[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.J. Res. 251 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. J. RES. 251

  Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to 
provide for budgetary reform by requiring the reduction of the deficit, 
  a balanced Federal budget, the repayment of the national debt, and 
        establishing line item veto authority for the President.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 6, 1993

 Mr. Allard (for himself and Mr. Ewing) introduced the following joint 
    resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                            JOINT RESOLUTION


 
  Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to 
provide for budgetary reform by requiring the reduction of the deficit, 
  a balanced Federal budget, the repayment of the national debt, and 
        establishing line item veto authority for the President.

    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. Except as provided by this Article, beginning with the 
fiscal year 1997 or for the first fiscal year beginning after 
ratification, whichever is later, the President shall submit a budget 
of revenues and outlays to Congress, and Congress shall adopt a budget 
that reduces the deficit existing the year prior to ratification of 
this Article by not less than ten percent per year in order to balance 
the budget within ten fiscal years.
    ``Section 2. Except as provided by this Article, beginning with the 
eleventh year beginning after ratification and for every year 
thereafter, budgeted outlays shall not exceed budgeted revenues.
    ``Section 3. Beginning with the eleventh year after ratification, 
the actual revenues shall exceed actual outlays in order to provide for 
the reduction of the gross federal debt which is outstanding at the end 
of the tenth year after ratification.
    ``The amount of such reduction will be equal to the amount required 
to amortize the debt over the next twenty years, in order to repay the 
entire debt by the end of the thirtieth year after ratification.
    ``Section 4. Congress may waive the provisions of this Article 
(except for sections 5 and 6) for any fiscal year in which a 
declaration of war is in effect.
    ``Section 5. No bill to increase revenues shall become law unless 
approved by a majority of the total membership of each House of 
Congress by a roll call vote.
    ``Section 6. The President shall have the power to disapprove any 
appropriation or provision and approve any other appropriation or 
provision in the same appropriation bill. In such case the President 
shall, in signing the bill, designate the appropriations and provisions 
disapproved, and shall return a copy of such appropriations and 
provisions, with the President's objections, to the House in which the 
bill shall have originated; and the same proceedings shall then be had 
as in the case of other bills disapproved by the President.
    ``Section 7. Congress shall review actual revenues on a quarterly 
basis and adjust appropriations to assure compliance with this Article.
    ``Section 8. For purposes of this Article, revenues shall include 
all revenues of the United States excluding borrowing and outlays shall 
include all outlays of the United States excluding repayment of debt 
principal.''.

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