Urges Congress to propose for state ratification an amendment to the United States Constitution to require the federal government to operate under a balanced budget wherein federal government expenditures do not exceed federal government revenues.

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83rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2025 Regular Session
Senate Joint Memorial 6
Sponsored by Senator BONHAM (Presession filed.)
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject
to consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor’s brief statement of the essential features of the
measure as introduced. The statement includes a measure digest written in compliance with applicable readability
standards.
Digest: The measure asks Congress to draft and ask states to o.k. a change to the U.S. Consti-
tution to require a balanced federal budget. (Flesch Readability Score: 62.1).
Urges Congress to propose for state ratification an amendment to the United States Constitution
to require the federal government to operate under a balanced budget wherein federal government
expenditures do not exceed federal government revenues.
JOINT MEMORIAL
To the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress as-
sembled:
We, your memorialists, the Eighty-third Legislative Assembly of the State of Oregon, in legisla-
tive session assembled, respectfully represent as follows:
Whereas the failure of the federal budget process has produced an enormous federal budget
deficit, and growing national debt presently burdens the American people and threatens to burden
their descendants for generations to come; and
Whereas the congressional practice of deficit spending and repeated raising of the ceiling on
maximum federal debt has had the effect of endangering the jobs, incomes, retirement security,
welfare and future of American citizens; and
Whereas federal debt diverts scarce resources from crucial programs to pay interest on the na-
tional debt, constricts the ability of the federal government to address long-standing national prob-
lems and to respond to new needs and increases pressure to raise taxes on the American people;
and
Whereas Article V of the United States Constitution provides that an amendment to the United
States Constitution may be proposed by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress and submitted
to the states for state ratification; and
Whereas a proposed amendment shall become part of the United States Constitution when rati-
fied by three-fourths of the states; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Oregon:
(1) We, the members of the Eighty-third Legislative Assembly, pursuant to Article V of the
United States Constitution, hereby petition Congress to propose an amendment to the United States
Constitution to require that in the absence of a national emergency the total of all federal govern-
ment outlays made by Congress for any fiscal year not exceed the total of all estimated federal re-
venues for that fiscal year, together with any related and appropriate fiscal restraints, and to submit
that proposed amendment to the states for their ratification.
(2) A copy of this memorial shall be sent to the Senate Majority Leader, to the Secretary of the
Senate, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Chief Clerk of the House of Repre-
NOTE: Matter in boldfaced type in an amended section is new; matter [ italic and bracketed] is existing law to be omitted.
New sections are in boldfaced type.
LC 1839
SJM 6
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sentatives and to each member of the Oregon Congressional Delegation.
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