The 28th Amendment

Fiscal Responsibility Amendment (Draft Text)

Draft constitutional text presented for public review. Final language subject to refinement.

SECTION 1. Definitions.

For purposes of this Article, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) Debt means debt held by the public as reported by the Department of the Treasury.

(2) Surplus means that total receipts exceed total outlays for a fiscal year, excluding amounts borrowed.

(3) Outlays means all expenditures of the United States Government other than repayment of principal on the public debt.

(4) Fiscal Accountability Office means the independent office created under Section 5 to certify compliance with this Article.

SECTION 2. Fiscal Responsibility Rule.

(a) Debt Reduction. When the federal debt exceeds zero, total outlays for each fiscal year shall not exceed total receipts by more than an amount that ensures a reduction of at least two percent of the outstanding debt principal compared with the prior fiscal year.

(b) Surplus and Spending Cap. When total receipts exceed total outlays and the debt is zero or negative, Congress may enact total outlays exceeding total receipts; however, total outlays shall not exceed the average annual outlays of the five preceding fiscal years, adjusted solely for changes in population and the implicit price deflator for gross domestic product.

This rule operates automatically unless formally suspended under Section 3.

SECTION 3. Exceptions.

(a) The limitations of Section 2 may be suspended for any fiscal year in which a declaration of war is in effect or during a national emergency, explicitly limited in duration and scope, declared by a joint resolution adopted by three-fifths of the whole number of each House.

(b) Any outlays authorized pursuant to this Section must include a schedule of debt reduction over not more than six fiscal years to offset the amount of debt incurred under the suspension.

SECTION 4. Enforcement.

(a) If the Fiscal Accountability Office certifies that the requirements of Section 2 were not met for a fiscal year and no lawful suspension under Section 3 applied, each Member of Congress serving at least six months during that fiscal year shall be deemed ineligible, without further legislative action, for election to the Senate or House of Representatives for the term immediately following the term in which the certification is issued.

(b) Congress shall have power to enforce this Article by appropriate legislation.

SECTION 5. Fiscal Accountability Office.

Congress shall by law establish an independent, non-partisan office charged with certifying compliance with this Article, determining the required debt-reduction amounts, validating any supermajority suspensions, and publishing an annual report to the People of the United States. The determinations of this office shall be conclusive for purposes of Section 4.

SECTION 6. Effective Date.

This Article shall take effect for the fifth fiscal year beginning after ratification.