TRUST Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4907 To save and strengthen critical social contract programs of the Federal Government. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 29, 2019 Mr. GALLAGHER (for himself, Mr. MCADAMS, Mr. TIMMONS, Mr. CASE, and Mr. PETERS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform, 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 with- in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 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’’ or the ‘‘TRUST Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:52 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4907.IH H4907 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4907 IH (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 45 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 15:52 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4907.IH H4907 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4907 IH (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 2035, 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 15:52 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4907.IH H4907 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4907 IH (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 15:52 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4907.IH H4907 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4907 IH the 75-year period beginning on the 1 date described in paragraph (1). 2 (ii) RECOMMENDATIONS OF COMMIT- 3 TEES.—Not later than 30 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 No- 17 vember 12, 2020, each Rescue Committee 18 shall meet to consider, and may vote on— 19 (I) a report that contains a de- 20 tailed statement of the findings, con- 21 clusions, and recommendations of the 22 Rescue Committee described in sub- 23 paragraph (A)(i) and the estimate of 24 the Congressional Budget Office re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:52 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4907.IH H4907 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4907 IH quired under paragraph (5)(D)(ii); 1 and 2 (II) legislative language to carry 3 out the recommendations of the Res- 4 cue Committee in the report described 5 in subclause (I), which shall include a 6 statement of the economic and budg- 7 etary effects of the recommendations 8 during the 75-year period beginning 9 on the date described in paragraph 10 (1). 11 (ii) ADVISORY NATURE.—Any pro- 12 posed change to the Standing Rules of the 13 Senate or the Rules of the House of Rep- 14 resentatives included in a report or legisla- 15 tive language under clause (i) shall be con- 16 sidered to be merely advisory. 17 (iii) APPROVAL OF REPORT AND LEG- 18 ISLATIVE LANGUAGE.—A report and legis- 19 lative language of a Rescue Committee 20 under clause (i) shall require the approval 21 of a majority of the members of the Rescue 22 Committee, provided that such majority 23 shall be required to include not less than 24 2 members of each party. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:52 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4907.IH H4907 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 4907 IH (iv) ADDITIONAL VIEWS.— 1 (I) IN GENERAL.—A member of 2 a Rescue Committee who gives notice 3 of an intention to file supplemental, 4 minority, or additional views at the 5 time of the final Rescue Committee 6 vote on the approval of the report and 7 legislative language of the Rescue 8 Committee under clause (i) shall be 9 entitled to 3 days to file those views 10 in writing with the staff director of 11 the Rescue Committee. 12 (II) INCLUSION IN REPORT.— 13 Views filed under subclause (I) shall 14 be included in the report of the rel- 15 evant Rescue Committee under clause 16 (i) and printed in the same volume, or 17 part thereof, and such inclusion shall 18 be noted on the cover of the report, 19 except that, in the absence of timely 20 notice, the report may be printed and 21 transmitted immediately without such 22 views. 23 (v) REPORT AND LEGISLATIVE LAN- 24 GUAGE TO BE MADE PUBLIC.—Upon the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:52 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4907.IH H4907 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 4907 IH approval or disapproval of a report and 1 legislative language under clause (i) by a 2 Rescue Committee, the Rescue Committee 3 shall promptly make the report, the legisla- 4 tive language, and a record of the vote on 5 the report and legislative language avail- 6 able to the public. 7 (vi) SUBMISSION OF REPORT AND 8 LEGISLATIVE LANGUAGE.—If a report and 9 legislative language are approved by a Res- 10 cue Committee under clause (i), not later 11 than 3 days after the date on which the re- 12 port and legislative language are made 13 available to the public under clause (v), the 14 Rescue Committee shall submit the report 15 and legislative language to the President, 16 the Vice President, the Speaker of the 17 House of Representatives, and the majority 18 and minority leaders of each House of 19 Congress. 20 (vii) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.— 21 Nothing in this subparagraph shall be con- 22 strued to prohibit a Rescue Committee 23 from voting on a report and legislative lan- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:52 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4907.IH H4907 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 4907 IH guage under clause (i) before November 1 12, 2020. 2 (4) MEMBERSHIP.