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Summary of our proposed amendment  This
amendment is by far the longest of our proposed amendments. This is
because the United States budget is large and complex, and Congress
loves to find loopholes. It is important to make sure that a balanced
budget amendment has enforcement mechanisms. This proposed amendment
makes allowance for situations where there is an emergency, such as war
or natural disaster, and allows Congress to spend more money than the
government takes in for that year, if a super-majority of both houses
agree. But, it is important that members of Congress understand that
this provision is only for real
emergencies. Thus, it is important that members of Congress feel the
pain of what they're putting the country through. Our proposed
amendment will thus reduce the salary of all members of Congress by
one-half every year they approve an unbalanced budget. This amendment
also gives the President the line item veto when the budget is
unbalanced, so that he can strike pork-barrel projects from
legislation. To make sure that Congress doesn't balance the budget just
by continually increasing taxes, our proposed amendment also states
that no tax increase will go into effect until there has been an
election for the House of Representatives, and the tax increase is
approved again after the election.
History Unlike
the constitutions of most U.S. states, the United States Constitution
does not actually require Congress to pass a balanced budget, one in
which the projected income to the government through taxes, fees,
fines, and other revenues equals the amount proposed to be spent. This
has led to deficit spending and the creation of a national debt. Since
its inception, except for a short period during the presidency of
Andrew Jackson, the United States Government has always been in debt. Article
I, Section 8, Clause 2 of the Constitution grants to the United States
Congress the power “[t]o borrow money on the credit of the United
States.” When the Constitution came into effect, the United States had
a significant debt, primarily associated with the Revolutionary War.
There were differences within and between the major political
coalitions over the possible liquidation or increase of this debt. As
early as 1798, Thomas Jefferson wrote that if he could “obtain a single
amendment to our Constitution,” it would be an amendment “taking from
the Federal Government the power of borrowing.” The issue of the
federal debt was next addressed by the Constitution within Section 4 of
the Fourteenth Amendment (ratified on 9 July 1868), which stated: The
validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law,
including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for
services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be
questioned. Between
1975 and 1983, the legislatures of 32 states submitted requests to
Congress for a constitutional convention to propose a Balanced Budget
Amendment. In 1982, a balanced budget amendment was even approved in
the Senate, by a vote of 69 to 31, but failed to win approval in the
House of Representatives. Since 1983, some states have rescinded their
applications for an balanced budget amendment, but 23 still remain in
force. That means we only need 11 more state to make requests to
Congress, and it will be forced to call a constitutional convention to
propose a balanced budget amendment.
Text of our proposed amendment A balanced budget amendment is supported by 76 percent of Americans. Our proposed text for a Balanced Budget Amendment is:
Section 1.
Prior to each fiscal year, the Congress shall adopt a statement
of receipts and outlays for that year in which total outlays are no
greater than total receipts. The Congress may amend such statement
provided revised outlays are not greater than revised receipts.
Whenever two-thirds of the whole number of both Houses and the
President shall deem it necessary, Congress in such statement may
provide for a specific excess of outlays over receipts by a vote
directly to that subject. The Congress and the President shall ensure
that actual outlays do not exceed the outlays set forth in such
statement.
Section 2.
Total receipts for any fiscal year set forth in the statement
adopted pursuant to this article shall not increase by a rate greater
than the rate of increase in national income in the last calendar
year ending before such fiscal year, unless a three-fifths majority
of the whole number of both Houses of Congress shall have passed a
bill directed solely to approving specific additional receipts and
such bill has become law. No increase in any tax, tariff, levy, or
surcharge shall take effect, including increases to previous levels
after a Congress has enacted a temporary decrease, unless an
intervening general election of the House of Representatives has
taken place, and three-fifths of the members of both Houses of
Congress approve the tax or tariff increase following such election.
No bill to increase revenue, or amendment to such a bill, shall
become law unless approved by a roll call vote. No bill requiring any
outlays or any other type of expenditure shall embrace more than one
object, which shall be expressed in its title.
Section 3.
The Congress may provide for a specific excess of outlays over
receipts for military expenses for any fiscal year in which a
declaration of war is in effect and three-fifths of the whole number
of both Houses and the President shall deem it necessary.
Section 4.
The limit on the debt of the United States held by the public shall
not be increased, unless two-thirds of the whole number of each
House shall provide by law for such an increase by a roll call vote.
Section 5.
In any fiscal year where Congress has deemed an excess of outlays
over receipts to be necessary, the total salary and any other form of
compensation of all members of Congress shall be reduced by half from
the previous year's compensation received, and any salary, pension,
or benefits to be received after the members of Congress have left
office shall also be reduced to proportion equal to the ratio of the
salary they actually received while in office to the full amount
their salary would have been. The salaries of members of Congress
that have been thus reduced shall not return to their normal levels
until outlays once again are not greater than receipts. If the
President signs any bill authorizing an excess of outlays over
receipts, his salary and other compensation, as well as salary,
pension, or other benefits to be received after leaving office shall
be decreased in the same manner as members of Congress.
Section 6.
Total receipts shall include all receipts of the United States except
those derived from borrowing and total outlays shall include all
outlays of the United States.
Section 7.
Whenever the total amount of the debt of the United States held by
the public at the close of a fiscal year is greater than the total
amount of the debt of the United States held by the public at the
close of the preceding fiscal year, the President may separately
approve, reduce or disapprove any monetary amounts in any legislation
that appropriates or authorizes the appropriation of any money drawn
from the Treasury, other than money for the legislative and judicial
branches of the United States Government, and which is presented to
the President during the next annual session of Congress.
Section
8.Whenever the total amount of the debt of the United States
held by the public at the close of a fiscal year, whether interest or
principal, is greater than the total amount of the debt of the United
States held by the public at the close of the preceding fiscal year,
the current salaries and other compensation of all members of
Congress and the President, and future salaries, pensions, or
benefits to be received after the members of Congress have left
office, shall be reduced as described in Section 5 of this article,
and shall not be increased back to their previous levels until at
least one fiscal year has elapsed, and the debt at the end of that
fiscal year is not greater than the total amount of the debt of the
United States held by the public at the close of the preceding fiscal
year.
Section 9.
Any legislation that the President approves with changes pursuant to
section 7 of this article shall become law as modified. The President
shall return with objections those portions of the legislation
containing reduced or disapproved monetary amounts to the House where
such legislation originated, which may then, in the manner prescribed
under section 7 of Article I for bills disapproved by the President,
separately reconsider those reduced or disapproved monetary amounts.
Section 10.
In any fiscal year where the United States owes any public debts, ten
percent of all the receipts for that year shall be applied to paying
the principal of the debt, unless the total debt owed is less than
ten percent of receipts for the year, in which case the funds to be
applied shall be equal to the entire amount of the principal of the
debt
Section 11.
The Congress shall enforce and implement this article by appropriate
legislation, which may rely on reasonable estimates of outlays and
receipts.
Section 12.
Any Citizen of the United States shall have standing to challenge in
federal court any law enacted, or any action taken by Congress or the
President, in violation of this article.
Section 13.
This article shall take effect on the second fiscal year beginning
after its ratification.
The above is, of course, merely our proposal. The Article V convention would have the final authority on the exact text of the amendment it proposes.
This text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0. This page uses material from the Wikipedia article “Balanced Budget Amdendment.” Photo courtesy of tracy_olson
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