S.J.Res. 18 · 114th Congress
A joint resolution proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
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Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 114th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
D
DonnellySponsor3 cosponsors · 3 D
2 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment prohibiting total outlays for a fiscal year from exceeding total receipts for that fiscal year unless Congress authorizes the excess by a three-fifths roll call vote of each chamber.
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in Senate · Jul 9, 2015
Constitutional Amendment
This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment prohibiting total outlays for a fiscal year from exceeding total receipts for that fiscal year unless Congress authorizes the excess by a three-fifths roll call vote of each chamber.
The prohibition excludes outlays for repayment of debt principal, receipts derived from borrowing, and receipts or outlays of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds.
The resolution requires the President to annually submit to Congress a budget in which total outlays do not exceed total receipts.
The balanced budget requirement does not apply if:
- a declaration of war is in effect or if the United States is engaged in military conflict which causes an imminent and serious military threat to national security, or
- during the fiscal year or preceding fiscal year, the U.S. economy grew by less than 0% in real gross domestic product during two or more consecutive quarters or the unemployment rate was more than 7% during two or more consecutive months.
The resolution prohibits a court from enforcing the requirements by ordering cuts to Social Security or Medicare payments unless the funds available to the trust fund for a program are not sufficient to cover the outlays that would occur during the year if the fund were fully solvent.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: A joint resolution proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
Latest action (Jul 9, 2015): Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Policy area: Economics and Public Finance · Origin: Senate · Introduced: Jul 9, 2015
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.