SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 101

BY  WHITVER, CHELGREN, SMITH, ANDERSON, BERTRAND, FEENSTRA, SORENSON, KAPUCIAN, GREINER, BARTZ, BACON, BOETTGER, ZAUN, BEHN, SEYMOUR, HOUSER, KETTERING, HAMERLINCK, ERNST, McKINLEY, DIX, JOHNSON, WARD, and HAHN

A Concurrent Resolution urging the members of the Congress of the United States to propose a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States for submission to the states for ratification.

   WHEREAS, the General Assembly of the state of Iowa acknowledges that the United States of America is facing a crippling debt crisis because of expenditures in excess of revenues and unwise fiscal policies; and
   WHEREAS, a near majority of sitting United States Senators have specifically expressed support for a requirement to balance the federal budget; and
   WHEREAS, on December 14, 2011, the United States Senate considered but did not approve the following proposed Constitutional Amendment, Senate Joint Resolution 10, which was originally introduced by United States Senators Orrin Hatch and Charles Grassley, and other senators:
   Section 1. Total outlays for any fiscal year shall not exceed total receipts for that fiscal year, unless two-thirds of the duly chosen and sworn Members of each House of Congress shall provide by law for a specific excess of outlays over receipts by a roll call vote.
   Section 2. Total outlays for any fiscal year shall not exceed 18 percent of the gross domestic product of the United States for the calendar year ending before the beginning of such fiscal year, unless two-thirds of the duly chosen and sworn Members of each House of Congress shall provide by law for a specific amount in excess of such 18 percent by a roll call vote.
   Section 3. Prior to each fiscal year, the President shall transmit to the Congress a proposed budget for the United States Government for that fiscal year in which——
   (1) total outlays do not exceed total receipts; and
   (2) total outlays do not exceed 18 percent of the gross domestic product of the United States for the calendar year ending before the beginning of such fiscal year.
   Section 4. Any bill that imposes a new tax or increases the statutory rate of any tax or the aggregate amount of revenue may pass only by a two-thirds majority of the duly chosen and sworn Members of each House of Congress by a roll call vote. For the purpose of determining any increase in revenue under this section, there shall be excluded any increase resulting from the lowering of the statutory rate of any tax.
   Section 5. The limit on the debt of the United States shall not be increased, unless three-fifths of the duly chosen and sworn Members of each House of Congress shall provide for such an increase by a roll call vote.
   Section 6. The Congress may waive the provisions of sections 1, 2, 3, and 5 of this article for any fiscal year in which a declaration of war against a nation-state is in effect and in which a majority of the duly chosen and sworn Members of each House of Congress shall provide for a specific excess by a roll call vote.
   Section 7. The Congress may waive the provisions of sections 1, 2, 3, and 5 of this article in any fiscal year in which the United States is engaged in a military conflict that causes an imminent and serious military threat to national security and is so declared by three-fifths of the duly chosen and sworn Members of each House of Congress by a roll call vote. Such suspension must identify and be limited to the specific excess of outlays for that fiscal year made necessary by the identified military conflict.
   Section 8. No court of the United States or of any State shall order any increase in revenue to enforce this article.
   Section 9. Total receipts shall include all receipts of the United States Government except those derived from borrowing. Total outlays shall include all outlays of the United States Government except those for repayment of debt principal.
   Section 10. The Congress shall have power to enforce and implement this article by appropriate legislation, which may rely on estimates of outlays, receipts, and gross domestic product.
   Section 11. This article shall take effect beginning with the fifth fiscal year beginning after its ratification; and
   WHEREAS, proposing and ratifying this amendment would provide a requirement in the Constitution of the United States for a balanced federal budget; NOW THEREFORE,

   BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING, That the Iowa General Assembly urges the members of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives from this state to support a proposed balanced budget amendment, the same or substantially similar to that described by this resolution, by cosponsoring resolutions proposing the amendment in their respective chambers; and

   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Iowa General Assembly urges the members of the Congress of the United States to adopt a proposed balanced budget amendment, the same or substantially similar to that described by this resolution, for submission to the states of the United States for ratification; and
   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That upon passage of this resolution, the Secretary of the Senate shall transmit copies of this resolution to the President of the Senate and members of the United States Senate, the Speaker and members of the United States House of Representatives, and to the clerk of each of the legislative chambers of the other states.