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H.J.Res. 9119th CongressIn committeeLatest action Jan 3, 2025Decoded by AI · checked against the record
Official title: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States prohibiting the United States Government from increasing its debt except for a specific purpose by law adopted by three-fourths of the membership of each House of Congress.
Introduced:
Read the official bill on Congress.govThe plain-language version leads. The official text is always the reference.
A proposed constitutional amendment would require three-fourths of Congress, not a simple majority, to increase the national debt.
40-second read · 4 questions answered below
This bill proposes a constitutional amendment requiring three-fourths of all members in both the House and Senate to approve any increase in the national debt, and only for a specific named purpose. This replaces the current simple-majority process. If passed and ratified, the amendment would not take effect until ten years after ratification.
This would affect essentially everyone in the country, since it governs how the federal government funds programs like Social Security, Medicare, defense, infrastructure, and emergency response.
Requiring a much larger supermajority could make it harder to borrow quickly during emergencies, recessions, or wars, while proponents say it would impose more fiscal discipline. The proposal is only introduced in the House and has not passed or been sent to the states.
AI-drafted summary. Verify it against the official text before you act on it. Read the official bill on Congress.gov
Right now: a House committee is reviewing it. If the Senate changes it, it goes back to the House — both chambers have to pass the same text, each by two thirds. A proposed constitutional amendment never goes to the President: it goes to the states, and three quarters of them have to ratify it before it takes effect.
Latest action: — Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.