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Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
Summary
This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment that would require the federal government to balance its budget annually. The amendment would prohibit total government spending from exceeding total revenue except when Congress votes with a two-thirds majority in each chamber to allow a specific deficit. The President would be required to submit a budget where spending does not exceed receipts. The amendment defines total receipts as all government revenue except borrowing, and total outlays as all spending except debt principal repayment. The amendment would take effect beginning five years after ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures, with a seven-year ratification deadline.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
2 cosponsors
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to Jay Obernolte’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- NULL $69,760
- GOOGLE $17,500
- ROUTE 66 SHOOTING $13,200
- APPLE VALLEY COMMUNICATIONS $13,200
- CHANDI GROUP USA $13,200
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Jay Obernolte → · Outside spending →
Actions (2)
- Jan 13, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. · house
- Jan 13, 2025 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Text versions (1)
Bills are re-published as they move (Introduced → Reported → Engrossed → Enrolled …). Each stage below is a separate text; pick two to see what changed. Data from Congress.gov.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 13, 2025
Mr. Obernolte (for himself and Mr. Weber of Texas) submitted the following joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
JOINT RESOLUTION
Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
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 for ratification:
“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. “Section 2. 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 total outlays do not exceed total receipts. “Section 3. The Congress shall enforce and implement this article by appropriate legislation, which may rely on estimates of outlays and receipts. “Section 4. Total receipts shall include all receipts of the United States Government except those derived from borrowing. Total outlays shall include all outlays of the United States Government except for those for repayment of debt principal. “Section 5. This article shall take effect beginning with the fifth fiscal year beginning after its ratification.”. <all>
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