Debt Ceiling Reform Act

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1882 To amend chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, to provide procedures for congressional disapproval of the issuance of additional debt. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 8, 2023 Mr. DURBIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To amend chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, to provide procedures for congressional disapproval of the issuance of additional debt. 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 ‘‘Debt Ceiling Reform 4 Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. PROCEDURES FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL 6 OF ISSUANCE OF ADDITIONAL DEBT. 7 Section 3101 of title 31, United States Code, is 8 amended to read as follows: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jun 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1882.IS S1882 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1882 IS ‘‘§ 3101. Public debt limit 1 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF JOINT RESOLUTION.—In this 2 section, the term ‘joint resolution’ means a joint resolu- 3 tion— 4 ‘‘(1) that is introduced during the period— 5 ‘‘(A) beginning on the date on which a cer- 6 tification under subsection (b)(1) is received; 7 and 8 ‘‘(B) ending on the date that is 3 calendar 9 days after the date described in subparagraph 10 (A) (or, if a House was not in session, the next 11 calendar day on which that House is in ses- 12 sion); 13 ‘‘(2) which does not have a preamble; 14 ‘‘(3) the title of which is only as follows: ‘Joint 15 resolution relating to the disapproval of the Sec- 16 retary of the Treasury’s exercise of authority to 17 issue additional debt, as submitted under section 18 3101 of title 31, United States Code, on 19 llllll’ (with the blank space being filled in 20 with the date on which the applicable certification 21 under subsection (b)(1) was received); and 22 ‘‘(4) the matter after the resolving clause of 23 which is only as follows: ‘That Congress disapproves 24 of the Secretary of the Treasury’s exercise of the au- 25 thority to issue additional debt, as exercised pursu- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jun 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1882.IS S1882 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1882 IS ant to the certification under section 3101(b) of title 1 31, United States Code.’. 2 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION.— 3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the 4 Treasury shall submit to Congress a written certifi- 5 cation whenever the Secretary of the Treasury deter- 6 mines that the debt is within $100,000,000,000 of 7 a $1,000,000,000,000 increment and that further 8 borrowing is required to meet existing commitments. 9 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY TO ISSUE DEBT AFTER CER- 10 TIFICATION.—Subject to the requirements of this 11 section, the United States may issue additional debt 12 as necessary to meet existing commitments on and 13 after the date on which the Secretary of the Treas- 14 ury submits a written certification to Congress 15 under paragraph (1). 16 ‘‘(3) RESOLUTION OF DISAPPROVAL.—Congress 17 may consider a joint resolution relating to each cer- 18 tification submitted by the Secretary of the Treasury 19 under paragraph (1). 20 ‘‘(c) ENACTMENT OF JOINT RESOLUTION.—The 21 United States may not issue additional debt if, not later 22 than 30 calendar days after the date on which Congress 23 receives a certification submitted under subsection (b)(1) 24 (regardless of whether Congress is in session), there is en- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jun 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1882.IS S1882 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1882 IS acted into law a joint resolution disapproving the Sec- 1 retary of the Treasury’s exercise of authority to issue addi- 2 tional debt. 3 ‘‘(d) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION IN THE HOUSE OF 4 REPRESENTATIVES.— 5 ‘‘(1) RECONVENING.—Upon receipt of a certifi- 6 cation submitted under subsection (b)(1), the Speak- 7 er, if the House of Representatives would otherwise 8 be adjourned, shall notify the Members of the House 9 of Representatives that, pursuant to this section, the 10 House of Representatives shall convene not later 11 than the second calendar day after receipt of such 12 certification. 13 ‘‘(2) REPORTING AND DISCHARGE.—Any com- 14 mittee of the House of Representatives to which a 15 joint resolution is referred shall report it to the 16 House of Representatives without amendment not 17 later than 5 calendar days after the date of intro- 18 duction of the joint resolution. If a committee fails 19 to report the joint resolution within that period, the 20 committee shall be discharged from further consider- 21 ation of the joint resolution and the joint resolution 22 shall be referred to the appropriate calendar. 23 ‘‘(3) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDERATION.