Congress and presidents borrowed when necessary, and they otherwise controlled the debt until the Great Depression. In 1935, a Democratic senator proposed a non-binding resolution calling for balanced budgets. In 1936, a Republican representative proposed the first constitutional amendment proposal for budget balance. In the 1950s, bipartisan BBA proposals got hearings and committee votes. The Eisenhower administration opposed the language but backed the principle. Indiana’s legislature became the first to apply for a convention to propose amendments. In the 1960s and 1970s, congressional BBA proposals proliferated, as did state legislature’s calls for an amendment convention. The National Taxpayers Union and allies promoted both tracks. In the early 1980s, the Senate passed a BBA, and the House voted on one for the first time. Further votes followed without passing either house. In 1995, the newly Republican House approved a BBA that failed the Senate by one vote. The last serious attempt emerged from the 2011 debt limit deal, but neither house came close to passing a BBA. New versions without the problems of prior BBAs emerged in 2011 and 2015. One may succeed the next time a BBA rises on the congressional agenda.