A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States which requires (except during fiscal years during which the United States is at war or during which suspension is approved) that the annual deficit of the United States be eliminated, which requires tax rates to be reduced to offset the effects of inflation, and which establishes a procedure for the approval of bills or joint resolutions effecting taxes.

4 steps remain before this joint resolution could become law.

The record's latest action, on July 9, 1979: Referred to Senate Committee on the Judiciary.

1. Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
2. Passage by the Senate
3. Passage by the House
4. The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.

A joint resolution travels the same road as a bill: both chambers pass it and the President signs it, and it then has the same force as any other law. The label is largely a matter of custom, often used for narrow or time-limited measures.

One exception matters. A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution is not sent to the President at all. It goes to the states, and three quarters of them have to ratify it.

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.

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.

WILLIAM ARMSTRONG (R-CO) introduced it on July 9, 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.

It was introduced on July 9, 1979, 17230 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17230 days ago, on July 9, 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.