— 3 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each Rescue Com- 4 mittee shall be composed of 12 members ap- 5 pointed in accordance with subparagraph (B). 6 (B) APPOINTMENT.—Not later than 14 7 days after the date described in paragraph (1), 8 with respect to each Rescue Committee— 9 (i) the majority leader of the Senate 10 shall appoint 3 individuals from among the 11 Members of the Senate who shall serve as 12 members of the Rescue Committee; 13 (ii) the minority leader of the Senate 14 shall appoint 3 individuals from among the 15 Members of the Senate who shall serve as 16 members of the Rescue Committee; 17 (iii) the Speaker of the House of Rep- 18 resentatives shall appoint 3 individuals 19 from among the Members of the House of 20 Representatives who shall serve as mem- 21 bers of the Rescue Committee; and 22 (iv) the minority leader of the House 23 of Representatives shall appoint 3 individ- 24 uals from among the Members of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:52 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4907.IH H4907 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 4907 IH House of Representatives who shall serve 1 as members of the Rescue Committee. 2 (C) CO-CHAIRS.— 3 (i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 14 4 days after the date described in paragraph 5 (1), with respect to each Rescue Com- 6 mittee— 7 (I) the majority leader of the 8 Senate shall appoint 1 individual from 9 among the members of the Rescue 10 Committee who shall serve as a co- 11 chair of the Rescue Committee; and 12 (II) the Speaker of the House of 13 Representatives shall appoint 1 indi- 14 vidual from among the members of 15 the Rescue Committee who shall serve 16 as a co-chair of the Rescue Com- 17 mittee. 18 (ii) STAFF DIRECTOR.—With respect 19 to each Rescue Committee, the co-chairs of 20 the Rescue Committee, acting jointly, shall 21 hire the staff director of the Rescue Com- 22 mittee. 23 (D) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:52 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4907.IH H4907 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 4907 IH (i) IN GENERAL.—The members of a 1 Rescue Committee shall be appointed for 2 the life of the Rescue Committee. 3 (ii) VACANCY.— 4 (I) IN GENERAL.—Any vacancy 5 in a Rescue Committee shall not af- 6 fect the powers of the Rescue Com- 7 mittee, but shall be filled not later 8 than 14 days after the date on which 9 the vacancy occurs, in the same man- 10 ner as the original appointment was 11 made. 12 (II) INELIGIBLE MEMBERS.—If a 13 member of a Rescue Committee ceases 14 to be a Member of the Senate or the 15 House of Representatives, as applica- 16 ble— 17 (aa) the member shall no 18 longer be a member of the Res- 19 cue Committee; and 20 (bb) a vacancy in the Rescue 21 Committee exists. 22 (5) ADMINISTRATION.— 23 (A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to each 24 Rescue Committee, to enable the Rescue Com- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:52 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4907.IH H4907 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 4907 IH mittee to exercise the powers, functions, and 1 duties of the Rescue Committee, there are au- 2 thorized to be disbursed by the Senate the ac- 3 tual and necessary expenses of the Rescue Com- 4 mittee approved by the co-chairs of the Rescue 5 Committee, subject to the rules and regulations 6 of the Senate. 7 (B) EXPENSES.—With respect to each 8 Rescue Committee, in carrying out the func- 9 tions of the Rescue Committee, the Rescue 10 Committee is authorized to incur expenses in 11 the same manner and under the same condi- 12 tions as the Joint Economic Committee is au- 13 thorized under section 11(d) of the Employment 14 Act of 1946 (15 U.S.C. 1024(d)). 15 (C) QUORUM.—With respect to each Res- 16 cue Committee, 7 members of the Rescue Com- 17 mittee shall constitute a quorum for purposes of 18 voting, meeting, and holding hearings. 19 (D) VOTING.— 20 (i) PROXY VOTING.—No proxy voting 21 shall be allowed on behalf of any member 22 of a Rescue Committee. 23 (ii) CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE 24 ESTIMATES.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:52 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4907.IH H4907 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 4907 IH (I) IN GENERAL.—The Director 1 of the Congressional Budget Office 2 shall, with respect to the legislative 3 language of a Rescue Committee 4 under paragraph (3)(B)(i)(II), provide 5 to the Rescue Committee— 6 (aa) estimates of the legisla- 7 tive language in accordance with 8 sections 308(a) and 201(f) of the 9 Congressional Budget Act of 10 1974 (2 U.S.C. 639(a) and 11 601(f)); and 12 (bb) information on the 13 budgetary effect of the legislative 14 language during the 75-year pe- 15 riod beginning on the date de- 16 scribed in paragraph (1). 17 (II) LIMITATION.—A Rescue 18 Committee may not vote on any 19 version of the report, recommenda- 20 tions, or legislative language of the 21 Rescue Committee under paragraph 22 (3)(B)(i) unless the estimates and in- 23 formation described in subclause (I) 24 of this clause are made available for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:52 Nov 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4907.IH H4907 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 14 •HR 4907 IH consideration by all members of the 1 Rescue Committee not later than 48 2 hours before that vote, as certified by 3 the co-chairs of the Rescue Com- 4 mittee. 5 (E) MEETINGS.— 6 (i [Text truncated for display. 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