TRUST Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1295 To save and strengthen critical social contract programs of the Federal Government. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 21, 2021 Mr. ROMNEY (for himself, Mr. MANCHIN, Mr. YOUNG, Ms. SINEMA, Mrs. CAP- ITO, Mr. KING, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. WARNER, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. ROUNDS, Mr. CRAMER, and Ms. LUMMIS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To save and strengthen critical social contract programs of the Federal Government. 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 ‘‘Time to Rescue United 4 States Trusts Act 2021’’ or the ‘‘TRUST Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:57 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1295.IS S1295 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1295 IS (1) CO-CHAIR.—The term ‘‘co-chair’’ means an 1 individual appointed to serve as a co-chair of a Res- 2 cue Committee under section 4(a)(4)(C)(i). 3 (2) CRITICAL SOCIAL CONTRACT PROGRAM.— 4 The term ‘‘critical social contract program’’ means 5 a Federal program the Secretary identifies in the re- 6 port under section 3. 7 (3) RESCUE COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Rescue 8 Committee’’ means a committee established under 9 section 4(a). 10 (4) RESCUE COMMITTEE BILL.—The term 11 ‘‘Rescue Committee bill’’ means a bill consisting 12 solely of legislative language that a Rescue Com- 13 mittee approves and submits under clauses (i) and 14 (vi), respectively, of section 4(a)(3)(B). 15 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 16 the Secretary of the Treasury. 17 SEC. 3. IDENTIFICATION OF CRITICAL SOCIAL CONTRACT 18 PROGRAMS. 19 Not later than 14 days after the date of enactment 20 of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a re- 21 port that identifies each Federal program— 22 (1) for which a Federal trust fund is estab- 23 lished; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:57 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1295.IS S1295 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1295 IS (2) the amount of outlays of which, for the fis- 1 cal year immediately preceding the fiscal year in 2 which this Act is enacted, were not less than 3 $20,000,000,000; and 4 (3) the amount of dedicated Federal funds and 5 Federal trust fund balances that the Secretary de- 6 termines will be inadequate, on any date during the 7 period beginning on the date of enactment of this 8 Act and ending on the last day of fiscal year 2036, 9 to meet the total amount of outlays of the Federal 10 program that would otherwise be made. 11 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF RESCUE COMMITTEES. 12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF RESCUE COMMITTEES.— 13 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—On the date on which 14 the Secretary submits the report under section 3, 15 there shall be established a Rescue Committee for 16 each critical social contract program. 17 (2) GOALS.—The goals of each Rescue Com- 18 mittee shall be to, with respect to the critical social 19 contract program for which the Rescue Committee is 20 established— 21 (A) avoid depletion of the Federal trust 22 fund established for the critical social contract 23 program; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:57 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1295.IS S1295 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1295 IS (B) provide for the solvency of the Federal 1 trust fund established for the critical social con- 2 tract program during the 75-year period begin- 3 ning on the date described in paragraph (1); 4 (C) simplify the critical social contract pro- 5 gram to the extent practicable; and 6 (D) otherwise improve the critical social 7 contract program. 8 (3) DUTIES.— 9 (A) IN GENERAL.— 10 (i) IMPROVING CRITICAL SOCIAL CON- 11 TRACT PROGRAMS.—Each Rescue Com- 12 mittee may develop recommendations and 13 legislative language that will significantly 14 improve the critical social contract pro- 15 gram for which the Rescue Committee is 16 established, including by— 17 (I) increasing the duration of 18 positive balances of the Federal trust 19 fund established for the critical social 20 contract program; and 21 (II) to the extent practicable, 22 providing for the solvency of the Fed- 23 eral trust fund established for the 24 critical social contract program during 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:57 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1295.IS S1295 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1295 IS the 75-year period beginning on the 1 date described in paragraph (1). 2 (ii) RECOMMENDATIONS OF COMMIT- 3 TEES.—Not later than 60 days after the 4 date described in paragraph (1), each com- 5 mittee of the Senate and the House of 6 Representatives may transmit to the rel- 7 evant Rescue Committee any recommenda- 8 tions of the committee relating to changes 9 in law to improve the critical social con- 10 tract program for which the Rescue Com- 11 mittee is established in accordance with 12 the goals of the Rescue Committee de- 13 scribed in paragraph (2). 