Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States related to the public debt.

This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment aimed at placing strict, structural limits on federal spending and debt. It would require that total government outlays never exceed total receipts unless any shortfall is financed solely by debt issued under the amendment. It sets a debt cap (authorized debt) initially at 105% of the debt outstanding on the date the amendment takes effect, and it requires a state-legislature approval process—through a nationwide, single-subject referral and majority approval by state legislatures—for any increase beyond that initial cap. The President would be empowered to enforce debt limits by impounding specified expenditures when debt nears the cap, with failure to act potentially treated as an impeachable misdemeanor and any debt beyond the limit deemed void. Tax increases (new or increased general revenue taxes) would require a two-thirds roll-call vote in both Houses, with limited exceptions (notably for replacing the income tax with a broad end-user sales tax or for eliminating certain tax exemptions or credits). The measure defines key terms and states it would be self-enforcing upon ratification, with Congress free to enact enabling legislation to aid enforcement. In short, if ratified, the amendment would dramatically constrain deficits, require broad state consent to raise the debt ceiling, and introduce strong executive enforcement mechanisms and tax-vote supermajorities, while limiting Congress’s ability to use debt and revenue-raising as typical fiscal tools.