Federal Debt Emergency Control Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1990 To establish processes to control inflationary pressures and the Federal debt, during Federal debt emergencies. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 9, 2021 Mr. SCOTT of Florida (for himself, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. BRAUN, Mr. BARRASSO, Ms. ERNST, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. TUBERVILLE, Mr. JOHNSON, 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 establish processes to control inflationary pressures and the Federal debt, during Federal debt emergencies. 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 ‘‘Federal Debt Emer- 4 gency Control Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act— 7 (1) the terms ‘‘budget year’’ and ‘‘current 8 year’’ have the meanings given those terms in sec- 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1990.IS S1990 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1990 IS tion 250(c) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency 1 Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 900(c); 2 (2) the term ‘‘eligible bill’’ means a bill intro- 3 duced in the House of Representatives or Senate— 4 (A) during a Federal debt emergency pe- 5 riod; 6 (B) the title of which is ‘‘To provide for 7 deficit reduction under the Federal Debt Emer- 8 gency Control Act of 2021.’’; 9 (C) that, if enacted, would result in a re- 10 duction of the deficit of not less than 5 percent 11 during the 10-fiscal-year period following the 12 current fiscal year; and 13 (D) that does not increase the rate of any 14 Federal tax or increase any fee paid to the Fed- 15 eral Government; 16 (3) the term ‘‘Federal debt emergency period’’ 17 means the fiscal year following a fiscal during which 18 the amount of the debt of the Federal Government 19 held by the public exceeded the gross domestic prod- 20 uct of the United States for that fiscal year; 21 (4) the term ‘‘outlays’’ has the meaning given 22 that term in section 3 of the Congressional Budget 23 and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 24 621); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1990.IS S1990 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1990 IS (5) the term ‘‘stimulus spending’’ means 1 amounts made available under— 2 (A) the Coronavirus Preparedness and Re- 3 sponse Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 4 (Public Law 116–123; 134 Stat 146); 5 (B) the Families First Coronavirus Re- 6 sponse Act (Public Law 116–127; 134 Stat. 7 178); 8 (C) the CARES Act (Public Law 116–136; 9 134 Stat. 281); 10 (D) the Paycheck Protection Program and 11 Health Care Enhancement Act (Public Law 12 116–139; 134 Stat. 620); 13 (E) division N (relating to additional 14 coronavirus response and relief) of the Consoli- 15 dated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 16 116–260); or 17 (F) the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 18 (Public Law 117–2). 19 SEC. 3. FEDERAL DEBT EMERGENCY CONTROL. 20 (a) TERMINATION OF UNSPENT STIMULUS SPEND- 21 ING IN A FEDERAL DEBT EMERGENCY.—Effective on the 22 first day of the first Federal debt emergency period, as 23 determined by the Director of the Office of Management 24 and Budget, the unobligated balances of all stimulus 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1990.IS S1990 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1990 IS spending are rescinded and shall be returned to the gen- 1 eral fund of the Treasury. 2 (b) SELF-FINANCING OF LEGISLATION INCREASING 3 SPENDING DURING A FEDERAL DEBT EMERGENCY.— 4 (1) POINT OF ORDER.—During a Federal debt 5 emergency period, it shall not be in order in the Sen- 6 ate to consider any bill, joint resolution, motion, 7 amendment, amendment between the Houses, or 8 conference report that (excluding changes in Federal 9 tax revenue, if any) would— 10 (A) increase outlays, relative to the most 11 recent baseline under section 257 of the Bal- 12 anced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control 13 Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 907) over the period of 14 the current year, the budget year, and the ensu- 15 ing 9 fiscal years; or 16 (B) increase the deficit over the period of 17 the current year, the budget year, and the ensu- 18 ing 9 fiscal years. 19 (2) DETERMINATION.—The determination of 20 the existence of a Federal debt emergency period, 21 outlays, and the deficit for purposes of paragraph 22 (1) shall be based on estimates provided by the Con- 23 gressional Budget Office. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1990.IS S1990 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1990 IS (3) WAIVER AND APPEAL.