# 119-hjres-17: Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

119-hjres-17, Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States., is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Obernolte, Jay [R-CA-23] (R-CA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-06-13).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hjres-17
- 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-17
- Congress: 119
- Title: Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-01-13
- Sponsor: Rep. Obernolte, Jay [R-CA-23] (R-CA)
- Cosponsors: 2
- Policy area: Economics and Public Finance
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-06-13

## Summary

**Annual balanced-budget requirement**: This proposed constitutional amendment would make federal outlays for any fiscal year no greater than total receipts, unless two-thirds of each House approves a specific excess. It also would require the President to submit a budget that meets that standard and give Congress authority to implement and enforce the rule. - Congress: Congress would need a two-thirds rollcall vote in each chamber to authorize any year with outlays above receipts. It could pass laws to enforce and interpret the amendment and rely on official estimates of receipts and outlays. - President: The President would have to transmit a budget before each fiscal year in which total outlays do not exceed total receipts. That aligns the executive budget submission to the amendment's cap. - Accounting and timing: "Total receipts" would exclude amounts derived from borrowing and "total outlays" would exclude repayments of debt principal. The amendment would take effect beginning the fifth fiscal year after ratification and requires ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures within seven years.

## Cosponsors (2)

- Rep. Weber, Randy K. Sr. [R-TX-14] (R-TX), 2025-01-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Franklin, Scott [R-FL-18] (R-FL), 2025-01-16T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Balanced budget rule for federal spending: mixed, high. If enacted, the Constitution would require the federal government not to spend more each year than it collects. Any extra spending would need a two-thirds roll-call vote of all members in both the House and Senate for a specific amount. The President would have to send Congress a proposed budget be…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9237: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act
- 119-hr-3816: Weather Act Reauthorization Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act
- 119-hr-6875: AI OVERWATCH Act
- 119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act
- 119-hr-2853: Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hjres-17 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-joint-resolution/17)

## Related
- [119-hr-9237: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9237)
- [119-hr-3816: Weather Act Reauthorization Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3816)
- [119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1262)
- [119-hr-6875: AI OVERWATCH Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6875)
- [119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage A…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-842)
- [119-hr-2853: Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2853)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hjres-17 (as of 2026-06-13).