Proposing a fiscal responsibility 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 by the Congress:

Article --

SECTION 1. A minimum of four (4) months prior to the beginning of each fiscal year, the President shall transmit to Congress a proposed budget statement of receipts and outlays for such fiscal year consistent with the provisions of this Article. Should the President fail to submit such a budget statement a minimum of four (4) months prior to the beginning of each fiscal year, the President shall forfeit any government salary for the coming budget year. The time frame of this Section may not be amended.

SECTION 2. A minimum of two (2) months prior to the beginning of each fiscal year, Congress shall, by law, adopt a final budget statement of receipts and outlays for such fiscal year in which total outlays are not greater than total receipts. Congress may only provide in that statement for a specific excess of outlays over receipts by a vote directed solely to that subject and in which the whole number of each House of Congress agrees to such excess. Should the Congress fail to submit such a budget statement a minimum of two (2) months prior to the beginning of each fiscal year, all Members of Congress shall forfeit any government salary for the coming budget year. The time frame of this Section may not be amended.

SECTION 3. The final budget statement by Congress shall, by law, total no higher outlay than nineteen percent (19%) of the total Gross Domestic Product of the United States of America of the prior fiscal year. Congress may, by law, amend that percentage provided revised outlays are not greater than receipts by a vote directed solely to that subject in which the whole number of each House of Congress agrees to such excess. However, the revised percentage may not exceed the deficit limits established in SECTION 9 below.

SECTION 4. Congress and the President shall ensure that actual outlays do not exceed the outlays set forth in Sections 1 and 2 of this Article. Should actual outlays exceed that total amount authorized by Sections 1 and 2 of the Article the President, each Department head Cabinet Secretary, and each member of Congress shall forfeit any government salary for the preceding year by repaying such salary in total within thirty (30) days of the end of the fiscal year or they shall be removed from office, in the case of elected officials, or replaced in the case of appointed officials.

SECTION 5. No bill to increase tax revenue above nineteen percent (19%) of the total Gross Domestic Product of the United States of America of the prior fiscal year will be allowed, except that, Congress may, by law, amend that percentage provided a vote directed solely to that subject in which the whole number of each House of Congress agrees to such increase.
SECTION 6. For any final budget submitted to the President by Congress, the President will have the authority to amend or delete any 'line item' in said budget, provided however, that the final cost including any changes made by the President still falls within all of the requirements of this Amendment.

SECTION 7. Congress may waive the provisions of this Article for any fiscal year in which a "Declaration of War" is in effect. The provisions of this Article may also be waived for any fiscal year in which the United States faces an imminent and serious military threat to national security or grave national disaster. Waiver for any of these causes may only be approved by a vote in both houses of Congress directed solely to this subject and in which the whole number of members in both houses of Congress agrees to such waiver.

SECTION 8. 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 including those for the repayment of debt principal and interest.

SECTION 9. The maximum amount of the gross total national debt of the United States (not just the privately held national debt) at the end of any fiscal year must not total more than seventy percent (70%) of the Gross Domestic Product of the United States of America in the preceding year. As of the date this Article takes effect, the then existing debt, if above the seventy percent (70%) limit, will be brought back below this maximum limit over a period not to exceed the following ten (10) years by reducing spending for each successive year by five percent (5%) of the actual outlay for the previous year and by increasing personal and corporate income tax rates by five percent (5%) of the then existing rates until below the seventy percent (70%) limit. Spending reductions shall be for expense outlays in all US government areas except that of the Social Security and Medicare systems, where defined benefits have been promised to citizens. Changes to the percentages or timeframes defined above may only be changed by a vote in both houses of Congress directed solely to this subject and in which the whole number of members in both houses of Congress agrees to such change. Any change will only be valid for one (1) fiscal year, and any such change must be reapproved for each subsequent year if they are to remain in effect.

SECTION 10. All votes taken by either house of Congress, the House of Representatives or the Senate, under this Article shall be rollcall votes.

SECTION 11. Congress shall enforce and implement this Article by appropriate legislation.

SECTION 12. This Article shall take effect for the fiscal year 2022 or for the next full fiscal year beginning after its ratification, whichever is later.

Section 13. This Article may only be amended by a vote in both houses of Congress directed solely to this subject and in which the whole number of members in both houses of Congress agrees to such amendment