In A More Perfect Constitution by Larry Sabato, Sabato proposes adding an amendment that would require federal expenditures in any given fiscal year to not exceed federal revenues in that same year; unless three-fifths of both houses of the Legislative branch waived the balanced budget requirement. The only other exception would be during a recession or war, declared or undeclared, a simple majority in both the Senate and the House could circumvent the balanced budget requirement. The amendment would require any surplus, any money that is left over after the federal revenue exceeds the federal expenditures, to be spent on repaying the federal debt. Simultaneously, the amendment would prevent any deficit spending, which is defined as any spending where the expenditures exceed the total revenues generated during the current fiscal year. Theoretically, the creation of a Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA) would prevent the continual growth of the federal debt. In reality, the BBA would not
In A More Perfect Constitution by Larry Sabato, Sabato proposes adding an amendment that would require federal expenditures in any given fiscal year to not exceed federal revenues in that same year; unless three-fifths of both houses of the Legislative branch waived the balanced budget requirement. The only other exception would be during a recession or war, declared or undeclared, a simple majority in both the Senate and the House could circumvent the balanced budget requirement. The amendment would require any surplus, any money that is left over after the federal revenue exceeds the federal expenditures, to be spent on repaying the federal debt. Simultaneously, the amendment would prevent any deficit spending, which is defined as any spending where the expenditures exceed the total revenues generated during the current fiscal year. Theoretically, the creation of a Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA) would prevent the continual growth of the federal debt. In reality, the BBA would not