Protect Our CREDIT Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 444 To provide a process for ensuring the United States does not default on its obligations. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 12, 2019 Mr. MERKLEY (for himself and Mr. KAINE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To provide a process for ensuring the United States does not default on its 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 ‘‘Protect Our Citizens 4 from Reckless Extortion of our Debt and Irresponsible 5 Tactics Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘Protect Our CREDIT Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL PRESIDENTIAL MODIFICATION OF THE 7 DEBT CEILING. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 31 of 9 subtitle III of title 31, United States Code, is amended— 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:21 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S444.IS S444 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 444 IS (1) in section 3101(b), by inserting ‘‘or 3101B’’ 1 after ‘‘section 3101A’’; and 2 (2) by inserting after section 3101A the fol- 3 lowing: 4 ‘‘§ 3101B. Additional Presidential modification of the 5 debt ceiling 6 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘joint 7 resolution’ means only a joint resolution— 8 ‘‘(1) that is introduced during the period— 9 ‘‘(A) beginning on the date a certification 10 described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection 11 (b) is received by Congress; and 12 ‘‘(B) ending on the date that is 3 legisla- 13 tive days (excluding any day on which it is not 14 in order to introduce resolutions) after the date 15 described in subparagraph (A); 16 ‘‘(2) which does not have a preamble; 17 ‘‘(3) the title of which is only as follows: ‘Joint 18 resolution relating to the disapproval of the Presi- 19 dent’s exercise of authority to increase the debt 20 limit, as submitted under section 3101B of title 31, 21 United States Code, on llllll’ (with the 22 blank containing the date of such submission); and 23 ‘‘(4) the matter after the resolving clause of 24 which is only as follows: ‘That Congress disapproves 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:21 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S444.IS S444 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 444 IS of the President’s exercise of authority to increase 1 the debt limit, as exercised pursuant to the certifi- 2 cation submitted under section 3101B(b) of title 31, 3 United States Code, on llllll.’ (with the 4 blank containing the date of such submission). 5 ‘‘(b) SUBMISSIONS TO CONGRESS.— 6 ‘‘(1) ANNUAL SUBMISSION.—Before the begin- 7 ning of each fiscal year, the President shall submit 8 to Congress a written certification specifying the 9 amount of obligations that are subject to limit under 10 section 3101(b), in addition to the amount of such 11 obligations authorized to be outstanding on the date 12 of the certification, that the President determines it 13 shall be necessary to issue during the next fiscal 14 year to meet existing commitments. 15 ‘‘(2) SUBMISSION DURING FISCAL YEAR.—If the 16 President determines during a fiscal year that the 17 debt subject to limit under section 3101(b) is within 18 $250,000,000,000 of such limit and that further 19 borrowing is necessary to meet existing commit- 20 ments, the President shall submit to Congress a 21 written certification— 22 ‘‘(A) specifying the amount of obligations 23 that are subject to limit under section 3101(b), 24 in addition to the amount of such obligations 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:21 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S444.IS S444 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 444 IS authorized to be outstanding on the date of the 1 certification, that the President determines it 2 shall be necessary to issue during the fiscal year 3 to meet existing commitments; and 4 ‘‘(B) containing the reason for any discrep- 5 ancy from the certification submitted under 6 paragraph (1) for the fiscal year. 7 ‘‘(3) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO ENACT DIS- 8 APPROVAL.—If a joint resolution is not enacted with 9 respect to a certification under paragraph (1) or (2) 10 during the 15-legislative-day period beginning on the 11 date on which Congress receives the certification, the 12 limit under section 3101(b) is increased by the 13 amount specified in the certification. 14 ‘‘(4) EFFECT OF ENACTMENT OF DIS- 15 APPROVAL.—If a joint resolution is enacted with re- 16 spect to a certification under paragraph (1) or (2) 17 during the 15-legislative-day period beginning on the 18 date on which Congress receives the certification, the 19 limit under section 3101(b)— 20 ‘‘(A) shall not be increased by the amount 21 specified in the certification; and 22 ‘‘(B) shall be increased in accordance with 23 subsection (c)(2). 24 ‘‘(c) SUSPENSION FOR MID-YEAR CERTIFICATION.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:21 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S444.IS S444 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 444 IS ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3101(b) shall not 1 apply for the period— 2 ‘‘(A) beginning on the date on which the 3 President submits to Congress a certification 4 under subsection (b)(2); and 5 ‘‘(B) ending on the earlier of— 6 ‘‘(i) the date that is 15 legislative 7 days after Congress receives the certifi- 8 cation; or 9 ‘‘(ii) the date of enactment of a joint 10 resolution with respect to the certification. 11 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE RELATING TO OBLIGATIONS 12 ISSUED DURING SUSPENSION PERIOD.— 13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a joint resolution is 14 enacted with respect to a certification under 15 subsection (b)(2), effective on the day after 16 such date of enactment, the limitation in sec- 17 tion 3101(b) is increased to the extent that— 18 ‘‘(i) the face amount of obligations 19 issued under this chapter and the face 20 amount of obligations whose principal and 21 interest are guaranteed by the United 22 States Government (except guaranteed ob- 23 ligations held by the Secretary of the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:21 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S444.IS S444 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 444 IS Treasury) outstanding on the calendar day 1 after such date of enactment, exceeds 2 ‘‘(ii) the face amount of such obliga- 3 tions outstanding on the date on which the 4 President submits the certification. 5 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—An obligation shall not 6 be taken into account under subparagraph (A) 7 unless the issuance of such obligation was nec- 8 essary to fund a commitment incurred by the 9 Federal Government that required payment 10 during the 15-legislative-day period described in 11 paragraph (1)(B)(i). 12 ‘‘(d) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION IN HOUSE OF 13 REPRESENTATIVES.— 14 ‘‘(1) REPORTING AND DISCHARGE.—Any com- 15 mittee of the House of Representatives to which a 16 joint resolution is referred shall report it to the 17 House of Representatives without amendment not 18 later than 5 calendar days after the date of intro- 19 duction of the joint resolution. If a committee fails 20 to report the joint resolution within that period, the 21 committee shall be discharged from further consider- 22 ation of the joint resolution and the joint resolution 23 shall be referred to the appropriate calendar. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:21 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S444.IS S444 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 444 IS ‘‘(2) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDERATION.—After 1 each committee authorized to consider a joint resolu- 2 tion reports it to the House of Representatives or 3 has been discharged from its consideration, it shall 4 be in order, not later than the sixth day after intro- 5 duction of the joint resolution, to move to proceed 6 to consider the joint resolution in the House of Rep- 7 resentatives. All points of order against the motion 8 are waived. Such a motion shall not be in order after 9 the House of Representatives has disposed of a mo- 10 tion to proceed on a joint resolution addressing a 11 particular submission. The previous question shall be 12 considered as ordered on the motion to its adoption 13 without intervening motion. The motion shall not be 14 debatable. A motion to reconsider the vote by which 15 the motion is disposed of shall not be in order. 16 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATION.—The joint resolution 17 shall be considered as read. All points of order 18 against the joint resolution and against its consider- 19 ation are waived. The previous question shall be con- 20 sidered as ordered on the joint resolution to its pas- 21 sage without intervening motion except 2 hours of 22 debate equally divided and controlled by the pro- 23 ponent and an opponent. An amendment to the joint 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:21 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S444.IS S444 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 444 IS resolution or a motion to reconsider the vote on pas- 1 sage of the joint resolution shall not be in order. 2 ‘‘(e) EXPEDITED PROCEDURE IN SENATE.— 3 ‘‘(1) PLACEMENT ON CALENDAR.—Upon intro- 4 duction in the Senate, a joint resolution shall be im- 5 mediately placed on the calendar. 6 ‘‘(2) FLOOR CONSIDERATION.— 7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding rule 8 XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, it is 9 in order at any time during the period begin- 10 ning on the day after the date on which Con- 11 gress receives a certification under paragraph 12 (1) or (2) of subsection (b) and ending on the 13 sixth day after the date of introduction of a 14 joint resolution (even though a previous motion 15 to the same effect has been disagreed to) to 16 move to proceed to the consideration of the 17 joint resolution, and all points of order against 18 the joint resolution (and against consideration 19 of the joint resolution) are waived. The motion 20 to proceed is not debatable. The motion is not 21 subject to a motion to postpone. A motion to 22 reconsider the vote by which the motion is 23 agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in order. 24 If a motion to proceed to the consideration of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:21 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S444.IS S444 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 444 IS the resolution is agreed to, the joint resolution 1 shall remain the unfinished business until dis- 2 posed of. 3 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATION.—Consideration of 4 the joint resolution, and on all debatable mo- 5 tions and appeals in connection therewith, shall 6 be limited to not more than 10 hours, which 7 shall be divided equally between the majority 8 and minority leaders or their designees. A mo- 9 tion further to limit debate is in order and not 10 debatable. An amendment to, or a motion to 11 postpone, or a motion to proceed to the consid- 12 eration of other business, or a motion to recom- 13 mit the joint resolution is not in order. 14 ‘‘(C) VOTE ON PASSAGE.—If the Senate 15 has voted to proceed to a joint resolution, the 16 vote on passage of the joint resolution shall 17 occur immediately following the conclusion of 18 consideration of the joint resolution, and a sin- 19 gle quorum call at the conclusion of the debate 20 if requested in accordance with the rules of the 21 Senate. 22 ‘‘(D) RULINGS OF THE CHAIR ON PROCE- 23 DURE.—Appeals from the decisions of the Chair 24 relating to the application of the rules of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:21 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S444.IS S444 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 444 IS Senate, as the case may be, to the procedure re- 1 lating to a joint resolution shall be decided 2 without debate. 3 ‘‘(f) COORDINATION WITH ACTION BY OTHER 4 HOUSE.— 5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If, before passing the joint 6 resolution, one House receives from the other a joint 7 resolution— 8 ‘‘(A) the joint resolution of the other 9 House shall not be referred to a committee; and 10 ‘‘(B) the procedure in the receiving House 11 shall be the same as if no joint resolution had 12 been received from the other House, except that 13 the vote on final passage shall be on the joint 14 resolution of the other House. 15 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF JOINT RESOLUTION OF 16 OTHER HOUSE.—If the Senate fails to introduce or 17 consider a joint resolution under this section, the 18 joint resolution of the House shall be entitled to ex- 19 pedited floor procedures under this section. 20 ‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF COMPANION MEASURES.— 21 If, following passage of the joint resolution in the 22 Senate, the Senate receives the companion measure 23 from the House of Representatives, the companion 24 measure shall not be debatable. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:21 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S444.IS S444 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 444 IS ‘‘(4) CONSIDERATION AFTER PASSAGE.— 1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If Congress passes a 2 joint resolution, the period beginning on the 3 date the President is presented with the joint 4 resolution and ending on the date the President 5 signs, allows to become law without his signa- 6 ture, or vetoes and returns the joint resolution 7 (but excluding days when either House is not in 8 session) shall be disregarded in computing the 9 legislative day period described in paragraphs 10 (3) and (4) of subsection (b) and subsection 11 (c)(1). 12 ‘‘(B) DEBATE.—Debate on a veto message 13 in the Senate under this section shall be 1 hour 14 equally divided between the majority and minor- 15 ity leaders or their designees. 16 ‘‘(5) VETO OVERRIDE.—If within the legislative 17 day period described in paragraphs (3) and (4) of 18 subsection (b) and subsection (c)(1), Congress over- 19 rides a veto of a joint resolution, except as provided 20 in subsection (c)(2), the limit on debt provided in 21 section 3101(b) shall not be raised under this sec- 22 tion. 23 ‘‘(g) RULES OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND 24 SENATE.—Subsections (a), (d), (e), and (f) (except for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:21 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S444.IS S444 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 444 IS paragraphs (4)(A) and (5) of such subsection) are enacted 1 by Congress— 2 ‘‘(1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of 3 the Senate and House of Representatives, respec- 4 tively, and as such it is deemed a part of the rules 5 of each House, respectively, but applicable only with 6 respect to the procedure to be followed in that 7 House in the case of a joint resolution, and it super- 8 sedes other rules only to the extent that it is incon- 9 sistent with such rules; and 10 ‘‘(2) with full recogniti [Text truncated for display. 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