H.J.Res. 139

Summary

H.J.Res. 139, “Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States requiring a balanced budget for the Federal Government”, was introduced in the House on Jan 9, 2026 by Rep. Andy Biggs (R) with 2 co-sponsors. It last saw action on Mar 18, 2026: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the resolution Failed by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 211 - 207 (Roll no. 95).

Record

Text

H.J.Res. 139 has 2 co-sponsors and 1 roll call.

119 HJ 139 IH: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States requiring a balanced budget for the Federal Government.
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2026-01-09
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
  IA
  119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
  H. J. RES. 139
  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
  January 9, 2026
  Mr. Biggs of Arizona  submitted the
  following joint resolution; which was referred to the  Committee on the Judiciary
  JOINT RESOLUTION
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United
  States requiring a balanced budget for the Federal Government.
That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States:
 —
1.
Total expenditures for a year shall not exceed the average annual receipts collected in the three prior years, adjusted in proportion to the changes in the population of citizens of the United States and inflation. Total expenditures shall include all expenditures of the United States except those for payment of debt, and receipts shall include all receipts of the United States except those derived from borrowing.
2.
Congress may by a roll call vote of two-thirds of each House provide by law for specific expenditures in excess of the limit in section 1.
3.
Congress may by a roll call vote provide by law for specific expenditures in excess of the limit in section 1 for any year in which a declaration of war is in effect.
4.
Any bill to levy a new tax or to increase the rate of any tax shall not become law unless approved by two-thirds of the whole number of each House of Congress by a roll call vote.
5.
Congress shall enforce and implement this article by appropriate legislation.
6.
This article shall take effect with the fifth year beginning after ratification.
  .

Tracker

The tracker indicates the progress of this legislation as it moves through the legislative process.

CRS Summary

The summaries are the Congressional Research Service’s, one per stage. Read them in full.

Sponsors

Rep. Andy Biggs (R) sponsors H.J.Res. 139, and 2 members have co-sponsored it.

Andy Biggs

Rep. · R–AZ-5 · Sponsor

Introduced Jan 9, 2026

Andrew Clyde

Rep. · R–GA-9 · Co-sponsor

Joined Jan 12, 2026

Josh Brecheen

Rep. · R–OK-2 · Co-sponsor

Joined Jan 13, 2026

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Committees

H.J.Res. 139 went before 1 committee: Judiciary.

Judiciary

Judiciary

Reported By · Feb 25, 2026 · 2,181 Bills

Reports

1 committee report has been filed on H.J.Res. 139, the latest H. Rept. 119-520.

• H. Rept. 119-520 — PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES REQUIRING A BALANCED BUDGET FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERN- MENT

Actions

H.J.Res. 139 has taken 13 actions since Jan 9, 2026, the latest on Mar 18, 2026.

Votes

H.J.Res. 139 went to 1 roll call in the House, the latest on Mar 18, 2026 at 211–207.

Titles

H.J.Res. 139 goes by 2 titles.

• Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States requiring a balanced budget for the Federal Government. — Official Title as Introduced
• Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States requiring a balanced budget for the Federal Government. — Display Title

Lobbying

7 clients hired 8 firms and 36 registered lobbyists who named H.J.Res. 139 in 11 quarterly filings, 2026. Reported under the Lobbying Disclosure Act; a filing’s income covers everything its registrant worked that quarter, so the amounts below are the filings’, not this bill’s.

Filed under Government Issues, Budget/Appropriations, Retirement, Health Issues, Civil Rights/Civil Liberties, Labor Issues/Antitrust/Workplace, Medicare/Medicaid, Taxation/Internal Revenue Code.

Clients

Who paid to be heard, by how many filings named the bill.

Firms

Registrants who filed on the bill, by filings.

Lobbyists

Named on the filings that cite the bill. The 20 named most often, of 36.

Filings

The documents themselves, on the Senate’s Lobbying Disclosure site, largest reported first.

Classification

The Congressional Research Service files H.J.Res. 139 under Economics and Public Finance, one of its 31 policy areas, and gives it 4 legislative subjects.

CRS Subjects

CRS assigns every bill one policy area from its 31; H.J.Res. 139’s is Economics and Public Finance.

Legislative Subjects

H.J.Res. 139 carries 4 of CRS’s legislative subjects, from Budget deficits and national debt to Legislative rules and procedure.

Constitutional authority

The clause the sponsor cites as Congress’s power to enact H.J.Res. 139, as entered in the Congressional Record.

[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 7 (Friday, January 9, 2026)][House]From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]By Mr. BIGGS of Arizona:H.J. Res. 139.Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuantto the following:Pursuant to clause 7(c)(1) of Rule XII of the Rules of theHouse of Representatives, the sponsor states that theconstitutional authority for this joint resolution is section1 of Article V of the Constitution.[Page H616]

Source: congress.gov · legiscan.com