That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years after the date of its submission for ratification: — 1. The United States Government may not increase its debt except for a specific purpose by law adopted by three-fourths of the membership of each House of Congress. 2. This article shall take effect beginning ten years after its ratification..