Amendment 28: Balanced Budget
Section 1. The President of the United States shall, on or before March 1st of each year, present to the House of Representatives a budget for the next fiscal year, which shall begin four months later, July 1st and be effective until June 30th of the next year. Any disagreements over budgetary items defers to the President's submitted budget unless changed by a 2/3rds vote of the members of the House. The Senate has no responsibility in the budget process with the adoption of this amendment and, therefore, does not vote on the budget adoption as its approval is not required.
Section 2. Congress shall create a National Disaster/Emergency Trust Fund whose sole purpose is to provide assistance to individuals and municipal/county/state governments when the President formally declares such a disaster/emergency exists. The national budget shall include an annual deposit to said Trust Fund no less than 1.0% and not to exceed 2.0%. Annual deposits shall continue until said Trust Fund reaches "one trillion" dollars. This fund is reserved for any national disaster or emergency as approved by a 2/3rds vote of both houses of Congress. To be eligible for this assistance, individuals must already be carrying reasonable insurance to cover normal losses that could be expected from natural disasters. Municipal/county/state governments are required to set up and fund disaster/emergency trust funds of a similar nature to be eligible as well.
Section 3. Any deficit resulting from a budget shortfall in revenues or over-expenditure shall be automatically deducted from the previous year's budget figure amount set aside for National Defense; that figure will become the new budget figure for the next year's balanced budget. The primary fiduciary responsibility of the President and Congress is to spend no more than it raises through taxes, tariffs, etc.
Section 4. Congress is not restrained by an annual budget if it wishes to add new spending for what it considers important projects or programs. However, Congress must raise additional revenue (through additional taxes, not by scavenging funds from other budget items) to pay for the new spending which was not in the original budget. Said expenses and revenues must be approved by a 2/3rd vote of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The President's approval is not required due to the 2/3rds majority vote by both Houses of Congress.
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The interest alone is strangling us. The only way to solve this problem is to force future Presidents and Congress to pay off our debt and keep us out of debt. The second step is to enact the proposed amendment which follows!
Amendment 29: National Debt Retirement Bonds
Section 1. Congress shall authorize the Treasury Department to create and sell a fixed-date, 4% interest bearing National Debt Retirement Bond series, using them to replace the current Treasury Bills, Notes, etc. which constitute our National Debt. The interest on said bonds will be federal tax exempt. Bonds will be first offered to American citizens and American corporations before non-citizens and foreign entities may purchase them. Proceeds from the sale of said bonds will first be used to pay off any Federal debt owed to foreign individuals, companies, or governments. Only then will the proceeds be used to pay off domestic debt holders.
Section 2. Bond life will be set at a term not to exceed 40 years. Each year, the national budget shall include payments such that 1/40th (or number of years of original debt life) of the bonds are paid off (retired). The accumulated interest on the debt for 12 twelve months shall also be paid off. This shall be the second item on the President's budget, second only to the National Disaster/Emergency Trust Fund payment.
Section 3. Failure of the President or Congress to meet the terms of this amendment and fully retire the national debt will be grounds for removal from office and make those responsible ineligible to hold Federal office in the future.
Contact your Congress member and demand action, along with the Balanced Budget Amendment which I have also proposed!
Robert "Bob" Butler
P.O. Box 193
Marmaduke, AR 72443
