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.

In Plain Language

This proposal would change the Constitution to ban the federal government from taking on more debt unless three-fourths of both the House and Senate vote to approve it for a specific reason. Right now, Congress can increase the debt limit with a simple majority vote, but this amendment would make it much harder by requiring a supermajority in both chambers.

Official Congressional Research Service summary

This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment that prohibits the U.S. government from increasing its debt except for a specific purpose by a law adopted by three-fourths of the membership of each chamber of Congress.

Sponsor

Rep. McClintock, Tom [R-CA-5]

Cosponsors

Rep. Weber, Randy K. Sr. [R-TX-14]

Rep. Grothman, Glenn [R-WI-6]

Rep. Hageman, Harriet M. [R-WY-At Large]

Latest action

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Jan 3, 2025

Official source

View on Congress.gov ↗

Action history

Jan 3, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Write to this bill’s sponsor

Draft a constituent message about this bill in your own words -- grounded in the actual summary, not a form letter.

Don’t worry — we’ll help you form the message.

Compose a message