IA
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. J. RES. 251
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to provide
for budgetary reform by requiring the reduction of the deficit, a balanced
Federal budget, the repayment of the national debt, and establishing
line item veto authority for the President.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AUGUST 6, 1993
Mr. ALLARD (for himself and Mr. EWING) 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 for budgetary reform by requiring the
reduction of the deficit, a balanced Federal budget, the
repayment of the national debt, and establishing line
item veto authority for the President.
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 follow-
ing article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitu-
tion of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents
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and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by
the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States with-
in seven years after the date of its submission for ratifica-
tion:
‘‘ARTICLE —
‘‘SECTION 1. Except as provided by this Article, be-
ginning with the fiscal year 1997 or for the first fiscal
year beginning after ratification, whichever is later, the
President shall submit a budget of revenues and outlays
to Congress, and Congress shall adopt a budget that re-
duces the deficit existing the year prior to ratification of
this Article by not less than ten percent per year in order
to balance the budget within ten fiscal years.
‘‘SECTION 2. Except as provided by this Article, be-
ginning with the eleventh year beginning after ratification
and for every year thereafter, budgeted outlays shall not
exceed budgeted revenues.
‘‘SECTION 3. Beginning with the eleventh year after
ratification, the actual revenues shall exceed actual outlays
in order to provide for the reduction of the gross federal
debt which is outstanding at the end of the tenth year
after ratification.
‘‘The amount of such reduction will be equal to the
amount required to amortize the debt over the next twenty
•HJ 251 IH
years, in order to repay the entire debt by the end of the
thirtieth year after ratification.
‘‘SECTION 4. Congress may waive the provisions of
this Article (except for sections 5 and 6) for any fiscal
year in which a declaration of war is in effect.
‘‘SECTION 5. No bill to increase revenues shall be-
come law unless approved by a majority of the total mem-
bership of each House of Congress by a roll call vote.
‘‘SECTION 6. The President shall have the power to
disapprove any appropriation or provision and approve any
other appropriation or provision in the same appropriation
bill. In such case the President shall, in signing the bill,
designate the appropriations and provisions disapproved,
and shall return a copy of such appropriations and provi-
sions, with the President’s objections, to the House in
which the bill shall have originated; and the same proceed-
ings shall then be had as in the case of other bills dis-
approved by the President.
‘‘SECTION 7. Congress shall review actual revenues
on a quarterly basis and adjust appropriations to assure
compliance with this Article.
‘‘SECTION 8. For purposes of this Article, revenues
shall include all revenues of the United States excluding
borrowing and outlays shall include all outlays of the
United States excluding repayment of debt principal.’’.