ICYMI: Congressman Biggs Introduces Balanced Budget Amendment to End Washington’s Culture of Fiscal Irresponsibility

Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ) introduced a constitutional amendment requiring the federal government to operate under a balanced budget, restoring fiscal discipline and protecting future generations from Washington’s addiction to spending and debt.

The amendment would permanently prohibit deficit spending by limiting total federal expenditures to the average annual revenue collected over the previous three years, adjusted for population growth and inflation, with limited exceptions for national emergencies and war. Congress could exceed the spending limit only with approval from a two-thirds supermajority in both chambers, ensuring any exceptions are necessary and broadly supported. During a declared war, Congress would retain the ability to exceed the limit to meet national security needs.

The amendment also places a two-thirds supermajority requirement on any bill that creates a new tax or increases an existing tax rate, ensuring that Washington cannot simply tax its way out of its own irresponsibility.

“Washington’s spending addiction is bankrupting our country and mortgaging the future of every American family,” said Congressman Biggs. 

“This amendment restores the most basic principle of fiscal responsibility: you cannot spend what you do not have. Families and businesses live by that rule–it is long past time that the federal government does too. Trillion-dollar deficits have become routine, and Washington behaves as if there is no limit to the damage it can impose. This amendment puts guardrails on a system that has run completely off the road.

“We do not need another commission, another study, or another press conference about the debt. We need binding rules, written into the Constitution, that force Congress to live within its means. The American people demand a government that works for them—not one that buries them under debt.”

The amendment may be read here.