[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.J. Res. 45 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. J. RES. 45

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 5, 1997

 Mr. Wise (for himself, Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. Borski, Mr. Boucher, Mr. 
 Clay, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Hinchey, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, Mr. Lipinski, 
Mrs. Maloney of New York, Mr. Mascara, Mrs. Mink of Hawaii, Mr. Nadler, 
   Mr. Oberstar, Mr. Rahall, Mr. Sawyer, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Scott, Mr. 
 Stark, and Mr. Wynn) introduced 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 outlays of the operating funds of the United 
States for any fiscal year shall not exceed total receipts to those 
funds for that fiscal year plus any operating fund balances carried 
over from previous fiscal years.
    ``Section 2. The Congress may waive the provisions of this article 
for any fiscal year in which a declaration of war is in effect. The 
provisions of this article may be waived for any fiscal year 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 of the Congress, that becomes law. If real 
economic growth has been or will be negative for two consecutive 
quarters, Congress may by law waive the article for the current and the 
next fiscal year.
    ``Section 3. Not later than the first Monday in February in each 
calendar year, the President shall transmit to the Congress a proposed 
budget for the United States Government for the fiscal year beginning 
in that calendar year in which total outlays of the operating funds of 
the United States for that fiscal year shall not exceed total receipts 
to those funds for that fiscal year.
    ``Section 4. Total receipts of the operating funds shall exclude 
those derived from net borrowing. Total outlays of the operating funds 
of the United States shall exclude those for repayment of debt 
principal and for capital investments in physical infrastructure that 
provide long-term economic returns but shall include an annual debt 
servicing charge. The receipts (including attributable interest) and 
outlays of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and 
the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund shall not be counted as 
receipts or outlays for purposes of this article.
    ``Section 5. This article shall be implemented and enforced only in 
accordance with appropriate legislation enacted by Congress, which may 
rely on estimates of outlays and receipts.
    ``Section 6. This section and section 5 of this article shall take 
effect upon ratification. All other sections of this article shall take 
effect beginning with fiscal year 2002 or the second fiscal year 
beginning after its ratification, whichever is later.''.
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