Protecting America's Solvency Act of 2015

Protecting America's Solvency Act of 2015

This bill increases the statutory debt limit by $1 trillion after Congress adopts a balanced budget Constitutional amendment and by an additional $1 trillion after the amendment is ratified by the states.

To comply with the requirements of this bill, the amendment must:

• prohibit total outlays for a year from exceeding receipts, excluding receipts derived from borrowing and outlays for repayment of debt principal;
• permit the deficit prohibition to be suspended by a majority of both houses of Congress in any year in which the United States is actively engaged in military conflict pursuant to a war declared by Congress or by a fourth-fifths vote in any other year;
• require the President to ensure that total outlays for a fiscal year do not exceed receipts and consider the failure to prevent a deficit to be an impeachable offense;
• permit any Member of Congress, governor, or attorney general to have standing and a cause of action to seek judicial enforcement of the amendment;
• prohibit the President, a court, or any state from ordering a tax increase or other revenue measures to enforce the requirements; and
• phase-in the requirements using a specified schedule of declining deficits.

[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3835 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3835

To increase the statutory limit on the public debt by $1 trillion upon 
the adoption by Congress of a balanced budget Constitutional amendment 
  and by an additional $1 trillion upon ratification by the States of 
                            that amendment.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 27, 2015

Mr. Brooks of Alabama introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                   to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To increase the statutory limit on the public debt by $1 trillion upon 
the adoption by Congress of a balanced budget Constitutional amendment 
  and by an additional $1 trillion upon ratification by the States of 
                            that amendment.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting America's Solvency Act of 
2015''.

SEC. 2. INCREASE IN THE STATUTORY LIMIT ON THE PUBLIC DEBT.

    (a) Adoption.--Effective upon the adoption by the Congress of a 
balanced budget Constitutional amendment with the provisions described 
in section 3 below, the statutory limit on the public debt set forth in 
section 3101(b) of title 31, United States Code, is increased by $1 
trillion.
    (b) Ratification.--Effective upon the ratification by the States of 
the balanced budget Constitutional amendment with the provisions 
described in section 3 below, the statutory limit on the public debt 
set forth in section 3101(b) of title 31, United States Code, is 
increased by an additional $1 trillion.

SEC. 3. REQUIRED PROVISIONS OF A BALANCED BUDGET CONSTITUTIONAL 
              AMENDMENT.

    A balanced budget Constitutional amendment, to comply with the 
requirements of section 2 above, must include the following provisions:
            (1) Total outlays of the United States for any fiscal year 
        shall not exceed total receipts for that fiscal year. Total 
        receipts shall include all receipts of the United States except 
        those derived from borrowing. Total outlays shall include all 
        outlays of the United States except those for repayment of debt 
        principal. The United States shall have no fiscal year deficits 
        except pursuant to the terms of the amendment.
            (2) The fiscal year deficit prohibition described herein 
        may be suspended by a majority of the membership of both Houses 
        of Congress, by roll call vote, for any fiscal year in which 
        the United States is actively engaged in military conflict 
        pursuant to a war declared by Congress pursuant to article I, 
        section 8, or may be suspended by four-fifths of the membership 
        of Congress, by roll call vote, for any other fiscal year.
            (3) In any fiscal year in which Congress does not suspend 
        the amendment pursuant to its terms and in which total outlays 
        will or may exceed total receipts, the President shall take 
        such steps as are necessary to ensure total outlays for that 
        fiscal year do not exceed total receipts. The President may not 
        order any increase in taxes or other revenue measures to 
        enforce the amendment. A President's failure to prevent a 
        prohibited fiscal year deficit is an impeachable offense.
            (4) Any Member of Congress and any Governor or attorney 
        general of any State shall have standing and a cause of action 
        to seek judicial enforcement of the amendment. No court of the 
        United States or of any State may order any increase in taxes 
        or other revenue measures to prevent or reduce fiscal year 
        deficits.
            (5)(A) The amendment shall be phased-in beginning with the 
        first fiscal year commencing six or more months after 
        ratification of the amendment by the States.
                    (B) Within three months after ratification, the 
                President shall calculate the total outlays, the total 
                receipts, and the resulting deficit of the United 
                States for the fiscal year in which the amendment was 
                ratified. This deficit is the ``Base Deficit''.
                    (C) Fiscal year deficits shall be phased out as 
                follows:
                            (i) The deficit for the first fiscal year 
                        commencing 6 or more months after ratification 
                        by the States of the amendment shall not exceed 
                        80 percent of the Base Deficit.
                            (ii) The deficit for the first fiscal year 
                        commencing 18 or more months after ratification 
                        by the States of the amendment shall not exceed 
                        60 percent of the Base Deficit.
                            (iii) The deficit for the first fiscal year 
                        commencing 30 or more months after ratification 
                        by the States of the amendment shall not exceed 
                        40 percent of the Base Deficit.
                            (iv) The deficit for the first fiscal year 
                        commencing 42 or more months after ratification 
                        by the States of the amendment shall not exceed 
                        20 percent of the Base Deficit.
                            (v) There shall be no deficit for any 
                        fiscal year commencing 54 or more months after 
                        ratification by the States of the amendment.
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