TRUST Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4323 To save and strengthen critical social contract programs of the Federal Government. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 27, 2020 Mr. ROMNEY (for himself, Mr. MANCHIN, Mr. YOUNG, Ms. SINEMA, Mrs. CAP- ITO, Mr. JONES, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. KING, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. WAR- NER, Mr. PERDUE, Mr. CORNYN, Ms. MCSALLY, Mr. ROUNDS, Mr. SUL- LIVAN, and Mr. CRAMER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance AUGUST 3, 2020 Committee discharged; 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 of 2020’’ or the ‘‘TRUST Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Aug 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4323.RCS S4323 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 S 4323 RCS (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 earlier than January 4, 2021, and not later than 20 January, 11, 2021, the Secretary shall submit to Congress 21 a report that identifies each Federal program— 22 (1) for which a Federal trust fund is estab- 23 lished; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Aug 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4323.RCS S4323 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 S 4323 RCS (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 23:54 Aug 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4323.RCS S4323 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 S 4323 RCS (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 23:54 Aug 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4323.RCS S4323 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 S 4323 RCS the 75-year period beginning on the 1 date described in paragraph (1). 2 (ii) RECOMMENDATIONS OF COMMIT- 3 TEES.—Not later than 60 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 17 June 1, 2021, 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 23:54 Aug 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4323.RCS S4323 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 S 4323 RCS 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 23:54 Aug 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4323.RCS S4323 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 S 4323 RCS (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 23:54 Aug 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4323.RCS S4323 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 S 4323 RCS approval or disapproval of a report and 1 legislative language under clause (i) by a 2 Rescue Committee, the Rescue Committee 3 shall promptly, and not more than 24 4 hours after the approval or disapproval, 5 make the report, the legislative language, 6 and a record of the vote on the report and 7 legislative language available to the public. 8 (vi) SUBMISSION OF REPORT AND 9 LEGISLATIVE LANGUAGE.—If a report and 10 legislative language are approved by a Res- 11 cue Committee under clause (i), not later 12 than 3 days after the date on which the re- 13 port and legislative language are made 14 available to the public under clause (v), the 15 Rescue Committee shall submit the report 16 and legislative language to the President, 17 the Vice President, the Speaker of the 18 House of Representatives, and the majority 19 and minority leaders of each House of 20 Congress. 21 (vii) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.— 22 Nothing in this subparagraph shall be con- 23 strued to prohibit a Rescue Committee 24 from voting on a report and legislative lan- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Aug 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4323.RCS S4323 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 S 4323 RCS guage under clause (i) before June 1, 1 2021. 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 23:54 Aug 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4323.RCS S4323 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 S 4323 RCS 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 leadership of the Senate 8 and House of Representatives of the 9 same political party as the President 10 shall appoint 1 individual from among 11 the members of the Rescue Committee 12 who shall serve as a co-chair of the 13 Rescue Committee; and 14 (II) the leadership of the Senate 15 and House of Representatives of the 16 opposite political party as the Presi- 17 dent, shall appoint 1 individual from 18 among the members of the Rescue 19 Committee who shall serve as a co- 20 chair of the Rescue Committee. 21 (ii) STAFF DIRECTOR.—With respect 22 to each Rescue Committee, the co-chairs of 23 the Rescue Committee, acting jointly, shall 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Aug 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4323.RCS S4323 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 S 4323 RCS hire the staff director of the Rescue Com- 1 mittee. 2 (D) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT.— 3 (i) IN GENERAL.—The members of a 4 Rescue Committee shall be appointed for 5 the life of the Rescue Committee. 6 (ii) VACANCY.— 7 (I) IN GENERAL.—Any vacancy 8 in a Rescue Committee shall not af- 9 fect the powers of the Rescue Com- 10 mittee, but shall be filled not later 11 than 14 days after the date on which 12 the vacancy occurs, in the same man- 13 ner as the original appointment was 14 made. 15 (II) INELIGIBLE MEMBERS.—If a 16 member of a Rescue Committee ceases 17 to be a Member of the Senate or the 18 House of Representatives, as applica- 19 ble— 20 (aa) the member shall no 21 longer be a member of the Res- 22 cue Committee; and 23 (bb) a vacancy in the Rescue 24 Committee exists. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Aug 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4323.RCS S4323 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 S 4323 RCS (5) ADMINISTRATION.— 1 (A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to each 2 Rescue Committee, to enable the Rescue Com- 3 mittee to exercise the powers, functions, and 4 duties of the Rescue Committee, there are au- 5 thorized to be disbursed by the Senate the ac- 6 tual and necessary expenses of the Rescue Com- 7 mittee approved by the co-chairs of the Rescue 8 Committee, subject to the rules and regulations 9 of the Senate. 10 (B) EXPENSES.—With respect to each 11 Rescue Committee, in carrying out the func- 12 tions of the Rescue Committee, the Rescue 13 Committee is authorized to incur expenses in 14 the same manner and under the same condi- 15 tions as the Joint Economic Committee is au- 16 thorized under section 11(d) of the Employment 17 Act of 1946 (15 U.S.C. 1024(d)). 18 (C) QUORUM.—With respect to each Res- 19 cue Committee, 7 members of the Rescue Com- 20 mittee shall constitute a quorum for purposes of 21 voting, meeting, and holding hearings. 22 (D) VOTING.— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Aug 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4323.RCS S4323 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 S 4323 RCS (i) PROXY VOTING.—No proxy voting 1 shall be allowed on behalf of any member 2 of a Rescue Committee. 3 (ii) CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE 4 ESTIMATES.— 5 (I) IN GENERAL.—The Director 6 of the Congressional Budget Office 7 shall, with respect to the legislative 8 language of a Rescue Committee 9 under paragraph (3)(B)(i)(II), provide 10 to the Rescue Committee— 11 (aa) estimates of the legisla- 12 tive language in accordance with 13 sections 308(a) and 201(f) of the 14 Congressional Budget Act of 15 1974 (2 U.S.C. 639(a) and 16 601(f)); and 17 (bb) information on the 18 budgetary effect of the legislative 19 language during the 75-year pe- 20 riod beginning on the date de- 21 scribed in paragraph (1). 22 (II) LIMITATION.—A Rescue 23 Committee may not vote on any 24 version of the report, recommenda- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Aug 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4323.RCS S4323 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 14 S 4323 RCS tions, or legislative language of the 1 Rescue Committee under paragraph 2 (3)(B)(i) unless the estimates and in- 3 formation described in subclause [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]