WASHINGTON, DC—Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) today introduced a Balanced Budget Amendment to the United States Constitution.

The amendment includes three pillars: (1) requiring a balanced budget for each fiscal year, (2) limiting federal spending to no more than 18 percent of GDP, and (3) requiring a two-thirds vote in both Houses of Congress in order to increase taxes, raise the debt ceiling, or run a specific deficit in a particular year.

Senator Kyl stated, “We can’t wait any longer to ensure Congress will rein in wasteful Washington spending. This balanced budget and spending limit amendment will do just that.”

“The federal government is too big and too expensive and the temptation for Congress to continue to spend billions and even trillions of dollars it does not have is simply too high. Again and again, even well-intentioned efforts to restrain deficit spending through the normal budget process have failed,” said Senator Lee. “A balanced budget amendment is the only certain method to ensure that the federal government consistently lives within its means. This past November’s election made clear that the American people will no longer tolerate reckless government spending and ever-expanding federal debt. The amendment that Senator Kyl and I have introduced is the essential first step in putting the nation’s fiscal house in order.”

In addition to Senator Lee and Senator Kyl, the number two Senate Republican leader, the amendment has received broad support from conservative leaders including Senators Jim DeMint, Rand Paul, David Vitter, Pat Toomey, Marco Rubio and John Thune as original co-sponsors as well as endorsements from conservative organizations like the Club for Growth, Americans for Tax Reform, FreedomWorks, and Americans for a Balanced Budget Amendment.