Title: Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
Policy area: Economics and Public Finance

Summary:
Constitutional Amendment
This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment requiring federal expenditures and receipts to be balanced, excluding expenditures for payment of debt and receipts derived from borrowing. The requirement may be met over more than one year to accommodate economic conditions.
In emergency situations, two-thirds of the House of Representatives and the Senate may authorize expenditures to exceed receipts for a limited time. Debts from emergency expenditures must be paid as soon as practicable.
Congress may enforce the article with legislation, which must require compliance within 10 years of ratification.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.J. Res. 119 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. J. RES. 119

Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United 
                                States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 23, 2017

    Mr. Brat (for himself, Mr. Sanford, Mr. Gosar, Mr. Meadows, Mr. 
 DesJarlais, Mr. Palazzo, Mr. Sensenbrenner, Mr. Guthrie, Mr. Massie, 
Mr. Griffith, Mr. Bishop of Michigan, Mr. Mooney of West Virginia, Mr. 
Carter of Georgia, Mr. Webster of Florida, and Mr. Katko) submitted the 
following joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                            JOINT RESOLUTION


 
Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United 
                                States.

    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 following article is proposed as an 
amendment to the Constitution 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:

                              ``Article--

    ``Section 1. Expenditures and receipts shall be balanced, which may 
occur over more than one year to accommodate economic conditions. 
Expenditures shall include all expenditures of the United States except 
those for payment of debt, and receipts shall include all receipts of 
the United States except those derived from borrowing.
    ``Section 2. For emergency situations two-thirds of the House of 
Representatives and the Senate may for limited times authorize 
expenditures exceeding those pursuant to rules established under 
section 1. Debts incurred from such expenditures shall be paid as soon 
as practicable.
    ``Section 3. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by 
appropriate legislation, which shall allow not more than ten years 
after ratification to comply with section 1.''.
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