“Proposing a Federal debt limit amendment to the Constitution of the United States.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section proposes a constitutional amendment limiting total federal debt (including debt held by the public and intragovernmental debt) to 130% of gross domestic product (GDP) in its first fiscal year of effect, decreasing by 1% annually to a permanent 120% limit thereafter. (1) Debt may exceed these limits if three-fifths of each House of Congress approves a specific excess by rollcall vote for specified reasons each fiscal year; (2) the President must submit an annual budget, plus a five-year projection, that complies with the debt limit; (3) Congress may waive the limits for defense spending during a declared war or, by majority joint resolution, for military conflicts posing an imminent national security threat, with waivers limited to identified excesses; (4) Congress must enforce the amendment through legislation using estimates of outlays and receipts; and (5) GDP is defined per Bureau of Economic Analysis standards. The amendment takes effect in the third fiscal year after ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures within seven years of submission.