IA 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. J. RES. 18 
Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution requiring that 
each agency and department’s funding is justified. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 4, 2017 
Mr. PERRY submitted the following joint resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary 
JOINT RESOLUTION 
Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution 
requiring that each agency and department’s funding 
is justified. 
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, which shall be valid to all 
intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when 
ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several 
States within seven years after the date of its submission 
for ratification: 
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‘‘ARTICLE — 
‘‘SECTION 1. Total outlays for any fiscal year shall 
not exceed total receipts for that fiscal year, unless three- 
fifths of the whole number of each House of Congress shall 
provide by law for a specific excess of outlays over receipts 
by a rollcall vote, but in no event shall total outlays for 
any fiscal year exceed the following: for the first fiscal year 
for which this article takes effect, 20 percent of the esti-
mated gross domestic product of the United States for 
that year, and for each subsequent fiscal year, a percent-
age of the estimated gross domestic product equal to the 
applicable percentage for the preceding fiscal year reduced 
by .1 percentage point. Under this section, total spending 
for any fiscal year is not required to be less than 16 per-
cent of the estimated gross domestic product of the United 
States. 
‘‘SECTION 2. The limit on the debt of the United 
States held by the public shall not be increased, unless 
three-fifths of the whole number of each House shall pro-
vide by law for such an increase by a rollcall vote. 
‘‘SECTION 3. Prior to each fiscal year, the President 
shall transmit to the Congress a proposed budget for the 
United States Government for that fiscal year in which 
total outlays do not exceed total receipts. 
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‘‘SECTION 4. No bill to increase revenue shall become 
law unless approved by a three-fifths majority of the whole 
number of each House by a rollcall vote. 
‘‘SECTION 5. Any budget plan for a fiscal year for 
the Government submitted by the President to the Con-
gress shall include a justification by each department or 
agency of the Government for any funding proposed for 
that department or agency in that plan. The justification 
shall include a justification of each line item in the budget 
of that department or agency based upon its effect on car-
rying out its mission and its effect, if any, on the gross 
domestic product of the United States and an additional 
funding level below the requested number that would allow 
that department or agency to complete all of its critical 
mission functions. 
‘‘SECTION 6. Total receipts shall include all receipts 
of the United States Government except those derived 
from borrowing. Total outlays shall include all outlays of 
the United States Government except for those for repay-
ment of debt principal. 
‘‘SECTION 7. The Congress shall enforce and imple-
ment this article by appropriate legislation, which may rely 
on estimates of outlays and receipts. 
‘‘SECTION 8. The Congress may waive the provisions 
of this article for any fiscal year in which a declaration 
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of war is in effect. The provisions of this article may be 
waived for any fiscal year in which the United States is 
engaged in military conflict or after any event which 
causes an imminent and serious military threat to national 
security and is so declared by a joint resolution or during 
which a natural disaster is declared by a joint resolution, 
adopted by a vote by two-thirds of each House, which be-
comes law. 
‘‘SECTION 9. This article shall take effect beginning 
with the earlier of the tenth fiscal year beginning after 
its ratification or the first fiscal year beginning after any 
fiscal year in which the budget of the United States is 
not in deficit.’’. 
Æ 
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