WASHINGTON – United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) today joined Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith’s (R-MS) balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution as an original co-sponsor. This proposed constitutional amendment would require the President to propose, and Congress to pass, a balanced budget each year.
“Families across Tennessee have to live within a budget, the State of Tennessee balances its budget each year, and Tennesseans rightly expect Washington to do the same,” said Senator Hagerty. Reducing our crippling national debt must be a priority, and requiring that the federal government balance its budget each year is an important step toward getting our fiscal house in order, eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse, and preserving the fiscal health of the country so we can continue to sufficiently support our military, seniors, and other critical governmental priorities.”
The proposed constitutional amendment would:
- Require the President to submit a balanced budget each year;
- Require Congress to pass a balanced budget each year;
- Restrict federal spending to 18% of GDP;
- Require a two-thirds majority vote in both houses of Congress to raise taxes; and
- Require a three-fifths majority vote in both houses of Congress to raise the debt limit.
The amendment includes certain exceptions when required by wartime conditions or imminent dangers to national security. Other original co-sponsors of the Hyde-Smith amendment include U.S. Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Mike Crapo (R-ID), John Cornyn (R-TX), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), John Hoeven (R-ND), James Inhofe (R-OK), Jerry Moran (R-KS), James Risch (R-ID), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Todd Young (R-IN).