Legislative Oversight

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119 HJ 139 IH: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States requiring a balanced budget for the Federal Government. 
 U.S. House of Representatives 
 2026-01-09 
 text/xml 
 EN 
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. 
 
 
 
 IA 
 119th CONGRESS 
 2d Session 
 H. J. RES. 139 
 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
 
 January 9, 2026 
 Mr. Biggs of Arizona submitted the
 following joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
 
 JOINT RESOLUTION 
 Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United
 States requiring a balanced budget for the Federal Government. 
 
 
 
 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: 
 
 
  — 
 
 1. 
 Total expenditures for a year shall not exceed the average annual receipts collected in the three prior years, adjusted in proportion to the changes in the population of citizens of the United States and inflation. Total expenditures shall include all expenditures of the United States except those for payment of debt, and receipts shall include all receipts of the United States except those derived from borrowing. 
 
 
 2. 
 Congress may by a roll call vote of two-thirds of each House provide by law for specific expenditures in excess of the limit in section 1. 
 
 
 3. 
 Congress may by a roll call vote provide by law for specific expenditures in excess of the limit in section 1 for any year in which a declaration of war is in effect. 
 
 
 4. 
 Any bill to levy a new tax or to increase the rate of any tax shall not become law unless approved by two-thirds of the whole number of each House of Congress by a roll call vote. 
 
 
 5. 
 Congress shall enforce and implement this article by appropriate legislation. 
 
 
 6. 
 This article shall take effect with the fifth year beginning after ratification. 
 
 
 .

Plain-English summary

Confidence: high · Complexity: moderate · Model: grok-4.5

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• Taxes & Government Spending

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