HR 37 Re-checks Congress.gov for new actions and updates the bill's status, and fills in any sponsors, committees, or related bills that are missing. It does not re-pull sponsors/cosponsors/committees/related — those rarely change — and it skips all work if nothing has changed upstream, so it's cheap to click.
Proposing a Federal debt limit amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
Proposing a Federal debt limit amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
Summary
This bill proposes a constitutional amendment that would establish a federal debt limit set initially at 130 percent of the nation's Gross Domestic Product, declining by 1 percent each year until reaching 120 percent, where it would remain. Congress could exceed this limit only through a three-fifths majority vote for a specified reason each fiscal year. The President would be required to submit annual budgets that keep federal debt within the prescribed limits. The amendment allows for waivers during declared wars or military conflicts that pose an imminent threat to national security, as determined by joint resolution. The amendment would take effect three fiscal years after ratification by three-fourths of the states.
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)
- Rep. Yakym, Rudy [R-IN-2] (R-IN)
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to Rudy Yakym’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- NULL $48,900
- JAYCO $19,800
- DARYLE DODEN PERSONAL FINANCES $19,800
- KPS CAPITAL PARTNERS LP $13,200
- BRINKLEY RV $13,200
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Rudy Yakym → · Outside spending →
Actions (2)
- Jan 3, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. · house
- Jan 3, 2025 Introduced in House
More bills on these subjects (8)
Other bills that carry the most legislative subjects in common with this one (topical discovery — distinct from the procedural related bills above).
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 3, 2025
Mr. Yakym introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
Proposing a Federal debt limit amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 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 for ratification:
“Article—
“Section 1. Total amount of debt, including debt held by the public and intragovernmental debt, of the United States Government may not be greater than 130 percent of the Gross Domestic Product of the United States during the first fiscal year this article is in effect. Each subsequent fiscal year the limitation in the previous sentence shall be reduced by 1 percent until such limitation is equal to 120 percent, which shall then be the limitation for purposes of this section for each subsequent fiscal year. “Section 2. Total Federal debt, including debt held by the public and intragovernmental debt, may not exceed the levels prescribed under section 1 unless three-fifths of the whole number of each House of Congress shall provide by law for a specific excess of such debt for specified reasons by a rollcall vote each fiscal year. “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, and the subsequent 5-year period, in which total debt does not exceed the limit set forth in section 1. “Section 4. The Congress may waive the provisions of this article in connection with defense spending for any fiscal year in which a declaration of war is in effect. The provisions of this article may be waived for any fiscal year in which the United States is directly engaged in military conflict which causes an imminent and serious military threat to national security and is so declared by a joint resolution, adopted by a majority of the whole number of each House, which becomes law. Any such waiver must identify and be limited to the specific excess or increase for that fiscal year made necessary by the identified military conflict. “Section 5. The Congress shall implement and enforce this article by appropriate legislation, which may rely on estimates of outlays and receipts. “Section 6. For purposes of this article, Gross Domestic Product shall be the sum of personal consumption expenditures, investment, government spending, and net exports, and shall be determined by the Bureau of Economic Analysis or any successor agency. “Section 7. This article shall take effect beginning with the third fiscal year beginning after its ratification.”. <all>
Comments