—Paragraph (1) may 1 be waived or suspended in the Senate only by an af- 2 firmative vote of two thirds of the Members, duly 3 chosen and sworn. An affirmative vote of two thirds 4 of the Members of the Senate, duly chosen and 5 sworn, shall be required to sustain an appeal of the 6 ruling of the Chair on a point of order raised under 7 paragraph (1). 8 (4) EXERCISE OF RULEMAKING POWERS.—Con- 9 gress adopts the provisions of this subsection— 10 (A) as an exercise of the rulemaking power 11 of the Senate, and as such they shall be consid- 12 ered as part of the rules of the Senate, and 13 such rules shall supersede other rules only to 14 the extent that they are inconsistent with such 15 other rules; and 16 (B) with full recognition of the constitu- 17 tional right of the Senate to change those rules 18 (insofar as they relate to the Senate) at any 19 time, in the same manner, and to the same ex- 20 tent as is the case of any other rule of the Sen- 21 ate. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1990.IS S1990 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1990 IS SEC. 4. EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION OF DEFICIT REDUC- 1 ING BILLS. 2 (a) CONSIDERATION IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENT- 3 ATIVES.— 4 (1) REFERRAL AND REPORTING.—Any com- 5 mittee of the House of Representatives to which an 6 eligible bill is referred shall report it to the House 7 without amendment not later than 30 days after the 8 date on which the eligible bill is introduced. If a 9 committee fails to report an eligible bill within that 10 period, it shall be in order to move that the House 11 discharge the committee from further consideration 12 of the bill. Such a motion shall not be in order after 13 the last committee authorized to consider the bill re- 14 ports it to the House or after the House has dis- 15 posed of a motion to discharge the bill. The previous 16 question shall be considered as ordered on the mo- 17 tion to its adoption without intervening motion ex- 18 cept 20 minutes of debate equally divided and con- 19 trolled by the proponent and an opponent. If such 20 a motion is adopted, the House shall proceed imme- 21 diately to consider the eligible bill in accordance with 22 paragraphs (2) and (3). A motion to reconsider the 23 vote by which the motion is disposed of shall not be 24 in order. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1990.IS S1990 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1990 IS (2) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDERATION.—After 1 the last committee authorized to consider an eligible 2 bill reports it to the House or has been discharged 3 (other than by motion) from its consideration, it 4 shall be in order to move to proceed to consider the 5 eligible bill in the House. Such a motion shall not 6 be in order after the House has disposed of a motion 7 to proceed with respect to the eligible bill. The pre- 8 vious question shall be considered as ordered on the 9 motion to its adoption without intervening motion. A 10 motion to reconsider the vote by which the motion 11 is disposed of shall not be in order. 12 (3) CONSIDERATION.—An eligible bill shall be 13 considered as read. All points of order against an el- 14 igible bill and against its consideration are waived. 15 The previous question shall be considered as ordered 16 on an eligible bill to its passage without intervening 17 motion except 2 hours of debate equally divided and 18 controlled by the proponent and an opponent and 19 one motion to limit debate on the eligible bill. A mo- 20 tion to reconsider the vote on passage of an eligible 21 bill shall not be in order. 22 (4) VOTE ON PASSAGE.—The vote on passage 23 of an eligible bill shall occur not later than 30 days 24 after the date on which the eligible bill is introduced. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1990.IS S1990 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1990 IS (b) EXPEDITED PROCEDURE IN THE SENATE.— 1 (1) COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION.—An eligible 2 bill introduced in the Senate shall be jointly referred 3 to the committee or committees of jurisdiction, 4 which committees shall report the bill without any 5 revision and with a favorable recommendation, an 6 unfavorable recommendation, or without rec- 7 ommendation, not later than 30 days after the date 8 on which the eligible bill is introduced. If any com- 9 mittee fails to report an eligible bill within that pe- 10 riod, that committee shall be automatically dis- 11 charged from consideration of the eligible bill, and 12 the eligible bill shall be placed on the appropriate 13 calendar. 14 (2) MOTION TO PROCEED.