—After 24 each committee authorized to consider a joint resolu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jun 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1882.IS S1882 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1882 IS tion reports it to the House of Representatives or 1 has been discharged from its consideration, it shall 2 be in order, not later than the sixth day after intro- 3 duction of the joint resolution, to move to proceed 4 to consider the joint resolution in the House of Rep- 5 resentatives. All points of order against the motion 6 are waived. Such a motion shall not be in order with 7 respect to a joint resolution relating to a certifi- 8 cation after the House of Representatives has dis- 9 posed of a motion to proceed that joint resolution. 10 The previous question shall be considered as ordered 11 on the motion to its adoption without intervening 12 motion. The motion shall not be debatable. A motion 13 to reconsider the vote by which the motion is dis- 14 posed of shall not be in order. 15 ‘‘(4) CONSIDERATION.—A joint resolution shall 16 be considered as read. All points of order against a 17 joint resolution and against its consideration are 18 waived. An amendment to a joint resolution is not 19 in order. The previous question shall be considered 20 as ordered on a joint resolution to its passage with- 21 out intervening motion except 2 hours of debate 22 equally divided and controlled by the proponent and 23 an opponent. A motion to reconsider the vote on 24 passage of a joint resolution shall not be in order. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jun 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1882.IS S1882 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1882 IS ‘‘(e) EXPEDITED PROCEDURE IN THE SENATE.— 1 ‘‘(1) RECONVENING.—Upon receipt of a certifi- 2 cation under subsection (b)(1), if the Senate has ad- 3 journed or recessed for more than 2 days, the major- 4 ity leader of the Senate, after consultation with the 5 minority leader of the Senate, shall notify the Mem- 6 bers of the Senate that, pursuant to this section, the 7 Senate shall convene not later than the second cal- 8 endar day after receipt of such message. 9 ‘‘(2) PLACEMENT ON CALENDAR.—Upon intro- 10 duction in the Senate, a joint resolution shall be im- 11 mediately placed on the calendar. 12 ‘‘(3) FLOOR CONSIDERATION.— 13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding rule 14 XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, it is 15 in order at any time during the period begin- 16 ning on the day after the date on which Con- 17 gress receives a certification under subsection 18 (b)(1) and ending on the 6th day after the date 19 on which Congress receives the certification 20 (even though a previous motion to the same ef- 21 fect has been disagreed to) to move to proceed 22 to the consideration of a joint resolution relat- 23 ing to the certification, and all points of order 24 against the joint resolution (and against consid- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jun 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1882.IS S1882 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1882 IS eration of the joint resolution) are waived. The 1 motion to proceed is not debatable. The motion 2 is not subject to a motion to postpone. A mo- 3 tion to reconsider the vote by which the motion 4 is agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in 5 order. If a motion to proceed to the consider- 6 ation of a joint resolution is agreed to, the joint 7 resolution shall remain the unfinished business 8 until disposed of. 9 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATION.—Consideration of a 10 joint resolution, and on all debatable motions 11 and appeals in connection therewith, shall be 12 limited to not more than 10 hours, which shall 13 be divided equally between the majority and mi- 14 nority leaders or their designees. A motion fur- 15 ther to limit debate is in order and not debat- 16 able. An amendment to a joint resolution, a mo- 17 tion to postpone, or a motion to proceed to the 18 consideration of other business, or a motion to 19 recommit a joint resolution is not in order. 20 ‘‘(C) VOTE ON PASSAGE.—If the Senate 21 has voted to proceed to a joint resolution, the 22 vote on passage of the joint resolution shall 23 occur immediately following the conclusion of 24 consideration of the joint resolution, and a sin- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jun 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1882.IS S1882 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1882 IS gle quorum call at the conclusion of the debate 1 if requested in accordance with the rules of the 2 Senate. 3 ‘‘(D) RULINGS OF THE CHAIR ON PROCE- 4 DURE.—Appeals from the decisions of the Chair 5 relating to the application of the rules of the 6 Senate, as the case may be, to the procedure re- 7 lating to a joint resolution shall be decided 8 without debate. 9 ‘‘(f) COORDINATION WITH ACTION BY OTHER 10 HOUSE.