[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.J. Res. 53 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. J. RES. 53

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 12, 1997

   Mr. Poshard 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 
                 relating to a Federal balanced budget.

    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 United States may not exceed 
total receipts of the United States for that year, unless three-fifths 
of the whole number of each House of Congress shall provide for a 
specific excess of outlays over receipts.
    ``Section 2. Total receipts shall include all receipts of the 
United States except those derived from borrowing or retirement trust 
funds. Total outlays shall include all outlays of the United States 
except those for retirement trust funds or repayment of debt principal.
    ``Section 3. Prior to each fiscal year, the President shall 
transmit to the Congress a proposed budget for the United States 
Government in which total outlays do not exceed total receipts, 
consistent with the provisions of this Article.
    ``Section 4. The Congress may waive the provisions of this Article 
for any fiscal year in which a declaration of war is in effect.
    ``Section 5. All votes taken by the House of Representatives or the 
Senate under this Article shall be rollcall votes.
    ``Section 6. Congress shall enforce and implement this Article by 
appropriate legislation.
    ``Section 7. This Article shall take effect for the second fiscal 
year beginning after its ratification, but, if there is a Federal 
budget deficit for the first fiscal year beginning after its 
ratification, then, during the next five fiscal years, the annual 
budget deficit may not exceed the following per centums of that budget 
deficit for each of those years as follows: eighty per centum during 
the first year to which this Article applies, sixty per centum during 
the second year, forty per centum during the third year, twenty per 
centum during the fourth year, and zero per centum during the fifth 
such year.''.
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