Mike Levin: “I support the Dodd amendment because it would simplify the national security exception to the balanced budget amendment…”

“I support the Dodd amendment because it would simplify the national security exception to the balanced budget amendment before us, and it would do so in a common-sense way that I would think both supporters and opponents of the balanced budget amendment should be able to support. As currently drafted, the balanced budget amendment before us would limit the national security exception to cases in which the United States is already 'engaged in military conflict.' This language would seriously limit our defense options by precluding the use of the exception to prepare for imminent military conflict. The way the amendment before us is written, our troops must actually be engaged in battle in order for the exception to apply. The Dodd amendment addresses this problem by extending the waiver authority to any case in which the United States 'faces an imminent and serious military threat to national security, as declared by a joint resolution of Congress,' even if we are not yet engaged in military conflict.”