— 11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If, before passing a joint 12 resolution relating to a certification under subsection 13 (b)(1), one House receives from the other a joint 14 resolution relating to the same certification— 15 ‘‘(A) the joint resolution of the other 16 House shall not be referred to a committee; and 17 ‘‘(B) the procedure in the receiving House 18 shall be the same as if no joint resolution had 19 been received from the other House until the 20 vote on passage, when the joint resolution re- 21 ceived from the other House shall supplant the 22 joint resolution of the receiving House. 23 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF JOINT RESOLUTION OF 24 OTHER HOUSE.—If the Senate fails to introduce or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jun 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1882.IS S1882 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1882 IS consider a joint resolution under this section relating 1 to a certification under subsection (b)(1), the joint 2 resolution of the House relating to the same certifi- 3 cation shall be entitled to expedited floor procedures 4 under this section. 5 ‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF COMPANION MEASURES.— 6 If, following passage of a joint resolution in the Sen- 7 ate, the Senate receives the companion measure 8 from the House of Representatives, the companion 9 measure shall not be debatable. 10 ‘‘(4) CONSIDERATION AFTER PASSAGE.— 11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If Congress passes a 12 joint resolution, the period beginning on the 13 date the President is presented with the joint 14 resolution and ending on the date the President 15 signs, allows to become law without his signa- 16 ture, or vetoes and returns the joint resolution 17 (but excluding days when either House is not in 18 session) shall be disregarded in computing the 19 calendar day period described in subsection (c). 20 ‘‘(B) VETO MESSAGE.—Debate on a veto 21 message in the Senate under this section shall 22 be 1 hour equally divided between the majority 23 and minority leaders or their designees. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jun 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1882.IS S1882 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1882 IS ‘‘(5) VETO OVERRIDE.—If, within the calendar 1 day period described in subsection (c), Congress 2 overrides a veto of a joint resolution relating to a 3 certification submitted under subsection (b)(1), the 4 United States may not issue any additional debt 5 under this chapter. 6 ‘‘(g) RULES OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND 7 SENATE.—This subsection and subsections (a), (d), (e), 8 and (f) are enacted by Congress— 9 ‘‘(1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of 10 the Senate and House of Representatives, respec- 11 tively, and as such are deemed a part of the rules 12 of each House, respectively, but applicable only with 13 respect to the procedure to be followed in that 14 House in the case of a joint resolution, and they su- 15 persede other rules only to the extent that they are 16 inconsistent with such rules; and 17 ‘‘(2) with full recognition of the constitutional 18 right of either House to change the rules (so far as 19 relating to the procedure of that House) at any time, 20 in the same manner, and to the same extent as in 21 the case of any other rule of that House. 22 ‘‘(h) DEBT DEFINED.— 23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec- 24 tion, the term ‘debt’ means the face amount of obli- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jun 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1882.IS S1882 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1882 IS gations issued under this chapter and the face 1 amount of obligations whose principal and interest 2 are guaranteed by the United States Government 3 (except guaranteed obligations held by the Secretary 4 of the Treasury). 5 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF FACE AMOUNT.— 6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this 7 section, the current redemption value of an obli- 8 gation issued on a discount basis and redeem- 9 able before maturity at the option of its holder 10 is deemed to be the face amount of the obliga- 11 tion. 12 ‘‘(B) CERTAIN OBLIGATIONS NOT REDEEM- 13 ABLE BEFORE MATURITY.—For purposes of 14 this section, the face amount, for any month, of 15 any obligation issued on a discount basis that 16 is not redeemable before maturity at the option 17 of the holder of the obligation is an amount 18 equal to the sum of— 19 ‘‘(i) the original issue price of the ob- 20 ligation, plus 21 ‘‘(ii) the portion of the discount on 22 the obligation attributable to periods be- 23 fore the beginning of such month (as de- 24 termined under the principles of section 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jun 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1882.IS S1882 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1882 IS 1272(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1 1986 without regard to any exceptions con- 2 tained in paragraph (2) of such section).’’. 3 SEC. 3. REPEAL OF EXPIRE [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]