This joint resolution would propose a constitutional amendment that requires federal expenditures and receipts to be balanced. The amendment text has two sections. Section 1 says expenditures and receipts must be balanced, which may occur over more than one year. "Expenditures" would include all federal spending except payments on debt. "Receipts" would include all federal income except money the United States receives from borrowing. Congress would have to achieve a balanced budget within 10 years after the amendment is ratified. The amendment would become part of the Constitution if the legislatures of three-fourths of the states ratify it within seven years of submission. Section 2 creates a limited emergency exception: Congress may allow spending above the balance limit for limited times if two-thirds of both the House and the Senate approve. Debts from such emergency spending must be paid "as soon as practicable." The resolution was introduced in the Senate on November 20, 2025, and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
If this amendment is ratified, federal spending and federal receipts would have to be balanced overall, and borrowing would generally be excluded from receipts. Emergency spending above the balance would be allowed only with a two-thirds vote in each chamber. No publicly available information about specific effects on programs, taxes, or services is included in the resolution text.
No publicly available information about projected costs, savings, or budgetary effects appears in the resolution text or accompanying metadata.
No publicly available information about proponents' arguments or statements appears in the resolution text or accompanying metadata.
No publicly available information about opponents' arguments or statements appears in the resolution text or accompanying metadata.