation debt, making Montana debt-free in 2023 and saving Montana taxpayers $40 million over the next two years on principal and interest payments.

###