POTUS required to submit balanced budget to Congress under Feenstra’s bill

U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-IA) recently led a group of Republicans in proposing legislation that would require the President of the United States (POTUS) to submit a balanced budget to Congress.

“Our national debt is increasing by $1 trillion about every 100 days because the Biden administration refuses to end its reckless spending agenda and get our fiscal house in order,” Rep. Feenstra said on Monday. “In response to President Biden’s fiscally irresponsible budget, I introduced legislation to require the president to submit a balanced budget to Congress, not a wish list of liberal priorities.”

The Balanced Budget and Accounting Act, H.R. 7656, which Rep. Feenstra sponsored on March 13 alongside six original cosponsors, including U.S. Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-OK), would require that under each budget, total outlays may not exceed total receipts during the applicable fiscal year, according to the text of the bill.

According to Rep. Feenstra, Biden’s proposed $7.3-trillion budget for fiscal year 2025 would grow federal spending, in turn raising the national debt to over $45 trillion in a decade and increasing taxes on families, farmers, and businesses by $5.5 trillion.

“It’s a recipe for economic disaster,” said the congressman. 

Rep. Feenstra also pointed out that the $34-trillion national debt poses an impending threat to economic security and emboldens America’s foreign adversaries to exploit the nation’s “precarious fiscal foundation.”

“We must act now to cut reckless government spending, balance our budget, and restore fiscal responsibility to Congress,” he said. “My bill ensures that we spend within our means because our country cannot afford any more budget gimmicks and reckless spending.”

H.R. 7656 has been referred for consideration to the U.S. House Budget Committee.