# 119-hjres-139: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States requiring a balanced budget for the Federal Government.

119-hjres-139, Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States requiring a balanced budget for the Federal Government., is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Biggs, Andy [R-AZ-5] (R-AZ); status failed; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-06-13).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hjres-139
- As of: 2026-06-13
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hjres-139
- Congress: 119
- Title: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States requiring a balanced budget for the Federal Government.
- Status: failed
- Introduced: 2026-01-09
- Sponsor: Rep. Biggs, Andy [R-AZ-5] (R-AZ)
- Cosponsors: 2
- Policy area: Economics and Public Finance
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-06-13

## Summary

**This joint resolution would add a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced federal budget.** It caps federal spending to recent receipts, raises the bar for tax increases, and creates narrow overrides for emergencies. - Caps annual federal expenditures at the average annual receipts from the 3 prior years, adjusted for population and inflation. Payments on the public debt are excluded and borrowing is not counted as receipts. - Lets Congress approve specific spending above the cap by a two-thirds roll-call vote in each House. During any year with a declaration of war Congress can also approve excess spending by roll-call vote. - Requires any bill that creates a new tax or raises a tax rate to win approval from two-thirds of the whole number of each House. The amendment would take effect in the fifth year after ratification.

## Cosponsors (2)

- Rep. Clyde, Andrew S. [R-GA-9] (R-GA), 2026-01-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Brecheen, Josh [R-OK-2] (R-OK), 2026-01-13T00:00:00.000Z

## Votes

| Date | Chamber | Question | Result | Yea | Nay |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-18T00:00:00.000Z | house | On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass | Failed | 211 | 207 |

## Provisions PRIA read

- Federal spending cap formula: mixed, high. Had it passed, the amendment would have capped total federal spending each year to the average of federal receipts in the prior three years. The cap would have been adjusted for changes in the U.S. citizen population and for inflation. The cap would not have counted payments on federal debt, and re…
- Overrides, timing, and implementation: mixed, high. Had it passed, the amendment would have let Congress, by a two-thirds roll-call vote in each House, authorize specific spending above the cap. It would have also allowed Congress, by a roll-call vote, to authorize excess spending during any year a declaration of war was in effect. The amendment wou…
- Two-thirds rule for new taxes: mixed, high. Had it passed, the amendment would have required two-thirds of the whole number of each House of Congress to approve any bill that levied a new tax or increased any tax rate. That higher vote threshold would have made new or higher federal taxes harder to pass. The change would have shaped future r…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-624: RIFLE Act of 2025
- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-2395: SHORT Act
- 119-hr-21: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act
- 119-hr-987: Fair Access to Banking Act
- 119-hr-317: Healthcare Freedom Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hjres-139 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-joint-resolution/139)

## Related
- [119-hr-624: RIFLE Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-624)
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-2395: SHORT Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2395)
- [119-hr-21: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-21)
- [119-hr-987: Fair Access to Banking Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-987)
- [119-hr-317: Healthcare Freedom Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-317)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hjres-139 (as of 2026-06-13).