Today, Congressman Henry Cuellar voted for a Balanced Budget Amendment to the United States Constitution, also known as H.J. Res 2. The constitutional amendment required the U.S. government to balance its budget each year, preventing increased deficits and decreasing the expansion of the national debt.

Congressman Cuellar cosponsored this constitutional amendment earlier this year. The congressman also authored his own version of a constitutional amendment, H.J. Res 10, which includes provisions that protect Social Security.

“A balanced budget amendment is a common-sense tool to restructure the way government spends taxpayer dollars. As the U.S. debt exceeds $15 trillion and each American’s share of the national debt equals $48,000, more than some annual salaries, this amendment gives a boundary to government spending with responsible, fiscal restraints.” said Congressman Cuellar. “Like so many American families that are finding ways to control their budgets, Congress needs to follow their example and make tough decisions, instead of spending on autopilot.”

H.J. Res 2 required Congress to produce a balanced budget every fiscal year and the President to submit a budget in his or her annual transmission to Congress that is balanced or  that produces a surplus. It allowed Congress to waive the measure's provisions for any fiscal year in which a declaration of war is in effect, or any year in which the United States is engaged in a military conflict that causes an imminent and serious military threat to national security and is so declared by a joint resolution of Congress. Unlike some other constitutional amendment proposals, it would not cap total federal spending or require supermajority votes to raise taxes. Constitutional amendments require a two-thirds majority vote of each chamber in order to be submitted to the states for ratification.

“The first bill I introduced this year was a balanced budget amendment, which included producing a balanced budget every fiscal year and protection to Social Security. It was endorsed by the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, which has also fought for a balanced budget adoption,” said Congressman Cuellar. “Currently, 49 states require a balanced budget – it’s time for the federal government to follow suit and bring our fiscal house in order.”

The Budget Control Act, now public law, mandates Congress to vote on a Balanced Budget Amendment no later than December 31^st. The Constitution requires a two-thirds majority vote of each House to propose an amendment to the Constitution, and approval by three-fourths of the states is required for ratification. The House last voted on a balanced-budget amendment in 1995, successfully reaching the required two-thirds vote threshold for adoption in the House of Representatives. The amendment failed by one vote to reach the required two-thirds threshold in the Senate.  

The Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution voted on today failed to pass the House by a vote of 261 to 165. The bill required a two-thirds vote, which is 290 votes, to pass the House.