A bill to amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and the Budget and Accounting Act, 1921, to provide that Federal expenditures shall not exceed Federal revenues, except in time of war or economic necessity declared by the Congress, and that, at the termination of a declaration of war or economic necessity declared by Congress, a fixed percentage of two per centum of Federal Budget Outlays each year shall be used for the reduction of the national debt to the level of the debt before the declaration.
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Rules.
Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require that Federal expenditure not exceed revenues during any fiscal year except in time of war declared by Congress or in a period of declared economic necessity. States that it shall not be in order in either the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider or adopt a concurrent resolution on the budget which is not in keeping with the above stated requirement. Requires two percent of the Federal budget outlays for each fiscal year following the termination of a war or period of economic necessity to be applied to the retirement of any increase in the national debt resulting from such occurrences. Amends the Budget and Accounting Act, 1921, to require the President to transmit a budget to the Congress which complies with such requirements. Directs the President to take action (by placing funds in reserve, by apportionment of funds, or otherwise) necessary to insure such compliance, notwithstanding obligational authority or appropriations made within the executive branch.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on January 15, 1979. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on January 15, 1979: Referred to House Committee on Rules.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
CHALMERS WYLIE (R-OH) introduced it on January 15, 1979. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on January 15, 1979, 17452 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17452 days ago, on January 15, 1979.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers