What This Bill Does
This bill requires Congress to cut spending by an equal amount whenever it increases or suspends the debt limit (the legal cap on how much money the federal government can borrow). Any spending cuts must happen over the next 10 years and cannot include savings from lower interest payments.
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Who It Affects
- Congress members in both the Senate and House of Representatives
- The President when requesting debt limit changes
- The Secretary of the Treasury
- The Congressional Budget Office (an independent agency that analyzes budgets)
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Key Provisions
- Congress cannot vote on any bill that raises the debt limit unless the bill includes spending cuts equal to or greater than that increase over the current year and the next 10 years (Sec. 316(a)(1))
- Congress cannot vote on any bill that suspends the debt limit unless the bill includes spending cuts equal to or greater than the projected debt growth during the suspension period (Sec. 317(a)(1))
- The Treasury Secretary must warn Congress if the government will hit the debt limit within 60 calendar days even with emergency measures in place (Sec. 2)
- Any spending cuts proposed to meet these requirements cannot shift money from within the 10-year period to outside it, and cannot count interest savings (Sec. 316(a)(2)(C) and Sec. 317(a)(2)(C))
- The Senate can waive these requirements only with a three-fifths supermajority vote, which is 60 votes if all members are present (Sec. 316(b)(1) and Sec. 317(b)(1))
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What Changes
Currently, Congress can raise the debt limit without requiring matching spending cuts. Under this bill, Congress would be prohibited from voting on debt limit increases or suspensions without first passing spending reduction legislation. The Congressional Budget Office would need to publicly post its cost estimate for at least 24 hours before any vote on raising the debt limit can occur.
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Important Definitions
- **Extraordinary measures**: Actions the Treasury Secretary can take when the debt limit is reached to keep the government functioning without a debt limit increase (Sec. 2)
- **Near breach**: When the Treasury Secretary determines the government will hit the debt limit within 60 calendar days even with emergency measures (Sec. 2)
- **Net spending reductions**: Spending cuts that do not include savings from lower interest payments (Sec. 316 and Sec. 317)
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Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1289
To require that any debt limit increase or suspension be balanced by equal
spending cuts over the next decade.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 1, 2023
Mr. FEENSTRA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Rules,
and the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To require that any debt limit increase or suspension be
balanced by equal spending cuts over the next decade.
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 ‘‘Dollar-for-Dollar Def-
4
icit Reduction Act’’.
5
SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO TITLE 31.
6
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 31 of title
7
31, United States Code, is amended by inserting after sec-
8
tion 3101A the following:
9
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•HR 1289 IH
‘‘§ 3101B. Debt limit control
1
‘‘(a) DECLARATION OF A DEBT LIMIT WARNING.—
2
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—In the event of a near
3
breach of the public debt limit established by section
4
3101, the Secretary of the Treasury shall issue a
5
debt limit warning to the Committee on Finance of
6
the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means
7
of the House of Representatives that shall include a
8
determination as to when extraordinary measures
9
may be necessary in order to prolong the funding of
10
the United States Government.
11
‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection:
12
‘‘(A) EXTRAORDINARY
MEASURES.—The
13
term ‘extraordinary measures’ means measures
14
that may be taken by the Secretary of the
15
Treasury in the event of a breach of the debt
16
limit by the United States to prolong the func-
17
tion of the United States Government in the ab-
18
sence of a debt limit increase.
19
‘‘(B) NEAR
BREACH.—The term ‘near
20
breach’ means the point at which the Secretary
21
of the Treasury determines that the United
22
States Government will reach the statutorily
23
prescribed debt limit within 60 calendar days
24
notwithstanding the implementation of extraor-
25
dinary measures.
26
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•HR 1289 IH
‘‘(b) PRESIDENTIAL SUBMISSION OF DEBT LIMIT
1
LEGISLATION.—
2
‘‘(1) SAVINGS RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE
3
PRESIDENT.—Any formal Presidential request to in-
4
crease the debt limit under this section shall include
5
the amount of the proposed debt limit increase and
6
be accompanied by proposed legislation to reduce
7
spending over the sum of the current and following
8
10 years by an amount equal to or greater than the
9
amount of the requested debt limit increase. Net in-
10
terest savings may not be counted towards spending
11
reductions required by this paragraph.
12
‘‘(2) CALCULATION.—The spending savings
13
under paragraph (1) shall be calculated against a
14
budget baseline consistent with section 257 of the
15
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control
16
Act of 1985. This baseline shall exclude the extrapo-
17
lation of any spending that had been enacted under
18
an emergency designation.’’.
19
(b) SUBCHAPTER ANALYSIS.—The table of sections
20
for chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, is amended
21
by inserting after the item for section 3101A the following:
22
‘‘3101B. Debt limit control.’’.
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•HR 1289 IH
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL REQUIREMENT TO RESTRAIN
1
SPENDING WHILE RAISING OR SUSPENDING
2
THE DEBT LIMIT.
3
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Congress and
4
Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended
5
by inserting at the end the following:
6
‘‘SEC. 316. DEBT LIMIT INCREASE POINT OF ORDER.
7
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—
8
‘‘(1) POINT OF ORDER.—Except as provided in
9
subsection (b), it shall not be in order in the Senate
10
or the House of Representatives to consider any bill,
11
joint resolution, amendment, motion, or conference
12
report that increases the statutory debt limit unless
13
the bill contains net spending reductions of an equal
14
or greater amount over the period of the current and
15
next 10 fiscal years. Net interest savings may not be
16
counted towards spending reductions required by
17
this paragraph.
