IA
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. J. RES. 20
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to provide
that appropriations shall not exceed revenues of the United States, except
in time of war or national emergency.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 4, 1995
Mr. DE LA GARZA introduced the following joint resolution; which was referred
to the Committee on the Judiciary
JOINT RESOLUTION
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United
States to provide that appropriations shall not exceed
revenues of the United States, except in time of war
or national emergency.
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States of America in Congress assembled
(two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the fol-
lowing article is proposed as an amendment to the Con-
stitution of the United States, and shall be valid to all
intents and purposes of the Constitution when ratified by
the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States:
HJ 20 IH
‘‘ARTICLE —
‘‘SECTION 1. Except as provided in section 4, the
Congress shall not authorize the withdrawal of funds from
the Treasury of the United States during any fiscal year
in an amount which exceeds in the aggregate the total
amount of the revenues of the United States (exclusive
of borrowed sums) for that fiscal year (as determined in
accordance with the latest estimates of the President and
proclaimed under section 2).
‘‘SECTION 2. As soon as practicable after the end of
each calendar year, the President shall determine and pro-
claim the amount which he estimates will be the total reve-
nues of the United States (exclusive of borrowed sums)
for the next fiscal year. Such estimated amount shall be
revised at least quarterly, and as so revised shall be pro-
claimed by the President.
‘‘SECTION 3. The President shall annually submit to
the Congress a budget which shall be prepared in such
a manner as to insure compliance with the first section
of this article.
‘‘SECTION 4. In time of war declared by the Congress,
or in time of grave national emergency requiring expendi-
tures in excess of receipts proclaimed by the President,
the application of this article may be suspended by a con-
current resolution which has passed each House by the
HJ 20 IH
affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the authorized
membership of that House and which contains a section
substantially as follows:
‘‘SECTION
. It being now a time of war declared by
the Congress (or, a time of grave national emergency pro-
claimed by the President, as the case may be), it is the
sense 
of 
the 
Congress 
that 
the 
provisions 
of
article
of the Constitution of the United States be
suspended until
.’’
‘‘No concurrent resolution shall suspend the applica-
tion of this article beyond the end of the fiscal year follow-
ing the fiscal year in which such resolution is adopted.
‘‘SECTION 5. This article shall apply only with respect
to fiscal years which begin more than two years after the
date on which this article was ratified.
‘‘SECTION 6. This article shall be inoperative unless
it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Con-
stitution within seven years from the date of its submis-
sion.’’.
Æ