Default Prevention Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 100 To provide guidance and priorities for Federal Government obligations in the event that the debt limit is reached and to provide a limited and temporary authority to exceed the debt limit for priority obligations. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 28, 2021 Mr. PAUL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To provide guidance and priorities for Federal Government obligations in the event that the debt limit is reached and to provide a limited and temporary authority to exceed the debt limit for priority obligations. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Default Prevention 4 Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. PRIORITIZING OBLIGATIONS. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—In the event that the debt of the 7 Government of the United States reaches the statutory 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:39 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S100.IS S100 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 100 IS limit under section 3101 of title 31, United States Code, 1 the following expenditures shall be granted priority over 2 all other obligations incurred by the Government of the 3 United States: 4 (1) The authority of the Department of the 5 Treasury provided in section 3123 of title 31, 6 United States Code, to pay with legal tender the 7 principal and interest on debt held by the public. 8 (2) The full payment of compensation, allow- 9 ances, and benefits for members of the Armed 10 Forces on active duty. 11 (3) The authority of the Commissioner of Social 12 Security to pay monthly old-age survivors’ and dis- 13 ability insurance benefits under title II of the Social 14 Security Act. 15 (4) The authority of the Secretary of Health 16 and Human Services to make payments for items 17 and services furnished to beneficiaries under the 18 Medicare program under title XVIII of the Social 19 Security Act and related provisions. 20 (5) All obligations under any program adminis- 21 tered by the Department of Veterans Affairs. 22 (b) AUTHORITY TO ISSUE ADDITIONAL DEBT FOR 23 PRIORITY OBLIGATIONS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:39 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S100.IS S100 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 100 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas- 1 ury may issue obligations subject to limit under sec- 2 tion 3101 of title 31, United States Code, in an 3 amount in excess of the limit under such section— 4 (A) during the 30-day period beginning on 5 the date on which the United States is unable 6 to use revenues or the extraordinary measures 7 described in paragraph (2) to fully pay obliga- 8 tions of the Government of the United States 9 described in subsection (a) at the time they are 10 due; 11 (B) only to the extent necessary to make 12 timely payment on obligations of the Govern- 13 ment of the United States described in sub- 14 section (a); and 15 (C) if the Secretary provides to Congress 16 notice of the exercise of the authority under 17 this subsection. 18 (2) EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES.—The extraor- 19 dinary measures described in this paragraph are the 20 following: 21 (A) The authority under subsections (j), 22 (k), and (l) of section 8348 of title 5, United 23 States Code. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:39 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S100.IS S100 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 100 IS (B) The authority under subsections (g) 1 and (h) of section 8438 of title 5, United States 2 Code. 3 (C) The suspension of investing amounts 4 in the stabilization fund under section 5 5302(a)(1) of title 31, United States Code. 6 (D) The suspension of investing of 7 amounts or the issuance of obligations for any 8 other fund or account for purposes of pre- 9 venting the amount of obligations subject to 10 limit under section 3101 of title 31, United 11 States Code, from exceeding such limit. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:39 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S100.IS S100 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS