This bill proposes a constitutional amendment prohibiting total outlays for a fiscal year from exceeding total receipts for that fiscal year unless Congress authorizes the excess by a three-fifths roll call vote of each chamber.
The prohibition excludes
The amendment requires the President to annually submit to Congress a budget in which total outlays do not exceed total receipts.
The amendment specifies exceptions to the requirements if a declaration of war is in effect, the United States is engaged in military conflict that causes an imminent and serious military threat to national security, economic growth is less than 0%, or the unemployment rate is more than 7%.
The amendment prohibits a court from enforcing the requirements by ordering reductions to Social Security or Medicare payments unless the funds available to the trust fund for a program are not sufficient to cover the outlays that would occur during the year if the fund were fully solvent.
[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4268 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4268
Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United
States.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 7, 2024
Mr. Tester introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United
States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, 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 by
the Congress:
``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 roll call vote.
``Section 2. 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.
``Section 3. Sections 1 and 2 of this article shall not apply
during any fiscal year in which a declaration of war is in effect or in
which the United States is engaged in military conflict which causes an
imminent and serious military threat to national security and is so
declared by a joint resolution, adopted by a majority of the whole
number of each House, which becomes law.
``Section 4. Section 1 of this article shall not apply during a
fiscal year if, during that fiscal year or the preceding fiscal year,
the economy of the United States grew by less than an annualized rate
of 0.0 percent in real gross domestic product during 2 or more
consecutive quarters or the unemployment rate was more than 7 percent
during 2 or more consecutive months.
``Section 2 of this article shall not apply to a fiscal year if,
during the 1-year period ending on the date on which the President
transmits to Congress a proposed budget for the United States
Government for that fiscal year, the economy of the United States grew
by less than an annualized rate of 0.0 percent in real gross domestic
product during 2 or more consecutive quarters or the unemployment rate
was more than 7 percent during 2 or more consecutive months.
``Section 5. Congress shall enforce and implement this article by
appropriate legislation, which may rely on estimates of outlays and
receipts.
``Section 6. Except as provided in the second and third clauses,
total receipts shall include all receipts of the United States
Government other than those derived from borrowing, and total outlays
shall include all outlays of the United States Government other than
those for repayment of debt principal.
``For each fiscal year, the receipts (including attributable
interest) and outlays of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance
Trust Fund, the Federal Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, the
Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund, or any fund that is a
successor to any such fund, shall not be considered to be receipts or
outlays for purposes of this article.
``For any fiscal year, outlays relating to a natural disaster shall
not be considered to be outlays for purposes of this article if the law
making the amounts available explicitly exempts the outlays from this
article and is agreed to by a majority of the whole number of each
House.
``Section 7. No court of the United States or of any State shall
enforce this article by ordering any reduction in Social Security or
Medicare payments authorized by law, including any amounts paid from
the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, the Federal
Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, the Federal Disability
Insurance Trust Fund, or any fund that is a successor to any such fund,
unless the receipts (including attributable interest) and other amounts
available for that fund for the applicable fiscal year are not
sufficient to cover the outlays that would otherwise occur during that
fiscal year if the fund were fully solvent.
``Section 8. This article shall take effect beginning with the
fifth fiscal year beginning after its ratification.''.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
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