Countywide : Initiative Drive Ties Reelections to Deficit

A Laguna Niguel mortgage banker is proposing a ballot initiative that would prohibit California’s U.S. senators and representatives from seeking reelection if Congress fails to make specified cuts in the federal deficit.

Steven Beck, 37, began circulating a petition for the measure this week. The measure would ban incumbent federal lawmakers from returning to office if any budget passed during their terms did not reduce the federal deficit by 20% from the previous year.

Beck declined to comment on the measure. His wife, Jill Beck, said he would talk at a later date.

“He’s doing this for the people,” Jill Beck said. “He’s not doing it to get publicity for himself.”

To qualify the initiative for the ballot, Beck will have to collect 384,974 signatures of registered voters by April 13, said Shirley Washington, a spokeswoman for the secretary of state’s office. If the petition is then ruled valid by the county registrar of voters, the earliest it could appear on the ballot is November, 1994.

If approved by voters, California’s U.S. senators and representatives could not seek reelection if any budget adopted by Congress through the year 2001 did not contain the 20% deficit reduction. Beginning in 2002, according to the proposed measure, the state’s federal lawmakers could return to office only if at least 0.5% of each year’s budget is allocated to the reduction of the federal debt.

The provisions would be suspended if war is declared.