Final answer:
The statement is false; during a recession, Congress is more likely to employ expansionary fiscal policy, which involves increasing government spending and decreasing taxes to stimulate economic growth.
Step-by-step explanation:
False. If Congress wanted to help the economy out of a recession, they would be most likely to increase government spending and/or decrease taxes, not the opposite. This approach is known as expansionary fiscal policy. Expansionary fiscal policy is designed to stimulate economic growth through increased spending on government projects and cutting taxes, which puts more money into consumers' pockets and can lead to higher demand in the economy.
Expansionary fiscal policy is typically used during a recession to increase employment and keep prices stable. For example, during a recession, the actual budget deficit tends to fall below the standardized employment budget because less tax revenue is collected and automatic stabilizers like unemployment benefits increase government spending. Implementing a balanced budget amendment would constrain the ability of Congress to grant a tax cut during a recession without offsetting it with increased taxes elsewhere or reducing spending, which could reduce the flexibility to use fiscal policy as a tool for economic stabilization.