WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) and 23 of his colleagues recently introduced a joint resolution (S.J.Res.13) proposing an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to require the President and Congress to enact annual balanced budgets. This constitutional amendment would establish requirements for the submission and approval of annual balanced budgets, including guidelines regarding exceeding spending caps and raising taxes.   

“The federal debt now amounts to well over $30 trillion and, as interest rates continue to rise, so too does the cost for the federal government to borrow,”said Senator Tillis. “Congress must halt its dangerous reliance on deficit spending and instead enact economically-sustainable fiscal policies for the American people. I’m pleased to cosponsor this balanced budget amendment, which would provide a long-term strategy so we can move forward as good stewards of hardworking North Carolinians’ taxpayer dollars.” 

The joint resolution would amend the U.S. Constitution to require:

• Require the President to submit a balanced budget
• Require Congress to pass a balanced budget
• Restrict federal spending to 18 percent of the Gross Domestic Product
• Require two-thirds majority votes in the House and Senate to raise taxes
• Require a new three-fifths majority vote in both houses of Congress to raise the debt limit

S.J.Res.13 also includes certain spending waivers for use during wartime or imminent danger to national security. (Read the legislation here, along with a one-pager here.)

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