IIA 111th CONGRESS 2d Session S. J. RES. 35 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 21, 2010 Mr. Hatch 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 a balanced budget.

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 7 years after the date of its submission by the Congress:  —

1.Congress shall adopt for each year a budget which shall set forth the total receipts and outlays of the United States. No budget in which total outlays exceed total receipts shall be adopted unless three-fifths of each House of Congress duly sworn and elected approve such budget by a rollcall vote directed solely to that subject. Congress shall not pass and the President shall not sign any bill which would cause the total outlays for any year to exceed the total expenditures in the budget for such year.

2.The receipts in any year shall not be retained for use of the Treasury in an amount which exceeds as a proportion of the national income, that retained for the prior year, unless a bill directed solely at approving a specific increase in such proportion has been passed by a majority of each House duly sworn and elected and such bill has become law.

3.Congress may waive the provisions of sections 1 and 2 with respect to any single year in which a declaration of war is in effect.

4.An increase in Federal taxes may not be adopted unless two-thirds of each House of Congress duly sworn and elected approve such increase by a rollcall vote directed solely to that subject.

5.If in any fiscal year the percentage of growth of Gross Domestic Product is negative, discretionary spending, excluding spending for defense and homeland security, in the next fiscal year shall not exceed the level of such spending for the preceding fiscal year reduced by that percentage of negative growth.

6.Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

7.This article shall take effect on the first day of January of the second calendar year beginning after the date of ratification of this article.

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