[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 153 (Thursday, October 13, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6504-S6505]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS

  The following petition or memorial was laid before the Senate and was 
referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated:

       POM-63. A concurrent resolution adopted by the Legislature 
     of the State of Utah expressing support for an amendment to 
     the United States Constitution to balance the federal budget 
     and restrict tax increases; to the Committee on the 
     Judiciary.

                     Concurrent Resolution No. 201

       Whereas, the Legislature of the state of Utah acknowledges 
     that the United States of America is facing a crippling debt 
     crisis because of unrestrained spending and irresponsible 
     fiscal policies;
       Whereas, a majority of sitting United States Senators--
     including all 47 Republicans, 10 Democrats, and one 
     Independent--have specifically expressed support for a 
     requirement to balance the federal budget; and
       Whereas, the 112th Congress is currently considering the 
     following Constitutional Amendment, Senate Joint Resolution 
     10, which was introduced on March 31, 2011, by United States 
     Senators Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee, both from Utah:
       ``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:
       Article--
       Section 1. Total outlays for any fiscal year shall not 
     exceed total receipts for that fiscal year, unless two-thirds 
     of the duly chosen and sworn Members of each House of 
     Congress shall provide by law for a specific excess of 
     outlays over receipts by a roll call vote.
       Section 2. Total outlays for any fiscal year shall not 
     exceed 18 percent of the gross domestic product of the United 
     States for the calendar year ending before the beginning of 
     such fiscal year, unless two-thirds of the duly chosen and 
     sworn Members of each House of Congress shall provide by law 
     for a specific amount in excess of such 18 percent by a roll 
     call vote.
       Section 3. 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--
       (1) total outlays do not exceed total receipts; and
       (2) total outlays do not exceed 18 percent of the gross 
     domestic product of the United States for the calendar year 
     ending before the beginning of such fiscal year.
       Section 4. Any bill that imposes a new tax or increases the 
     statutory rate of any tax or the aggregate amount of revenue 
     may pass only by a two-thirds majority of the duly chosen and 
     sworn Members of each House of Congress by a roll call vote. 
     For the purpose of determining any increase in revenue under 
     this section, there shall be excluded any increase resulting 
     from the lowering of the statutory rate of any tax.

[[Page S6505]]

       Section 5. The limit on the debt of the United States shall 
     not be increased, unless three-fifths of the duly chosen and 
     sworn Members of each House of Congress shall provide for 
     such an increase by a roll call vote.
       Section 6. The Congress may waive the provisions of 
     sections 1, 2, 3, and 5 of this article for any fiscal year 
     in which a declaration of war against a nation-state is in 
     effect and in which a majority of the duly chosen and sworn 
     Members of each House of Congress shall provide for a 
     specific excess by a roll call vote.
       Section 7. The Congress may waive the provisions of 
     sections 1, 2, 3, and 5 of this article in any fiscal year in 
     which the United States is engaged in a military conflict 
     that causes an imminent and serious military threat to 
     national security and is so declared by three-fifths of the 
     duly chosen and sworn Members of each House of Congress by a 
     roll call vote. Such suspension must identify and be limited 
     to the specific excess of outlays for that fiscal year made 
     necessary by the identified military conflict.
       Section 8. No court of the United States or of any State 
     shall order any increase in revenue to enforce this article.
       Section 9. Total receipts shall include all receipts of the 
     United States Government except those derived from borrowing 
     or from penalties or fines. Total outlays shall include all 
     outlays of the United States Government except those for 
     repayment of debt principal.
       Section 10. The Congress shall have power to enforce and 
     implement this article by appropriate legislation, which may 
     rely on estimates of outlays, receipts, and gross domestic 
     product.
       Section 11. This article shall take effect beginning with 
     the fifth fiscal year beginning after its ratification.'': 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Legislature of the state of Utah, the 
     Governor concurring therein, pursuant to Article V of the 
     United States Constitution, would hereby support a Balanced 
     Budget Amendment to the Constitution of the United States 
     proposed by resolution of the 112th Congress of the United 
     States in Washington, D.C., described herein, on March 31, 
     2011. Be it further
       Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be sent to the 
     legislatures of all 49 other states, all members of Utah's 
     congressional delegation, the majority and minority leaders 
     in the United States Senate and House of Representatives, the 
     Vice President of the United States, and the Speaker of the 
     United States House of Representatives, with a request that 
     it be printed in the Congressional Record.

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