Congress proposes to lock itself out of raising taxes—permanently.
S.J.Res. 2 — A joint resolution proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States relative to the line item veto, a limitation on the number of terms that a Member of Congress may serve, and requiring a vote of two-thirds of the membership of both Houses of Congress on any legislation raising or imposing new taxes or fees. · Filed by Rick Scott (R-FL) · Introduced Jan 8, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This joint resolution proposes three constitutional amendments: (1) giving the President a line-item veto to cut specific spending from bills; (2) limiting House members to 6 terms and Senators to 2 terms; and (3) requiring a two-thirds supermajority vote in both chambers to pass any bill that creates a new tax, raises an existing tax, or eliminates a tax exemption. These amendments would need ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures to take effect.
Why we flagged it
The bill proposes three structural constitutional changes that would shift fiscal and executive power: supermajority tax locks, presidential line-item veto authority, and congressional term limits. These are not routine legislative fixes but fundamental rewrites of how Congress and the presidency operate.
What the text implies
- The two-thirds tax supermajority would effectively lock in current tax rates and exemptions, making it nearly impossible to raise revenue even during crises or to close tax loopholes without overwhelming consensus—a structural advantage to low-tax ideology.
- Term limits would eliminate senior committee members and institutional expertise, potentially weakening Congress's ability to oversee the executive branch and manage complex legislation, while the line-item veto simultaneously concentrates spending power in the presidency.
- The supermajority requirement applies to ANY elimination of tax exemptions, credits, or deductions—meaning even closing corporate tax loopholes or subsidy programs would require 67 votes, effectively protecting special-interest tax breaks.
- Combined effect: a supermajority tax lock + line-item veto + term limits would shift fiscal power dramatically toward the executive and away from a weakened, inexperienced Congress, while entrenching low-revenue policy.
Who it affects
The supermajority tax requirement would make it far harder to fund public services, raise revenue from the wealthy, or adjust tax policy—effectively entrenching low-tax policy and shifting burden to spending cuts or regressive fees. Term limits would reduce legislative experience and institutional knowledge, weakening Congress's ability to check executive power. The line-item veto would concentrate power in the presidency, allowing unilateral cuts to programs without full legislative debate.
Who stands to gain
- high-income earners and wealth holders
- corporations with tax exemptions and subsidies
- industries reliant on tax credits (fossil fuels, real estate, finance)
- executive branch (expanded unilateral spending power)
Named in the bill
U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, President of the United States, State legislatures (ratification requirement), Congress
Where it stands
- Jan 8, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Jan 8, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the full bill text on Jun 8, 2026; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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