Key Vote Alert: Vote “YES” on H.J. Res 139, Balanced Budget Amendment

Mar 18, 2026 by AFP

Dear Member of Congress,

On behalf of millions of Americans for Prosperity activists in all 50 states, I urge you to support H.J. Res 139, the balanced budget amendment (BBA) proposal on the House floor this week.

H.J.Res. 139 by Rep. Andy Biggs is a next-generation BBA. It substantially improves on the annual-balance BBAs that the House has previously considered.

Congress would balance the budget over the business cycle, or over the medium term. Spending and revenue policies would be far more stable and predictable than annual balance would allow. Revenue varies a lot from year to year. Tying spending every year to volatile revenue would create policy uncertainty for the American people and frustrate their representatives in Congress.

H.J.Res. 139, on the other hand, bases spending on a rolling average of the three prior years of revenue. Revenue for most of that time would be known before Congress starts budgeting, and the rolling average would smooth it out. In addition, during a recession, the prior good years of revenue would set spending, so the budget would support counter-cyclical automatic stabilizers.

Congress could provide greater support through the emergency safety valve of two-thirds of both houses. Borrowing for a declared war would be exempt from this requirement. The BBA would require broad, bipartisan support for enacting new taxes or increasing tax rates but many revenue options would remain within normal congressional process.

Finally, it would give Congress a five-year glide path to either full balance or primary balance, which excludes interest costs.

A well-crafted BBA would push Congress toward responsible budgeting and encourage members to think through institutional upgrades to support their efforts. An especially promising tool is a comprehensive congressional budget where all members can help manage all federal spending and revenue policies. Preventing shutdowns, conditional debt limit relief, and new approaches to automatic budget enforcement can play roles as well.

It is for these reasons we urge you to support H.J. Res 139.

This vote will be recorded in our legislative scorecard. To see what other votes have been included, please visit AFP’s scorecard online at: AFPscorecard.org.