Skip to main content
HJRES 11 112th Congress House

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to balance the Federal budget.

Introduced: January 7, 2011 See on congress.gov
Economics and Public Finance Budget deficits and national debtBudget processConstitution and constitutional amendmentsIncome tax ratesLegislative rules and procedure
Sign in to write a letter Sign in to watch
This bill died when the 112th Congress ended
It never became law before the 112th Congress (2011–2012) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 4 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jan 24, 2011
Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution.
Jan 7, 2011
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Jan 7, 2011
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E44)
Jan 7, 2011
Introduced in House
 Ask about this bill AI · grounded in the bill text

Have a question about what this bill does? Ask in plain English; the answer is drawn from the bill's actual text and official record, and it'll tell you when something isn't in the text rather than guess.

AI answers can be imperfect; always confirm against the full bill text.

 Latest action January 24, 2011

Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits all outlays for a fiscal year (including those for debt service and other debt functions) from exceeding total receipts for that fiscal year (except those derived from borrowing) unless Congress, by a two-thirds roll call vote of each chamber, authorizes a specific excess of outlays over receipts.

Requires a two-thirds roll call vote of each chamber to increase the public debt limit.

Prohibits outlays for the total budget from exceeding the previous fiscal years' outlays plus population growth and inflation, unless such increase is approved by two-thirds of each chamber by a roll call vote.

Directs the President to submit a balanced budget to Congress annually.

Prohibits any bill to increase revenue from becoming law unless approved by two-thirds of each chamber by a roll call vote.

Authorizes waivers of these provisions when a declaration of war is in effect only by a vote of a majority of both chambers.

Requires all: (1) outlays above revenues from the previous fiscal year to be accounted for in the outlays and budgets of the following fiscal year, and (2) surplus revenues at the end of a fiscal year to be allocated to a fund to be returned to the taxpayers, determined by legislation before the end of the subsequent fiscal year.

 Related & companion bills 7
  • HJRES 1 Related bill Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
  • HJRES 2 Related bill Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
  • HJRES 54 Related bill Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to balancing the budget.
  • HJRES 87 Related bill Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
  • HJRES 89 Related bill Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
  • SJRES 3 Related bill A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to balancing the budget.
  • SJRES 23 Related bill A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to balancing the budget.
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
 Cosponsors 7
All 7 Republican 2
Farenthold, Blake
· Oct 12, 2011
McCotter, Thaddeus
· Jan 20, 2011
Ross, Dennis
· Jan 12, 2011
DUNCAN, JOHN
· Jan 7, 2011
Franks, Trent
· Jan 7, 2011
 R
Graves, Sam
Missouri · Jan 7, 2011
 R
McClintock, Tom
California · Jan 7, 2011
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.J. Res. 11: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to balance the Federal budget.. 112th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/112-HJRES-11/
MLA
"H.J. Res. 11: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to balance the Federal budget.." 112th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/112-HJRES-11/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.J. Res. 11, 112th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/112-HJRES-11/.
Markdown link
[H.J. Res. 11: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to balance the Federal budget.](https://openamerica.io/bill/112-HJRES-11/)
Report a problem