Limited Government Amendment

Jeff Anderson writes in the Hill:

If we are serious about limiting government spending over the long haul, we need a carefully crafted constitutional amendment — one that limits Congress while also allowing it the requisite flexibility to deal with unforeseeable circumstances. We need a Limited Government Amendment, to read as follows:
Section 1: The annual rate of growth in total federal spending shall not exceed the rate of inflation, plus two percentage points, and neither budgeted nor actual spending shall exceed this limit, apart from the exceptions listed below. If no budget is passed, then the most recently passed budget, excluding any exceptions granted in Section 2, shall apply.

Section 2: Defense spending shall not be limited during a time of formally declared war, and further exceptions to the spending limits specified in Section 1 may be granted by the legislatures in three-quarters of the several states, upon the application of two-thirds of both houses of Congress, as they deem necessary; but any such exceptions shall not be included in determining spending limits for subsequent years.