Mo. lawmaker wants constitutional convention on debt

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A Missouri House member wants individual states to have more power over the national debt.

Republican Chuck Gatschenberger, of Lake St. Louis, is sponsoring a resolution urging Congress to a call a convention to amend the U.S. Constitution.

Gatschenberger said Monday he wants a constitutional amendment requiring approval from a majority of the country's 50 state legislatures for any increase in the federal debt. He said he does not want to rewrite the entire U.S. Constitution, only to add the amendment to it.

His resolution currently has 42 co-sponsors in the House.

Gatschenberger's announcement makes Missouri the ninth state to have such a resolution introduced in its legislature.

The national debt is about $14 trillion.