A group of conservative House Democrats is proposing to amend the Constitution with language that in most years would prevent Congress from spending more money than it collected in the previous year.

The balanced budget resolution from Rep. Brad Ashford, D-Neb., is supported by five other House Democrats, and has been endorsed by the conservative Blue Dog Coalition.

Ashford said it's an attempt to eliminate the hundreds of billions of dollars in budget deficits that the government runs each year.

"In Nebraska, we do not spend money we do not have," he said this week. "Washington should work the same way."

"This proposal will change the way we make decisions and will force Congress to prioritize spending," Ashford added. "This amendment will address our alarming level of national debt while requiring Congress to make bipartisan compromises. We must move the national dialogue toward greater fiscal responsibility."

The resolution holds that total spending in any year can't exceed total federal revenues from the prior year, unless three-fifths of both the House and Senate agree otherwise. In most years, that hurdle would prevent additional spending beyond the prior year's revenue level.

It does make exceptions, however, for times of war and when economy fails to grow.

The language also says the president must send to Congress "a proposed budget for the United States Government for that fiscal year in which total outlays do not exceed total receipts."

Democrats Jim Costa of California, Jim Cooper of Tennessee, Henry Cuellar of Texas, Kurt Schrader of Oregon, and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona are all cosponsors of the resolution.

Read it here:



