A Tea Party proposal to add a Balanced Budget Amendment (actually a particular version of one - others have been proposed previously) passed the House recently, but is unlikely to either pass the Senate or survive a certain presidential veto.
The bill was officially called the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2011 (H.R. 2560), there are questions regarding the wisdom of such an amendment, but little analysis, as far as I can see, of whether states are in fact likely to ratify such an amendment. States are able to keep their budgets - gimmicks aside - because the federal government doesn't have to. What incentive do they have to ratify it?
A variety of links on the proposal (the bulk I stole from A Plain Blog about Politics):
- Obligatory Balance Budget Amendment Post.
- Bruce Bartlett: The Phony Balanced Budget Amendment Debate.
- IS A BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT A DANGEROUS GIMMICK?
- Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
- The Balanced Budget Amendment would make the Framers weep.
- The futility of Cut, Cap and Balance, cont’d.
Expect more background on this as we proceed.
Here's the proposed text:
`Section 1. Total outlays for any fiscal year shall not exceed total receipts for that fiscal year.
`Section 2. Total outlays shall not exceed 18 percent of the gross domestic product of the United States for the calendar year ending prior to the beginning of such fiscal year.
`Section 3. The Congress may provide for suspension of the limitations imposed by section 1 or 2 of this article for any fiscal year for which two-thirds of the whole number of each House shall provide, by a roll call vote, for a specific excess of outlays over receipts or over 18 percent of the gross domestic product of the United States for the calendar year ending prior to the beginning of such fiscal year.
`Section 4. Any bill to levy a new tax or 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.
`Section 5. The limit on the debt of the United States held by the public shall not be increased, unless two-thirds of the whole number of each House of Congress shall provide for such an increase by a roll call vote.
`Section 6. Any Member of Congress shall have standing and a cause of action to seek judicial enforcement of this article, when authorized to do so by a petition signed by one-third of the Members of either House of Congress. No court of the United States or of any State shall order any increase in revenue to enforce this article.
`Section 7. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
`Section 8. Total receipts shall include all receipts of the United States except those derived from borrowing. Total outlays shall include all outlays of the United States except those for repayment of debt principal.
`Section 9. This article shall become effective beginning with the second fiscal year commencing after its ratification by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States.'.