—Notwithstanding 15 Rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, it 16 is in order, not later than 2 days of session after the 17 date on which an eligible bill is reported or dis- 18 charged from all committees to which it was re- 19 ferred, for the majority leader of the Senate or the 20 majority leader’s designee to move to proceed to the 21 consideration of the eligible bill. It shall also be in 22 order for any Member of the Senate to move to pro- 23 ceed to the consideration of the eligible bill at any 24 time after the conclusion of such 2-day period. A 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1990.IS S1990 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1990 IS motion to proceed is in order even though a previous 1 motion to the same effect has been disagreed to. All 2 points of order against the motion to proceed to an 3 eligible bill are waived. The motion to proceed is not 4 debatable. The motion is not subject to a motion to 5 postpone. A motion to reconsider the vote by which 6 the motion is agreed to or disagreed to shall not be 7 in order. If a motion to proceed to the consideration 8 of an eligible bill is agreed to, the eligible bill shall 9 remain the unfinished business until disposed of. 10 (3) CONSIDERATION.—All points of order 11 against an eligible bill and against consideration of 12 the eligible bill are waived. Consideration of an eligi- 13 ble bill and of all debatable motions and appeals in 14 connection therewith shall not exceed a total of 30 15 hours which shall be divided equally between the ma- 16 jority and minority leaders or their designees. A mo- 17 tion further to limit debate on an eligible bill is in 18 order, shall require an affirmative vote of three- 19 fifths of the Members duly chosen and sworn, and 20 is not debatable. Any debatable motion or appeal is 21 debatable for not to exceed 1 hour, to be divided 22 equally between those favoring and those opposing 23 the motion or appeal. All time used for consideration 24 of an eligible, including time used for quorum calls 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1990.IS S1990 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1990 IS and voting, shall be counted against the total 30 1 hours of consideration. 2 (4) NO AMENDMENTS.—An amendment to an 3 eligible bill, or a motion to postpone, or a motion to 4 proceed to the consideration of other business, or a 5 motion to recommit the eligible bill, is not in order. 6 (5) VOTE ON PASSAGE.—If the Senate has 7 voted to proceed to an eligible bill, the vote on pas- 8 sage of the eligible bill shall occur immediately fol- 9 lowing the conclusion of the debate on the eligible 10 bill, and a single quorum call at the conclusion of 11 the debate if requested. The vote on passage of an 12 eligible bill shall occur not later than 30 days after 13 the date on which the eligible bill is introduced. 14 (6) RULINGS OF THE CHAIR ON PROCEDURE.— 15 Appeals from the decisions of the Chair relating to 16 the application of the rules of the Senate, as the 17 case may be, to the procedure relating to an eligible 18 bill shall be decided without debate. 19 (c) AMENDMENT.—An eligible bill shall not be sub- 20 ject to amendment in either the House of Representatives 21 or the Senate. 22 (d) CONSIDERATION BY THE OTHER HOUSE.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—If one House receives from 24 the other an eligible bill— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1990.IS S1990 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1990 IS (A) the eligible bill of the other House 1 shall not be referred to a committee; and 2 (B) the eligible bill of the other House 3 shall be entitled to expedited floor procedures 4 under this section. 5 (2) REVENUE MEASURE.—This subsection shall 6 not apply to the House of Representatives if an eligi- 7 ble bill received from the Senate is a revenue meas- 8 ure. 9 (e) VETOES.—If the President vetoes an eligible bill, 10 debate on a veto message in the Senate under this section 11 shall be 1 hour equally divided between the majority and 12 minority leaders or their designees. 13 (f) LOSS OF PRIVILEGE.—The provisions of this sec- 14 tion shall only apply to an eligible bill during a Federal 15 debt emergency period. 16 (g) RULEMAKING.—The provisions of this section are 17 enacted by Congress— 18 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of 19 the House of Representatives and the Senate, re- 20 spectively, and as such they shall be considered as 21 part of the rules of each House, respectively, or of 22 that House to which they specifically apply, and 23 such rules shall supersede other rules only to the ex- 24 tent that they are inconsistent therewith; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1990.IS S1990 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1990 IS (2) with full recognition of the constitutional 1 right of either House to change such rules (so far 2 as relating to such House) at any time, in the same 3 manner, and to the same extent as in the case of 4 any other rule of such Hou [Text truncated for display. 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