[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 371 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 371

 To increase the statutory limit on the public debt by $1,000,000,000 
   upon the adoption by Congress of a Balanced Budget Constitutional 
Amendment and by an additional $1,000,000,000 upon ratification by the 
                       States of that Amendment.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 23, 2013

  Mr. Brooks of Alabama (for himself, Mr. Bachus, Mr. Wilson of South 
 Carolina, Mr. Southerland, Mr. Stutzman, Mr. McKinley, and Mr. Jones) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To increase the statutory limit on the public debt by $1,000,000,000 
   upon the adoption by Congress of a Balanced Budget Constitutional 
Amendment and by an additional $1,000,000,000 upon ratification by the 
                       States of that Amendment.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting America's Solvency Act of 
2013''.

SEC. 2. INCREASE IN THE STATUTORY LIMIT ON THE PUBLIC DEBT.

    (a) Adoption.--Effective upon the adoption by the Congress of a 
Balanced Budget Constitutional Amendment with the provisions described 
in section 3, below, the statutory limit on the public debt set forth 
in section 3101(b) of title 31, United States Code, is increased by 
$1,000,000,000.
    (b) Ratification.--Effective upon the ratification by the States of 
the Balanced Budget Constitutional Amendment with the provisions 
described in section 3, below, the statutory limit on the public debt 
set forth in section 3101(b) of title 31, United States Code, is 
increased by an additional $1,000,000,000.

SEC. 3. REQUIRED PROVISIONS OF A BALANCED BUDGET CONSTITUTIONAL 
              AMENDMENT.

    A Balanced Budget Constitutional Amendment, to comply with the 
requirements of section 2, above, must include the following 
provisions:
            (1) Total outlays of the United States for any fiscal year 
        shall not exceed total receipts for that fiscal year. Total 
        receipts shall include all receipts of the United States except 
        those derived from borrowing. Total outlays shall include all 
        outlays of the United States except those for repayment of debt 
        principal. The United States shall have no fiscal year deficits 
        except pursuant to the terms of the Amendment.
            (2) The fiscal year deficit prohibition described herein 
        may be suspended by a majority of the membership of both houses 
        of Congress, by rollcall vote, for any fiscal year in which the 
        United States is actively engaged in military conflict pursuant 
        to a war declared by Congress pursuant to article I, section 8, 
        or may be suspended by four-fifths of the membership of 
        Congress, by rollcall vote, for any other fiscal year.
            (3) In any fiscal year in which Congress does not suspend 
        the Amendment pursuant to its terms and in which total outlays 
        will or may exceed total receipts, the President shall take 
        such steps as are necessary to ensure total outlays for that 
        fiscal year do not exceed total receipts. The President may not 
        order any increase in taxes or other revenue measures to 
        enforce the Amendment. A President's failure to prevent a 
        prohibited fiscal year deficit is an impeachable offense.
            (4) Any Member of Congress and any Governor or Attorney 
        General of any State shall have standing and a cause of action 
        to seek judicial enforcement of the Amendment. No court of the 
        United States or of any State may order any increase in taxes 
        or other revenue measures to prevent or reduce fiscal year 
        deficits.
            (5)(A) The Amendment shall be phased in beginning with the 
        first fiscal year commencing six or more months after 
        ratification of the Amendment by the States.
            (B) Within three months after ratification, the President 
        shall calculate the total outlays, the total receipts, and the 
        resulting deficit of the United States for the fiscal year in 
        which the Amendment was ratified. This deficit is the ``Base 
        Deficit''.
            (C) Fiscal year deficits shall be phased-out as follows:
                    (i) The deficit for the first fiscal year 
                commencing six or more months after ratification by the 
                States of the Amendment shall not exceed eighty percent 
                of the Base Deficit.
                    (ii) The deficit for the first fiscal year 
                commencing eighteen or more months after ratification 
                by the States of the Amendment shall not exceed sixty 
                percent of the Base Deficit.
                    (iii) The deficit for the first fiscal year 
                commencing thirty or more months after ratification by 
                the States of the Amendment shall not exceed forty 
                percent of the Base Deficit.
                    (iv) The deficit for the first fiscal year 
                commencing forty-two or more months after ratification 
                by the States of the Amendment shall not exceed twenty 
                percent of the Base Deficit.
                    (v) There shall be no deficit for any fiscal year 
                commencing fifty-four or more months after ratification 
                by the States of the Amendment.
                                 <all>