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 prohibiting total expenditures from exceeding total receipts for a fiscal year. The prohibition excludes expenditures for repayment of debt principal and receipts derived from borrowing.
For a national emergency, two-thirds of each chamber of Congress may authorize expenditures that exceed receipts for limited times. Debts incurred from the expenditures must be paid as soon as practicable.
The amendment requires a two-thirds roll call vote of each chamber of Congress to increase the public debt limit. It also requires the President to submit a balanced budget to Congress annually.
If the President does not submit a balanced budget for a fiscal year, any executive actions may be unilaterally overturned by a simple majority vote of each of chamber of Congress until the President submits a balanced budget.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.J. Res. 68 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. J. RES. 68

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 20, 2019

Mr. Green of Tennessee 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. Total expenditures for any fiscal year shall not 
exceed total receipts for that fiscal year. Such total expenditures do 
not include those for repayment of debt principal and such total 
receipts may not include those derived from borrowing.
    ``Section 2. For a national emergency, two-thirds of each House of 
Congress 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. Before each fiscal year, the President shall transmit 
to the Congress a proposed budget for such fiscal year for the 
Government in which total expenditures do not exceed total receipts. If 
the President fails to perform the duty imposed by this section, any 
executive actions may be unilaterally overturned by a simple majority 
vote of each House of Congress until the date on which the President 
submits the proposed budget to Congress.
    ``Section 4. The limit on the debt of the United States held by the 
public shall not be increased unless two-thirds of each House of 
Congress provides by law for such an increase by a roll-call vote.
    ``Section 5. For purposes of section 2, a national emergency occurs 
whenever a declaration of war is in effect or whenever Congress adopts 
a concurrent resolution declaring a national emergency.
    ``Section 6. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by 
appropriate legislation.
    ``Section 7. This article shall take effect beginning with the 
tenth fiscal year after its ratification.''.
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