14 (B) REPORT, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND 15 LEGISLATIVE LANGUAGE.— 16 (i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 17 days after the date described in paragraph 18 (1), each Rescue Committee shall meet to 19 consider, and may vote on— 20 (I) a report that contains a de- 21 tailed statement of the findings, con- 22 clusions, and recommendations of the 23 Rescue Committee described in sub- 24 paragraph (A)(i) and the estimate of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:57 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1295.IS S1295 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1295 IS the Congressional Budget Office re- 1 quired under paragraph (5)(D)(ii); 2 and 3 (II) legislative language to carry 4 out the recommendations of the Res- 5 cue Committee in the report described 6 in subclause (I), which shall include a 7 statement of the economic and budg- 8 etary effects of the recommendations 9 during the 75-year period beginning 10 on the date described in paragraph 11 (1). 12 (ii) ADVISORY NATURE.—Any pro- 13 posed change to the Standing Rules of the 14 Senate or the Rules of the House of Rep- 15 resentatives included in a report or legisla- 16 tive language under clause (i) shall be con- 17 sidered to be merely advisory. 18 (iii) APPROVAL OF REPORT AND LEG- 19 ISLATIVE LANGUAGE.—A report and legis- 20 lative language of a Rescue Committee 21 under clause (i) shall require the approval 22 of a majority of the members of the Rescue 23 Committee, provided that such majority 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:57 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1295.IS S1295 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1295 IS shall be required to include not less than 1 2 members of each party. 2 (iv) ADDITIONAL VIEWS.— 3 (I) IN GENERAL.—A member of 4 a Rescue Committee who gives notice 5 of an intention to file supplemental, 6 minority, or additional views at the 7 time of the final Rescue Committee 8 vote on the approval of the report and 9 legislative language of the Rescue 10 Committee under clause (i) shall be 11 entitled to 3 days to file those views 12 in writing with the staff director of 13 the Rescue Committee. 14 (II) INCLUSION IN REPORT.— 15 Views filed under subclause (I) shall 16 be included in the report of the rel- 17 evant Rescue Committee under clause 18 (i) and printed in the same volume, or 19 part thereof, and such inclusion shall 20 be noted on the cover of the report, 21 except that, in the absence of timely 22 notice, the report may be printed and 23 transmitted immediately without such 24 views. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:57 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1295.IS S1295 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1295 IS (v) REPORT AND LEGISLATIVE LAN- 1 GUAGE TO BE MADE PUBLIC.—Upon the 2 approval or disapproval of a report and 3 legislative language under clause (i) by a 4 Rescue Committee, the Rescue Committee 5 shall promptly, and not more than 24 6 hours after the approval or disapproval, 7 make the report, the legislative language, 8 and a record of the vote on the report and 9 legislative language available to the public. 10 (vi) SUBMISSION OF REPORT AND 11 LEGISLATIVE LANGUAGE.—If a report and 12 legislative language are approved by a Res- 13 cue Committee under clause (i), not later 14 than 3 days after the date on which the re- 15 port and legislative language are made 16 available to the public under clause (v), the 17 Rescue Committee shall submit the report 18 and legislative language to the President, 19 the Vice President, the Speaker of the 20 House of Representatives, and the majority 21 and minority leaders of each House of 22 Congress. 23 (vii) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.— 24 Nothing in this subparagraph shall be con- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:57 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1295.IS S1295 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1295 IS strued to prohibit a Rescue Committee 1 from voting on a report and legislative lan- 2 guage, or multiple instances thereof, before 3 the deadline described in clause (i). 4 (4) MEMBERSHIP.— 5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each Rescue Com- 6 mittee shall be composed of 12 members ap- 7 pointed in accordance with subparagraph (B) 8 and with due consideration to chairs and rank- 9 ing members of the committees and subcommit- 10 tees of subject matter jurisdiction, as applica- 11 ble. 12 (B) APPOINTMENT.