By Nick Dranius
This year, I made just one New Year’s Resolution: to press for an Article V Amendment Convention.
Talk of a convention has brewed in political circles for years. But given the massive growth of the federal government in recent years, with spending nearly doubled from $2.1 trillion in 1995 to $4 trillion in 2010, an amendment convention cannot come too soon.
Under Article V of the U.S. Constitution, 34 states can call for a convention to amend the Constitution. This would be an effective way for the states to stand up against federal power. An Article V amendment convention would give the states the opportunity to introduce amendments that would restore the original meaning of our Constitution and put the federal government back within its constitutional limits. Amendments proposed at a convention of the states can include ideas such as the National Debt Relief Amendment, which would require a majority of state legislatures to approve any increase in the federal debt. That would be a solid constraint on the main source of growth in federal government power—its ability to spend money. The National Debt Relief Amendment is policy neutral enough to have bipartisan appeal. I think it can pass in 34 states and get ratified in 38.
Therefore, I resolve to do everything I can to help states embrace their Article V powers, call for a convention, and pass the National Debt Relief Amendment.
Learn More:
Goldwater Institute: 10 Facts to Rebut the Mythology of a Runaway Convention
Goldwater Institute: Amending the Constitution by Convention: A Complete View of the Founders’ Plan
RestoringFreedom.org: Help us to solve our federal debt crisis
Nick Dranias holds the Clarence J. and Katherine P. Duncan Chair for Constitutional Government and is Director of the Joseph and Dorothy Donnelly Moller Center for Constitutional Government at the Goldwater Institute. Prior to joining the Goldwater Institute, Dranias was an attorney with the Institute for Justice. In law school, Dranias served on the Loyola University Chicago Law Review, competed on Loyola’s National Labor Law Moot Court Team, and received various academic awards. He graduated cum laude from Boston University with a B.A. in Economics and Philosophy. 
Welcome to the world of Convention USA! Your idea for an amendment to the US Constitution is worthy of serious consideration. So are many others advanced on the Internet. Convention USA is an attempt to bring togeher all those who see the need for reform. We need delegates who are serious enough to support the effort and sensible enough to identify those amendments which can garner national consensus.