Americans expect their representatives in Congress to look after the interests of all Americans, not just the privileged few. But after handing out a massive tax break to the very wealthiest — who coincidentally bankroll their campaigns — Republicans in Congress are about to vote on a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution that would cause massive cuts to programs that Americans rely upon.

Speaker Paul Ryan and House Republicans plan to force a vote a federal balanced budget amendment this week, but Americans should not be fooled by this move. This amendment is not about budgeting or balance. It’s about pushing an extreme agenda that would lead to a constitutional and economic catastrophe.

On the surface, a federal balanced budget amendment (BBA) sounds like a reasonable idea. In reality though, it is horrible public policy that will hurt American families, sabotage our nation’s economy, and weaken confidence in our Constitution.

A constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget is very different from how the average American family balances its own budget. In fact, most American families do not actually balance their budgets. Instead, they balance their checkbooks. We take out loans when we buy a house, send our kids to college, buy a car, or when there is a family emergency. With a BBA, the federal government could not borrow and raise money like this when there is a crisis. This is especially dangerous when our nation needs to spend extra money to respond to a national security crisis, a natural disaster, or a sudden change in the economy.

It became increasingly clear after Republicans in Congress passed their tax bill last year, adding over $1 trillion to the annual federal deficit, that they did not care about the cumulative federal debt. Suddenly, after burying the nation in more debt by cutting taxes, with most of the benefits going to the wealthy and large corporations, they propose a constitutional amendment that would force cuts to important programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and military retirement benefits.