—Not later than 14 13 days after the date described in paragraph (1), 14 with respect to each Rescue Committee— 15 (i) the majority leader of the Senate 16 shall appoint 3 individuals from among the 17 Members of the Senate who shall serve as 18 members of the Rescue Committee; 19 (ii) the minority leader of the Senate 20 shall appoint 3 individuals from among the 21 Members of the Senate who shall serve as 22 members of the Rescue Committee; 23 (iii) the Speaker of the House of Rep- 24 resentatives shall appoint 3 individuals 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:57 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1295.IS S1295 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1295 IS from among the Members of the House of 1 Representatives who shall serve as mem- 2 bers of the Rescue Committee; and 3 (iv) the minority leader of the House 4 of Representatives shall appoint 3 individ- 5 uals from among the Members of the 6 House of Representatives who shall serve 7 as members of the Rescue Committee. 8 (C) CO-CHAIRS.— 9 (i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 14 10 days after the date described in paragraph 11 (1), with respect to each Rescue Com- 12 mittee— 13 (I) the leadership of the Senate 14 and House of Representatives of the 15 same political party as the President 16 shall appoint 1 individual from among 17 the members of the Rescue Committee 18 who shall serve as a co-chair of the 19 Rescue Committee; and 20 (II) the leadership of the Senate 21 and House of Representatives of the 22 other major political party as the 23 President, shall appoint 1 individual 24 from among the members of the Res- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:57 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1295.IS S1295 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1295 IS cue Committee who shall serve as a 1 co-chair of the Rescue Committee. 2 (ii) STAFF DIRECTOR.—With respect 3 to each Rescue Committee, the co-chairs of 4 the Rescue Committee, acting jointly, shall 5 hire the staff director of the Rescue Com- 6 mittee. 7 (D) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT.— 8 (i) IN GENERAL.—The members of a 9 Rescue Committee shall be appointed for 10 the life of the Rescue Committee. 11 (ii) VACANCY.— 12 (I) IN GENERAL.—Any vacancy 13 in a Rescue Committee shall not af- 14 fect the powers of the Rescue Com- 15 mittee, but shall be filled not later 16 than 14 days after the date on which 17 the vacancy occurs, in the same man- 18 ner as the original appointment was 19 made. 20 (II) INELIGIBLE MEMBERS.—If a 21 member of a Rescue Committee ceases 22 to be a Member of the Senate or the 23 House of Representatives, as applica- 24 ble— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:57 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1295.IS S1295 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1295 IS (aa) the member shall no 1 longer be a member of the Res- 2 cue Committee; and 3 (bb) a vacancy in the Rescue 4 Committee exists. 5 (5) ADMINISTRATION.— 6 (A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to each 7 Rescue Committee, to enable the Rescue Com- 8 mittee to exercise the powers, functions, and 9 duties of the Rescue Committee, there are au- 10 thorized to be disbursed by the Senate the ac- 11 tual and necessary expenses of the Rescue Com- 12 mittee approved by the co-chairs of the Rescue 13 Committee, subject to the rules and regulations 14 of the Senate. 15 (B) EXPENSES.—With respect to each 16 Rescue Committee, in carrying out the func- 17 tions of the Rescue Committee, the Rescue 18 Committee is authorized to incur expenses in 19 the same manner and under the same condi- 20 tions as the Joint Economic Committee is au- 21 thorized under section 11(d) of the Employment 22 Act of 1946 (15 U.S.C. 1024(d)). 23 (C) QUORUM.—With respect to each Res- 24 cue Committee, 7 members of the Rescue Com- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:57 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1295.IS S1295 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1295 IS mittee shall constitute a quorum for purposes of 1 voting, meeting, and holding hearings. 2 (D) VOTING.— 3 (i) PROXY VOTING.—No proxy voting 4 shall be allowed on behalf of any member 5 of a Rescue Committee. 6 (ii) CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE 7 ESTIMATES.— 8 (I) IN GENERAL.—The Director 9 of the Congressional Budget Office 10 shall, with respect to the legislative 11 language of a Rescue Committee 12 under paragraph (3)(B)(i)(II), provide 13 to the Rescue Committee— 14 (aa) estimates of the legisla- 15 tive language in accordance with 16 sections 308(a) and 201(f) of the 17 Congressional Budget Act of 18 1974 (2 U.S.C. 639(a) and 19 601(f)); and 20 (bb) information on the 21 budgetary effect of the legislative 22 language during the 75-year pe- 23 riod beginning on the date de- 24 scribed in paragraph (1). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:57 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1295.IS S1295 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 14 •S 1295 IS (II) LIMITATION.—A Rescue 1 Committee may not vote on any 2 version of the report, recommenda- 3 tions, or legislative language of the 4 Rescue Committee under pa [Text truncated for display. 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