Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
For Further Action See H.J.Res.1.
Congressional Research Service
Official summary
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Mar 3, 1995
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits total outlays in any fiscal year from increasing by a percentage greater than the percentage increase in nominal gross domestic product in the last calendar year ending prior to the beginning of such fiscal year. Prohibits total outlays in any fiscal year from exceeding the ratio of the outlays in the fiscal year at the time of submission of this proposed amendment to the States to gross domestic product in the last calendar year ending prior to the fiscal year at the time of submission to the States, times gross domestic product in the last calendar year ending prior to the fiscal year for which this limitation is being calculated. Declares that total receipts includes all receipts of the United States except those derived from borrowing, and total outlays includes all outlays of the United States, both on-budget and off-budget, except those for the repayment of debt principal. Requires inflation to be measured by the gross domestic product deflator. Declares that total outlays include the cost to any State or local government of engaging in any activity or service mandated by any law of the United States beyond that required by existing law or the Constitution at the time of the submission of this proposed amendment to the States, unless an appropriation is made and disbursed to pay that State or local government for such cost. Requires that for any fiscal year in which total receipts exceed total outlays, the surplus shall be used to reduce the public debt until such debt is eliminated. Requires the President, prior to each fiscal year, to transmit to the Congress a proposed statement of receipts and outlays for such fiscal year consistent with this Act. Authorizes the Congress, following a declaration of an emergency by the President and with a two-thirds vote of both Houses, to authorize a specified amount of emergency outlays in excess of the limit. Prohibits, for each of the first four fiscal years after ratification of this amendment, total grants to States and local governments from being a smaller fraction of total outlays than the average of the three fiscal years prior to ratification. Provides for the enforcement of this amendment by a Member of Congress or the President, in an action brought in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Source last updated: Nov 21, 2018. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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