TRUST Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2733 To save and strengthen critical social contract programs of the Federal Government. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES OCTOBER 29, 2019 Mr. ROMNEY (for himself, Mr. MANCHIN, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. JONES, and Ms. SINEMA) 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’’ or the ‘‘TRUST Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) CO-CHAIR.—The term ‘‘co-chair’’ means an 8 individual appointed to serve as a co-chair of a Res- 9 cue Committee under section 4(a)(4)(C)(i). 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Oct 31, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2733.IS S2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2733 IS (2) CRITICAL SOCIAL CONTRACT PROGRAM.— 1 The term ‘‘critical social contract program’’ means 2 a Federal program the Secretary identifies in the re- 3 port under section 3. 4 (3) RESCUE COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Rescue 5 Committee’’ means a committee established under 6 section 4(a). 7 (4) RESCUE COMMITTEE BILL.—The term 8 ‘‘Rescue Committee bill’’ means a bill consisting 9 solely of legislative language that a Rescue Com- 10 mittee approves and submits under clauses (i) and 11 (vi), respectively, of section 4(a)(3)(B). 12 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 13 the Secretary of the Treasury. 14 SEC. 3. IDENTIFICATION OF CRITICAL SOCIAL CONTRACT 15 PROGRAMS. 16 Not later than 45 days after the date of enactment 17 of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a re- 18 port that identifies each Federal program— 19 (1) for which a Federal trust fund is estab- 20 lished; 21 (2) the amount of outlays of which, for the fis- 22 cal year immediately preceding the fiscal year in 23 which this Act is enacted, were not less than 24 $20,000,000,000; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Oct 31, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2733.IS S2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2733 IS (3) the amount of dedicated Federal funds and 1 Federal trust fund balances that the Secretary de- 2 termines will be inadequate, on any date during the 3 period beginning on the date of enactment of this 4 Act and ending on the last day of fiscal year 2035, 5 to meet the total amount of outlays of the Federal 6 program that would otherwise be made. 7 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF RESCUE COMMITTEES. 8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF RESCUE COMMITTEES.— 9 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—On the date on which 10 the Secretary submits the report under section 3, 11 there shall be established a Rescue Committee for 12 each critical social contract program. 13 (2) GOALS.—The goals of each Rescue Com- 14 mittee shall be to, with respect to the critical social 15 contract program for which the Rescue Committee is 16 established— 17 (A) avoid depletion of the Federal trust 18 fund established for the critical social contract 19 program; 20 (B) provide for the solvency of the Federal 21 trust fund established for the critical social con- 22 tract program during the 75-year period begin- 23 ning on the date described in paragraph (1); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Oct 31, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2733.IS S2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2733 IS (C) simplify the critical social contract pro- 1 gram to the extent practicable; and 2 (D) otherwise improve the critical social 3 contract program. 4 (3) DUTIES.— 5 (A) IN GENERAL.— 6 (i) IMPROVING CRITICAL SOCIAL CON- 7 TRACT PROGRAMS.—Each Rescue Com- 8 mittee may develop recommendations and 9 legislative language that will significantly 10 improve the critical social contract pro- 11 gram for which the Rescue Committee is 12 established, including by— 13 (I) increasing the duration of 14 positive balances of the Federal trust 15 fund established for the critical social 16 contract program; and 17 (II) to the extent practicable, 18 providing for the solvency of the Fed- 19 eral trust fund established for the 20 critical social contract program during 21 the 75-year period beginning on the 22 date described in paragraph (1). 23 (ii) RECOMMENDATIONS OF COMMIT- 24 TEES.—Not later than 30 days after the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Oct 31, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2733.IS S2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2733 IS date described in paragraph (1), each com- 1 mittee of the Senate and the House of 2 Representatives may transmit to the rel- 3 evant Rescue Committee any recommenda- 4 tions of the committee relating to changes 5 in law to improve the critical social con- 6 tract program for which the Rescue Com- 7 mittee is established in accordance with 8 the goals of the Rescue Committee de- 9 scribed in paragraph (2). 10 (B) REPORT, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND 11 LEGISLATIVE LANGUAGE.