[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S.J. Res. 2 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. J. RES. 2

  Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to 
    require a balanced budget and protect Social Security surpluses.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 7, 2003

  Mr. Craig introduced the following joint resolution; which was read 
          twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                            JOINT RESOLUTION


 
  Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to 
    require a balanced budget and protect Social Security surpluses.

    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, 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 to the States for ratification:

                              ``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 rollcall vote.
    ``Section 2. Total receipts shall include all receipts of the 
United States Government except those derived from borrowing. Total 
outlays shall include all outlays of the United States Government 
except for those for repayment of debt principal.
    ``Section 3. Any surplus of receipts (including attributable 
interest) over outlays of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance 
and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Funds shall not be counted 
for purposes of this article. Any deficit of receipts (including 
attributable interest) relative to outlays of the Federal Old-Age and 
Survivors Insurance and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Funds 
shall be counted for purposes of this article, and must be completely 
offset by a surplus of all other receipts over all other outlays.
    ``Section 4. The limit on the debt of the United States held by the 
public shall not be increased, unless three-fifths of the whole number 
of each House shall provide by law for such an increase by a rollcall 
vote.
    ``Section 5. 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 6. No bill to increase revenue shall become law unless 
approved by a majority of the whole number of each House by a rollcall 
vote.
    ``Section 7. 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, which becomes law.
    ``Section 8. The Congress shall enforce and implement this article 
by appropriate legislation, which may rely on estimates of outlays and 
receipts.
    ``Section 9. This article shall take effect the second fiscal year 
beginning after its ratification.''.
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