The long-ago defeated proposal for a balanced budget amendment is rearing its ugly head once again. Unable to pass a budget this year and desperate to create the appearance of being fiscally responsible, the Republican leaders in the House of Representatives are promising a vote on the measure.

A constitutionally mandated requirement to balance the budget every year would have terrible consequences. For starters, it would destabilize the economy and restrict the nation's ability to invest in projects that would yield significant benefits in the future. A good example of the various arguments made against the amendment is this Treasury Department memo by Brad DeLong, written 10 years ago.

In addition, more than 1,000 economists have publicly opposed the amendment, as have dozens of nonprofits comprising the Coalition for Budget Integrity.

It would be unfortunate if the return of this inherently misguided amendment distracts Congress when they have so many important issues to address.