— 12 (i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than No- 13 vember 12, 2020, each Rescue Committee 14 shall meet to consider, and may vote on— 15 (I) a report that contains a de- 16 tailed statement of the findings, con- 17 clusions, and recommendations of the 18 Rescue Committee described in sub- 19 paragraph (A)(i) and the estimate of 20 the Congressional Budget Office re- 21 quired under paragraph (5)(D)(ii); 22 and 23 (II) legislative language to carry 24 out the recommendations of the Res- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Oct 31, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2733.IS S2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2733 IS cue Committee in the report described 1 in subclause (I), which shall include a 2 statement of the economic and budg- 3 etary effects of the recommendations 4 during the 75-year period beginning 5 on the date described in paragraph 6 (1). 7 (ii) ADVISORY NATURE.—Any pro- 8 posed change to the Standing Rules of the 9 Senate or the Rules of the House of Rep- 10 resentatives included in a report or legisla- 11 tive language under clause (i) shall be con- 12 sidered to be merely advisory. 13 (iii) APPROVAL OF REPORT AND LEG- 14 ISLATIVE LANGUAGE.—A report and legis- 15 lative language of a Rescue Committee 16 under clause (i) shall require the approval 17 of a majority of the members of the Rescue 18 Committee, provided that such majority 19 shall be required to include not less than 20 2 members of each party. 21 (iv) ADDITIONAL VIEWS.— 22 (I) IN GENERAL.—A member of 23 a Rescue Committee who gives notice 24 of an intention to file supplemental, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Oct 31, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2733.IS S2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 2733 IS minority, or additional views at the 1 time of the final Rescue Committee 2 vote on the approval of the report and 3 legislative language of the Rescue 4 Committee under clause (i) shall be 5 entitled to 3 days to file those views 6 in writing with the staff director of 7 the Rescue Committee. 8 (II) INCLUSION IN REPORT.— 9 Views filed under subclause (I) shall 10 be included in the report of the rel- 11 evant Rescue Committee under clause 12 (i) and printed in the same volume, or 13 part thereof, and such inclusion shall 14 be noted on the cover of the report, 15 except that, in the absence of timely 16 notice, the report may be printed and 17 transmitted immediately without such 18 views. 19 (v) REPORT AND LEGISLATIVE LAN- 20 GUAGE TO BE MADE PUBLIC.—Upon the 21 approval or disapproval of a report and 22 legislative language under clause (i) by a 23 Rescue Committee, the Rescue Committee 24 shall promptly make the report, the legisla- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Oct 31, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2733.IS S2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 2733 IS tive language, and a record of the vote on 1 the report and legislative language avail- 2 able to the public. 3 (vi) SUBMISSION OF REPORT AND 4 LEGISLATIVE LANGUAGE.—If a report and 5 legislative language are approved by a Res- 6 cue Committee under clause (i), not later 7 than 3 days after the date on which the re- 8 port and legislative language are made 9 available to the public under clause (v), the 10 Rescue Committee shall submit the report 11 and legislative language to the President, 12 the Vice President, the Speaker of the 13 House of Representatives, and the majority 14 and minority leaders of each House of 15 Congress. 16 (vii) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.— 17 Nothing in this subparagraph shall be con- 18 strued to prohibit a Rescue Committee 19 from voting on a report and legislative lan- 20 guage under clause (i) before November 21 12, 2020. 22 (4) MEMBERSHIP.— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Oct 31, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2733.IS S2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 2733 IS (A) IN GENERAL.—Each Rescue Com- 1 mittee shall be composed of 12 members ap- 2 pointed in accordance with subparagraph (B). 3 (B) APPOINTMENT.—Not later than 14 4 days after the date described in paragraph (1), 5 with respect to each Rescue Committee— 6 (i) the majority leader of the Senate 7 shall appoint 3 individuals from among the 8 Members of the Senate who shall serve as 9 members of the Rescue Committee; 10 (ii) the minority leader of the Senate 11 shall appoint 3 individuals from among the 12 Members of the Senate who shall serve as 13 members of the Rescue Committee; 14 (iii) the Speaker of the House of Rep- 15 resentatives shall appoint 3 individuals 16 from among the Members of the House of 17 Representatives who shall serve as mem- 18 bers of the Rescue Committee; and 19 (iv) the minority leader of the House 20 of Representatives shall appoint 3 individ- 21 uals from among the Members of the 22 House of Representatives who shall serve 23 as members of the Rescue Committee. 