18
‘‘(2) COMPONENTS OF NET SPENDING REDUC-
19
TION.—
20
‘‘(A) CALCULATION.—The savings result-
21
ing from the proposed spending reductions
22
under paragraph (1) shall be calculated by the
23
Congressional Budget Office against a budget
24
baseline consistent with section 257 of the Bal-
25
anced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control
26
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•HR 1289 IH
Act of 1985. This baseline shall exclude the ex-
1
trapolation of any spending that had been en-
2
acted under an emergency designation.
3
‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY.—The Senate and the
4
House of Representatives may not vote on any
5
bill, joint resolution, amendment, motion, or
6
conference report that increases the public debt
7
limit unless the cost estimate of that measure
8
prepared by the Congressional Budget Office
9
has been publicly available on the website of the
10
Congressional Budget Office for at least 24
11
hours.
12
‘‘(C) PROHIBIT TIMING SHIFTS.—Any pro-
13
vision that shifts outlays or revenues from with-
14
in the 10-year window to outside the window
15
shall not count towards the budget savings tar-
16
get for purposes of this subsection.
17
‘‘(b) SENATE SUPERMAJORITY WAIVER
AND AP-
18
PEAL.—
19
‘‘(1) WAIVER.—In the Senate, subsection (a)(1)
20
may be waived or suspended only by an affirmative
21
vote of three-fifths of the Members, duly chosen and
22
sworn.
23
‘‘(2) APPEAL.—An affirmative vote of three-
24
fifths of the Members of the Senate, duly chosen and
25
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•HR 1289 IH
sworn, shall be required to sustain an appeal of the
1
ruling of the Chair on a point of order raised under
2
subsection (a)(1).
3
‘‘SEC. 317. DEBT LIMIT SUSPENSION POINT OF ORDER.
4
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—
5
‘‘(1) POINT OF ORDER.—Except as provided in
6
subsection (b), it shall not be in order in the Senate
7
or the House of Representatives to consider any bill,
8
joint resolution, amendment, motion, or conference
9
report that suspends the statutory debt limit unless
10
the bill contains net spending reductions over the pe-
11
riod of the current and next 10 fiscal years in an
12
amount that is equal to or greater than the pro-
13
jected debt amount for the period of the suspension
14
of the statutory debt limit as determined by the
15
Congressional Budget Office in accordance with
16
paragraph (3). Net interest savings may not be
17
counted towards spending reductions required by
18
this paragraph.
19
‘‘(2) COMPONENTS OF NET SPENDING REDUC-
20
TION.—
21
‘‘(A) CALCULATION.—The savings result-
22
ing from the proposed spending reductions
23
under paragraph (1) shall be calculated by the
24
Congressional Budget Office against a budget
25
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•HR 1289 IH
baseline consistent with section 257 of the Bal-
1
anced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control
2
Act of 1985. This baseline shall exclude the ex-
3
trapolation of any spending that had been en-
4
acted under an emergency designation.
5
‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY.—The Senate and the
6
House of Representatives may not vote on any
7
bill, joint resolution, amendment, motion, or
8
conference report that increases the public debt
9
limit unless the cost estimate of that measure
10
prepared by the Congressional Budget Office
11
has been publicly available on the website of the
12
Congressional Budget Office for at least 24
13
hours.
14
‘‘(C) PROHIBIT TIMING SHIFTS.—Any pro-
15
vision that shifts outlays or revenues from with-
16
in the 10-year window to outside the window
17
shall not count towards the budget savings tar-
18
get for purposes of this subsection.
19
‘‘(3)
CALCULATION
OF
PROJECTED
DEBT
20
AMOUNT.—For purposes of paragraph (1), the Con-
21
gressional Budget Office shall determine the amount
22
of projected debt for the period for which the bill,
23
joint resolution, amendment, motion, or conference
24
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•HR 1289 IH
report suspends the statutory debt limit by calcu-
1
lating the difference between—
2
‘‘(A) the amount the statutory debt is pro-
3
jected to be on the date on which the suspen-
4
sion of the statutory debt limit is to end, as de-
5
termined by the debt projection of the Congres-
6
sional Budget Office, and
7
‘‘(B) the amount of statutory debt as of
8
the date on which the suspension of the statu-
9
tory debt limit is to begin.
10
‘‘(b) SENATE SUPERMAJORITY WAIVER
AND AP-
11
PEAL.—
12
‘‘(1) WAIVER.—In the Senate, subsection (a)(1)
13
may be waived or suspended only by an affirmative
14
vote of three-fifths of the Members, duly chosen and
15
sworn.
16
‘‘(2) APPEAL.—An affirmative vote of three-
17
fifths of the Members of the Senate, duly chosen and
18
sworn, shall be required to sustain an appeal of the
19
ruling of the Chair on a point of order raised under
20
subsection (a)(1).’’.
21
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con-
22
tents set forth in section 1(b) of the Congressional Budget
23
and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is amended by in-
24
serting after section 315 the following:
25
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•HR 1289 IH
‘‘Sec. 316. Debt limit increase point of order.
‘‘Sec. 317. Debt limit suspension point of order.’’.
Æ
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