[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S.J. Res. 22 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. J. RES. 22

    Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States 
 relative to requiring a balanced budget and granting the President of 
             the United States the power of line-item veto.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 15, 2009

 Mr. LeMieux 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 
 relative to requiring a balanced budget and granting the President of 
             the United States the power of line-item veto.

    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 by the Congress:

                              ``Article--

    ``Section 1. Total outlays for any fiscal year shall not exceed 
total receipts for that fiscal year, unless two-thirds 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.
    ``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.
    ``Prior to each fiscal year, the President shall transmit to 
Congress a proposed budget for the Federal Government for that fiscal 
year in which total outlays do not exceed total receipts.
    ``No bill to increase revenue shall become law unless approved by a 
majority of the whole number of each House by a rollcall vote.
    ``Congress may waive the provisions of this section for any fiscal 
year in which a declaration of war is in effect. The provisions of this 
section 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.
    ``Congress shall enforce and implement this section by appropriate 
legislation, which may rely on estimates of outlays and receipts.
    ``In this section, total receipts shall include all receipts of the 
Federal Government except those derived from borrowing and total 
outlays shall include all outlays of the Federal Government except for 
those for repayment of debt principal.
    ``Section 2. The President may, with respect to any bill or joint 
resolution that has been signed into law pursuant to section 7 of 
Article I, cancel in whole any dollar amount of discretionary budget 
authority, any item of new direct spending, or any limited tax benefit. 
The President shall notify Congress of such cancellation by 
transmitting a special message within 5 calendar days (excluding 
Sundays) after the enactment of the law providing the dollar amount of 
discretionary budget authority, item of new direct spending, or limited 
tax benefit that was canceled. Such special message shall be treated in 
the same manner as a bill which the President returns without signing 
under section 7 of Article I.
    ``Congress shall not transmit a bill or joint resolution to the 
President that purports to or does require executive compliance with 
spending guidance contained in any report or other document that is 
beyond the text of the bill or joint resolution. Under this clause, the 
President shall retain the right to disregard any or all guidance in 
such accompanying reports or documents.
    ``Section 3. This article shall take effect beginning with the 
first fiscal year after its ratification.''.
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