115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. J. RES. 39 

Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United 

States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 30, 2017 

Mr. DONNELLY (for himself, Ms. HEITKAMP, Mr. TESTER, and Mr. 

MANCHIN) introduced the following joint resolution; which was read twice 

and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

JOINT RESOLUTION 

Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution 

of the United States. 

1 Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives 

2 of the United States of America in Congress assembled

3 (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the fol4 lowing article is proposed as an amendment to the Con5 stitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all 

6 intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when 

7 ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several 

8 States within seven years after the date of its submission 

9 by the Congress: 


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1 ‘‘ARTICLE— 

2 ‘‘SECTION 1. Total outlays for any fiscal year shall 

3 not exceed total receipts for that fiscal year, unless three4 fifths of the whole number of each House of Congress shall 

5 provide by law for a specific excess of outlays over receipts 

6 by a roll call vote. 

7 ‘‘SECTION 2. Prior to each fiscal year, the President 

8 shall transmit to the Congress a proposed budget for the 

9 United States Government for that fiscal year in which 

10 total outlays do not exceed total receipts. 

11 ‘‘SECTION 3. Sections 1 and 2 of this Article shall 

12 not apply during any fiscal year in which a declaration 

13 of war is in effect or in which the United States is engaged 

14 in military conflict which causes an imminent and serious 

15 military threat to national security and is so declared by 

16 a joint resolution, adopted by a majority of the whole num17 ber of each House, which becomes law. 

18 ‘‘SECTION 4. Section 1 of this Article shall not apply 

19 during a fiscal year if, during that fiscal year or the pre20 ceding fiscal year, the economy of the United States grew 

21 by less than an annualized rate of 0.0 percent in real gross 

22 domestic product during 2 or more consecutive quarters 

23 or the unemployment rate was more than 7 percent during 

24 2 or more consecutive months. 


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1 ‘‘Section 2 of this Article shall not apply to a fiscal 

2 year if, during the 1-year period ending on the date on 

3 which the President transmits to Congress a proposed 

4 budget for the United States Government for that fiscal 

5 year, the economy of the United States grew by less than 

6 an annualized rate of 0.0 percent in real gross domestic 

7 product during 2 or more consecutive quarters or the un8 employment rate was more than 7 percent during 2 or 

9 more consecutive months. 

10 ‘‘SECTION 5. Congress shall enforce and implement 

11 this article by appropriate legislation, which may rely on 

12 estimates of outlays and receipts. 

13 ‘‘SECTION 6. Except as provided in the second and 

14 third clauses, total receipts shall include all receipts of the 

15 United States Government other than those derived from 

16 borrowing, and total outlays shall include all outlays of 

17 the United States Government other than those for repay18 ment of debt principal. 

19 ‘‘For each fiscal year, the receipts (including attrib20 utable interest) and outlays of the Federal Old-Age and 

21 Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, the Federal Medicare 

22 Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, the Federal Disability In23 surance Trust Fund, or any fund that is a successor to 

24 any such fund, shall not be considered to be receipts or 

25 outlays for purposes of this article. 


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1 ‘‘For any fiscal year, outlays relating to a natural dis2 aster shall not be considered to be outlays for purposes 

3 of this article if the law making the amounts available ex4 plicitly exempts the outlays from this article and is agreed 

5 to by a majority of the whole number of each House. 

6 ‘‘SECTION 7. No court of the United States or of any 

7 State shall enforce this article by ordering any reduction 

8 in Social Security or Medicare payments authorized by 

9 law, including any amounts paid from the Federal Old10 Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, the Federal 

11 Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, the Federal 

12 Disability Insurance Trust Fund, or any fund that is a 

13 successor to any such fund, unless the receipts (including 

14 attributable interest) and other amounts available for that 

15 fund for the applicable fiscal year are not sufficient to 

16 cover the outlays that would otherwise occur during that 

17 fiscal year if the fund were fully solvent. 

18 ‘‘SECTION 8. This article shall take effect beginning 

19 with the fifth fiscal year beginning after its ratification.’’. 

Æ 


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