Extraordinary Measures Transparency Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3526 To require the Secretary of the Treasury to issue reports with respect to extraordinary measures, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 18, 2023 Mr. NUNN of Iowa (for himself and Mr. DAVIS of North Carolina) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means A BILL To require the Secretary of the Treasury to issue reports with respect to extraordinary measures, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Extraordinary Meas- 4 ures Transparency Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. REPORTS ON EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 31 of 7 title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 8 end the following: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Jun 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3526.IH H3526 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3526 IH ‘‘§ 3131. Reports on extraordinary measures 1 ‘‘(a) REPORT 30 DAYS BEFORE REACHING DEBT 2 LIMIT.—If the Secretary of the Treasury determines that 3 the public debt will reach the debt limit in 30 days, the 4 Secretary shall issue a report to the Congress that con- 5 tains— 6 ‘‘(1) a description of the extraordinary meas- 7 ures that the Secretary intends to use if the debt 8 limit is not raised; 9 ‘‘(2) an estimate of the cost of such extraor- 10 dinary measures; 11 ‘‘(3) a projection of how long such extraor- 12 dinary measures will fund the Federal Government; 13 and 14 ‘‘(4) a projection of the administrative cost of 15 taking such extraordinary measures. 16 ‘‘(b) DAILY REPORT WHILE USING EXTRAORDINARY 17 MEASURES.—The Secretary shall, during any period in 18 which the Secretary is using extraordinary measures, issue 19 a daily report to the Congress that contains a list of which 20 extraordinary measures were taken, including a list of how 21 much money was transferred and from which accounts the 22 money was transferred. 23 ‘‘(c) REPORT AFTER USING EXTRAORDINARY MEAS- 24 URES.—At the end of a period in which the Secretary was 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Jun 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3526.IH H3526 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3526 IH using extraordinary measures, the Secretary shall issue a 1 report to the Congress that contains— 2 ‘‘(1) a summary of the extraordinary measures 3 used; and 4 ‘‘(2) the administrative cost of taking such ex- 5 traordinary measures. 6 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 7 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATIVE COST.—With respect to 8 extraordinary measures, the term ‘administrative 9 cost’ means— 10 ‘‘(A) the personnel and consultant costs re- 11 quired to engage in the extraordinary measures; 12 ‘‘(B) any fees the Government has to pay 13 in connection with the extraordinary measures; 14 and 15 ‘‘(C) such other costs as the Secretary de- 16 termines appropriate. 17 ‘‘(2) DEBT LIMIT.—The term ‘debt limit’ 18 means the limit specified under section 3101, as 19 modified by section 3101A. 20 ‘‘(3) EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES.—The term 21 ‘extraordinary measures’ means— 22 ‘‘(A) directing or approving the issuance of 23 debt by the Federal Financing Bank for the 24 purpose of entering into an exchange trans- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Jun 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3526.IH H3526 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3526 IH action for debt that is subject to the limit under 1 this chapter; 2 ‘‘(B) suspending investments in the Gov- 3 ernment Securities Investment Fund of the 4 Thrift Savings Fund; 5 ‘‘(C) suspending investments in the sta- 6 bilization fund established under section 5302; 7 ‘‘(D) suspending new investments in the 8 Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund or 9 the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits 10 Fund; 11 ‘‘(E) selling or redeeming securities, obli- 12 gations, or other invested assets of the Civil 13 Service Retirement and Disability Fund or the 14 Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund 15 before maturity; 16 ‘‘(F) suspending sales of State and Local 17 Government Series Treasury securities; and 18 ‘‘(G) such other measures as the Secretary 19 determines appropriate. 20 ‘‘(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 21 the Secretary of the Treasury.’’. 22 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of analysis 23 for chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, is amended 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Jun 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3526.IH H3526 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3526 IH by inserting after the item relating to section 3130 the 1 following: 2 ‘‘3131. Reports on extraordinary measures.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Jun 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3526.IH H3526 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS