Former Gov. Scott Walker, R-Wis., recently became the national face of the state-led movement to propose a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. In his role as national honorary chairman of the Center for State-led National Debt Solutions, Walker will champion an issue that first came to nationwide prominence when then-President Ronald Reagan recognized that “We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much.”

Ultimately, Reagan’s leadership led to the crafting of a balanced budget amendment proposal, which passed the Senate in 1982 but failed in the Democratic-controlled House. In 1996, House Speaker Newt Gingrich led a similar effort, which passed in the House but failed in the Senate by a single vote.