HR 37 · 119th CongressIn Committee

Proposing a Federal debt limit amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

Latest updateJan 3, 2025

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Economics and Public Finance

Sponsor

Rudy Yakym

Introduced

January 3, 2025

Latest action

January 3, 2025

Legislative Progress

How far this bill has traveled through Congress

Introduced

Bill filed in chamber

Committee

Reviewed & reported

Passed Chamber

House or Senate vote

Passed Both

House & Senate agree

President

Sent to White House

Enacted

Signed into law

Introduced

Bill filed in chamber

Committee

Reviewed & reported

Passed Chamber

House or Senate vote

Passed Both

House & Senate agree

President

Sent to White House

Enacted

Signed into law

Latest Action

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Plain-Language Summary

AI Generated

The federal government currently operates under a statutory debt ceiling set by Congress, which must be raised through separate legislation whenever the Treasury approaches the limit. This mechanism has created recurring fiscal crises, with Congress periodically voting to increase the ceiling to prevent default. The current system allows total federal debt to grow without a constitutional constraint, and lawmakers have repeatedly suspended or raised the ceiling to accommodate spending and revenue decisions made through the regular budget process.

This bill proposes a constitutional amendment that would establish a permanent debt limit tied to the nation's economic output. The amendment requires total federal debt—including both publicly held debt and intragovernmental obligations—to not exceed 130 percent of Gross Domestic Product in the first fiscal year the amendment takes effect, then decline by 1 percentage point annually until reaching 120 percent of GDP, where it would remain permanently. Congress could exceed this limit only through a three-fifths supermajority vote in both chambers for specified reasons each fiscal year. The President would be required to submit budgets that comply with the debt limit for the current year and the following five years.

The amendment would take effect three fiscal years after ratification, requiring 38 states to approve it within seven years. Congress retains authority to waive the debt limit during declared wars or military conflicts posing imminent threats to national security, provided a joint resolution passes by majority vote identifying the specific excess needed. The Gross Domestic Product calculation would be determined by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Implementation would rely on estimates of federal spending and revenues, and Congress would enact legislation to enforce the amendment's provisions. The change would fundamentally alter how the federal government manages deficits and spending decisions.

Key Provisions

1Establish a constitutional debt limit beginning at 130 percent of Gross Domestic Product, declining 1 percentage point annually until reaching 120 percent of GDP as a permanent ceiling.
2Require a three-fifths supermajority vote in both the House and Senate to exceed the debt limit for specified reasons in any fiscal year.
3Direct the President to submit annual budgets and five-year projections that comply with the debt limit established by the amendment.
4Authorize Congress to waive the debt limit during declared wars or military conflicts that pose imminent threats to national security, provided a joint resolution passes by majority vote identifying the specific excess needed.
5Define Gross Domestic Product for purposes of the amendment as the sum of personal consumption expenditures, investment, government spending, and net exports, as determined by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

★ Why this matters

A constitutional debt limit would fundamentally constrain federal borrowing and require Congress to balance spending and revenue decisions within a fixed percentage of economic output. This would force difficult choices about which programs to fund, reduce, or eliminate whenever spending exceeds the constitutional ceiling. The amendment would make it substantially harder to run budget deficits, potentially requiring either significant spending cuts, tax increases, or both to comply with the limit.

● Who this affects

Federal employees and military personnel would face potential furloughs or delayed pay if Congress cannot pass budgets complying with the debt limit. Medicare and Social Security beneficiaries could experience reduced benefits or eligibility changes if spending must be cut to meet the ceiling. Low-income Americans relying on federal programs like food assistance, housing vouchers, and Medicaid would be most vulnerable to program reductions. State and local governments receiving federal grants for infrastructure, education, and social services would see reduced funding. Investors holding Treasury bonds would face uncertainty about the government's ability to service its debt obligations.

Bill Text

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<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 H. R. 37

  Proposing a Federal debt limit amendment to the Constitution of the 
                             United States.

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 3, 2025

  Mr. Yakym introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

                                 A BILL

 
  Proposing a Federal debt limit amendment to the Constitution of the 
                             United States.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That the following 
article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United 
States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the 
Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the 
several States within 7 years after the date of its submission for 
ratification:

                              ``Article--

    ``Section 1. Total amount of debt, including debt held by the 
public and intragovernmental debt, of the United States Government may 
not be greater than 130 percent of the Gross Domestic Product of the 
United States during the first fiscal year this article is in effect. 
Each subsequent fiscal year the limitation in the previous sentence 
shall be reduced by 1 percent until such limitation is equal to 120 
percent, which shall then be the limitation for purposes of this 
section for each subsequent fiscal year.
    ``Section 2. Total Federal debt, including debt held by the public 
and intragovernmental debt, may not exceed the levels prescribed under 
section 1 unless three-fifths of the whole number of each House of 
Congress shall provide by law for a specific excess of such debt for 
specified reasons by a rollcall vote each fiscal year.
    ``Section 3. Prior to each fiscal year, the President shall 
transmit to the Congress a proposed budget for the United States 
Government for that fiscal year, and the subsequent 5-year period, in 
which total debt does not exceed the limit set forth in section 1.
    ``Section 4. The Congress may waive the provisions of this article 
in connection with defense spending for any fiscal year in which a 
declaration of war is in effect. The provisions of this article may be 
waived for any fiscal year in which the United States is directly 
engaged in military conflict which causes an imminent and serious 
military threat to national security and is so declared by a joint 
resolution, adopted by a majority of the whole number of each House, 
which becomes law. Any such waiver must identify and be limited to the 
specific excess or increase for that fiscal year made necessary by the 
identified military conflict.
    ``Section 5. The Congress shall implement and enforce this article 
by appropriate legislation, which may rely on estimates of outlays and 
receipts.
    `…

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Alma Adams

D-North Carolina · District 12

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Proposing a Federal debt limit amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

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★ Why this matters

● Who this affects

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Proposing a Federal debt limit amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

Legislative Progress

Plain-Language Summary

Key Provisions

★ Why this matters

● Who this affects

Bill Text

Where House representatives currently stand

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No Position

Party Positions

Democratic Party

Republican Party

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