In one of her first acts in the new 116th Congress, U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) has introduced legislation to require the President and Congress to enact annual balanced budgets.
S.J.Res.3 is a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution requiring the President to submit, and Congress to approve, a balanced budget each year. The Hyde-Smith legislation has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“The American people expect their government to manage their hard-earned tax dollars responsibly. Our growing deficit and debt will catch up with us if we don’t act to control spending,” said Hyde-Smith, who serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee.
“This balanced budget amendment legislation would create a process to ensure balanced budgets are in place before our indebtedness becomes an even bigger threat to our economy and our national security,” she said.
S.J.Res.3 would:
- 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
The joint resolution also includes certain spending waivers for use during wartime or imminent danger to national security.
A copy of S.J.Res.3 is available here: http://bit.ly/2Tz7Bpn
Press Release
Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith
1/8/2019
