Congress·In Committee·H.J.Res. 2

Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

Congress Proposes Constitutional Amendment to Require Balanced Budget and Freeze National Debt

over 1 year ago·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

Part of: Congress Proposes Constitutional Amendment for Balanced Federal Budget

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Stalled

No legislative action in over 90 days.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Key Points

This proposal would change the U.S. Constitution to require the federal government to balance its budget every year. This means the government would be banned from spending more money than it brings in through taxes and other income.
The plan would also permanently stop the government from raising the national debt limit. This is intended to force the country to pay for its expenses using only the money it currently has rather than borrowing more from the public.
If the government wanted to raise taxes to increase its income, it would become much harder to do. Any bill that increases federal revenue would require a two-thirds 'supermajority' vote in both the House and the Senate to pass.
To become part of the Constitution, this amendment must first be approved by two-thirds of both the House and Senate. After that, it would need to be approved by the legislatures in 38 out of the 50 states.
This change would represent a major shift in how the U.S. economy works. While it aims to stop the national debt from growing, it could also limit the government's ability to spend money quickly during national emergencies or economic downturns.

Economy FinanceTaxes

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

Life & Work

With the government forced to balance its budget every year, federal employees would likely face hiring freezes, pay freezes, layoffs, and reduced retirement benefits. The federal workforce of roughly 2 million civilian employees would be a frequent target for cost-cutting measures as Congress scrambles to eliminate deficits.

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ImpactCertaintyScopeDurationSentiment

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ImpactCertaintyScopeDurationSentiment

Programs

Broader Impacts

DomainScoreShort-termLong-termReversibilityConfidence

Score

Scores: -5 (harmful) to +5 (beneficial)Short-term: 0-2 yearsLong-term: 10-30 years

State Impacts

StateScoreImpactCertaintyScopeDurationSentiment

Scores: 1 = low, 5 = highSentiment: -5 to +5 (net benefit)

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Jan 3, 2025House

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Jan 3, 2025

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

Votes

No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.

Related News

2 articles

Understanding Congress·9 months ago

After Decades of Red Ink, a Fresh Push for a Balanced Budget Amendment Emerges

With the U.S. national debt hitting $37.6 trillion, lawmakers in the 119th Congress have introduced several versions of a Balanced Budget Amendment. These proposals aim to force fiscal discipline by requiring annual balance and making it significantly harder for Congress to raise taxes or debt.

Center

Deloitte·over 1 year ago

GOP leaders eye vote on compromise budget plan that would punt hard choices on tax, spending cuts

Republican leaders in the House and Senate are moving a compromise budget resolution. Rep. Tom McClintock and others are advocating for a constitutional amendment to ensure the statutory debt limit is not raised without a three-fourths vote, alongside a requirement for balanced annual outlays.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

Bill NumberHJRES 2

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionReferred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.