Front view of the Capitol

Rep. Lauren Boebert Introduces Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

Debt Clock
March 21, 2022
Press Release
Today, Congresswoman Lauren Boebert (CO-03) introduced a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to eliminate waste and rein in federal spending.
 
Congresswoman Boebert said, “Everyday Americans are faced with tough decisions on how to balance their checkbooks. Unfortunately, the government shows no such restraint, pummeling all of us with record-setting spending and runaway inflation. Nancy Pelosi and the Biden regime continue to spend like drunken sailors, and their spending addiction has fueled the highest inflation increase in more than 40 years. They have already passed bills into law to spend more than $4.5 trillion and are trying to spend at least another $5 trillion this year alone. Every few months, it seems like Congress comes up with another manufactured spending crisis so they can spend more of your hard-earned money. With annual deficits exceeding a trillion dollars and total debt surpassing $30 trillion, now is the time to take action to rein in wasteful government spending. We need a Balanced Budget Amendment to get our fiscal house in order and help tame inflation, not $1.5 trillion bills that are more than 2,700 pages that Members have less than 22 hours to read.”

Rep. Norman stated, “Runaway spending will be the demise of this country if we don't deal with it now. We've eclipsed $30 trillion of debt this year and will double that before we know it at the rate we are used to spending. There is no excuse not to pass a balanced budget amendment.”
 

Background:

The national debt exceeds $30 trillion. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), that national debt held by the public ($23 trillion) has already exceeded the size of the entire economy. Our debt is fueled by endless deficit spending. In the first five months of this fiscal year, we borrowed an average of $3 billion a day.

Congress has waived existing budget rules time after time and has proved unwilling to do alter its course. We need a Constitutional Amendment to force a Balanced Budget. Congress cannot waive the Constitution to fit its political whims. Congresswoman Boebert’s Balanced Budget Amendment creates constitutional requirements for:

  • Spending not to exceed revenue for a fiscal year;
  • The debt limit not being increased;
  • The president submitting a balanced budget to Congress;
  • All tax increases being supported by two-thirds of both Houses of Congress.

Rep. Boebert’s Balanced Budget Amendment additionally contains an exception that these requirements can only be waived for a short period of time for emergency circumstances if two-thirds of both Houses approve.

Co-sponsors of Congresswoman Boebert’s Balanced Budget Amendment include Reps. Ralph Norman (SC-05), Jeff Duncan (SC-03), and Thomas Massie (KY-04).

The full text of Rep. Boebert’s Balanced Budget Amendment is available here.

Issues:Oversight and AccountabilityConstitutional IssuesInflation and the EconomyTaxes and Spending