Heartland Institute Experts Comment on the Indiana Senate Passing Convention of States Resolution

Published February 3, 2016

The Indiana state senate approved Senate Joint Resolution 14 (SJR 14) on Wednesday by a 34–16 vote. SJR 14 is Indiana’s application for an Article V convention backed by Convention of States. The application would call for a convention for the purpose of enacting a federal balanced budget amendment, imposing term limits on members of Congress, and reducing federal regulations. The resolution now goes to the Indiana House of Representatives for approval.

The following statements from constitutional reform experts at The Heartland Institute – a free-market think tank – may be used for attribution. For more comments, refer to the contact information below. To book a Heartland guest on your program, please contact Donald Kendal, New Media Specialist, The Heartland Institute, at [email protected] or 312/377-4000.


“The Indiana Senate should be commended for taking bold action by approving the Convention of States’ proposal. Lawmakers in the Hoosier State sent a message to the ruling class in Washington, DC that they are not waiting for Congress to get its act together.”

Kyle Maichle
Project Manager, Constitutional Reform
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000


“The Indiana Senate’s call for an Article V convention is a big step towards reforming the flaws in our Constitution. Although the Founding Fathers were great men, things they may have dismissed as hypothetical ‘edge cases’ are now clear and present dangers to the American way of life. Lawmakers in other states should take heed and throw in with the forward-thinking Indiana lawmakers who have passed this resolution.”

Jesse Hathaway
Managing Editor
Budget & Tax News
Research Fellow
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000


“This is an important step toward Americans reclaiming their constitutional right to cure federal dysfunction by acting through their state legislatures. This is a right comparable to the right to vote, but neglected for far too long.”

Rob Natelson
Director, Article V Information Center
The Independence Institute
Retired Law Professor
312/377-4000
[email protected]


“Congratulations to the Indiana Senate for passing the call for an Article V convention to consider constitutional amendments to protect the freedoms and liberties of the American people against an overreaching federal government dominated by tyrants who don’t respect those freedoms and liberties. This is the process the Founding Fathers created precisely for the people to protect their freedoms and liberties at a time such as this.”

Peter Ferrara
Senior Fellow
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000


“The Indiana Senate is to be congratulated for taking the first step in ‘We the People’ reordering the role between the states and our federal government. It is time that additional state legislatures do the same by submitting to Congress an application calling for a Convention of States clearly outlined in Article V of the United States Constitution.

“It is the responsibility of our elected state legislators to assert their right and duty to hold our federal representatives and the government accountable to the original intent of our founding document. It is the states that created our federal government, and it will be our states that reorder the role of our federal government. Three cheers for the Hoosier State!”

Neal Schuerer
Executive Director
Campaign Constitution
312/377-4000
[email protected]


The Heartland Institute is a 32-year-old national nonprofit organization headquartered in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. For more information, visit our Web site or call 312/377-4000.