24 (C) CO-CHAIRS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Oct 31, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2733.IS S2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 2733 IS (i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 14 1 days after the date described in paragraph 2 (1), with respect to each Rescue Com- 3 mittee— 4 (I) the majority leader of the 5 Senate shall appoint 1 individual from 6 among the members of the Rescue 7 Committee who shall serve as a co- 8 chair of the Rescue Committee; and 9 (II) the Speaker of the House of 10 Representatives shall appoint 1 indi- 11 vidual from among the members of 12 the Rescue Committee who shall serve 13 as a co-chair of the Rescue Com- 14 mittee. 15 (ii) STAFF DIRECTOR.—With respect 16 to each Rescue Committee, the co-chairs of 17 the Rescue Committee, acting jointly, shall 18 hire the staff director of the Rescue Com- 19 mittee. 20 (D) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT.— 21 (i) IN GENERAL.—The members of a 22 Rescue Committee shall be appointed for 23 the life of the Rescue Committee. 24 (ii) VACANCY.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Oct 31, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2733.IS S2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 2733 IS (I) IN GENERAL.—Any vacancy 1 in a Rescue Committee shall not af- 2 fect the powers of the Rescue Com- 3 mittee, but shall be filled not later 4 than 14 days after the date on which 5 the vacancy occurs, in the same man- 6 ner as the original appointment was 7 made. 8 (II) INELIGIBLE MEMBERS.—If a 9 member of a Rescue Committee ceases 10 to be a Member of the Senate or the 11 House of Representatives, as applica- 12 ble— 13 (aa) the member shall no 14 longer be a member of the Res- 15 cue Committee; and 16 (bb) a vacancy in the Rescue 17 Committee exists. 18 (5) ADMINISTRATION.— 19 (A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to each 20 Rescue Committee, to enable the Rescue Com- 21 mittee to exercise the powers, functions, and 22 duties of the Rescue Committee, there are au- 23 thorized to be disbursed by the Senate the ac- 24 tual and necessary expenses of the Rescue Com- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Oct 31, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2733.IS S2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 2733 IS mittee approved by the co-chairs of the Rescue 1 Committee, subject to the rules and regulations 2 of the Senate. 3 (B) EXPENSES.—With respect to each 4 Rescue Committee, in carrying out the func- 5 tions of the Rescue Committee, the Rescue 6 Committee is authorized to incur expenses in 7 the same manner and under the same condi- 8 tions as the Joint Economic Committee is au- 9 thorized under section 11(d) of the Employment 10 Act of 1946 (15 U.S.C. 1024(d)). 11 (C) QUORUM.—With respect to each Res- 12 cue Committee, 7 members of the Rescue Com- 13 mittee shall constitute a quorum for purposes of 14 voting, meeting, and holding hearings. 15 (D) VOTING.— 16 (i) PROXY VOTING.—No proxy voting 17 shall be allowed on behalf of any member 18 of a Rescue Committee. 19 (ii) CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE 20 ESTIMATES.— 21 (I) IN GENERAL.—The Director 22 of the Congressional Budget Office 23 shall, with respect to the legislative 24 language of a Rescue Committee 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Oct 31, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2733.IS S2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 2733 IS under paragraph (3)(B)(i)(II), provide 1 to the Rescue Committee— 2 (aa) estimates of the legisla- 3 tive language in accordance with 4 sections 308(a) and 201(f) of the 5 Congressional Budget Act of 6 1974 (2 U.S.C. 639(a) and 7 601(f)); and 8 (bb) information on the 9 budgetary effect of the legislative 10 language during the 75-year pe- 11 riod beginning on the date de- 12 scribed in paragraph (1). 13 (II) LIMITATION.—A Rescue 14 Committee may not vote on any 15 version of the report, recommenda- 16 tions, or legislative language of the 17 Rescue Committee under paragraph 18 (3)(B)(i) unless the estimates and in- 19 formation described in subclause (I) 20 of this clause are made available for 21 consideration by all members of the 22 Rescue Committee not later than 48 23 hours before that vote, as certified by 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Oct 31, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2733.IS S2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 14 •S 2733 IS the co-chairs of the Rescue Com- 1 mittee. 2 (E) MEETINGS.— 3 (i) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 4 45 days after the date described in para- 5 graph (1), each Rescue Committee shall 6 hold the first meeting of the Rescue Com- 7 mittee. 8 (ii) AGENDA.—For each meeting of 9 each Rescue Committee, the co-chairs of 10 the [Text truncated for display. 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