[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2897 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 2897

To increase the public debt limit, to protect the social security trust 
  funds and other federal trust funds and accounts invested in public 
               debt obligations, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 25, 1996

Mr. Smith of Michigan introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on 
   Government Reform and Oversight, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To increase the public debt limit, to protect the social security trust 
  funds and other federal trust funds and accounts invested in public 
               debt obligations, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. INCREASE IN PUBLIC DEBT LIMIT.

    Subsection (b) of section 3101 of title 31, United States Code, is 
amended by striking the dollar amount contained therein and inserting 
``$4,920,000,000,000''.

SEC. 2. APPLICABILITY OF PUBLIC DEBT LIMIT TO FEDERAL TRUST FUNDS AND 
              OTHER FEDERAL ACCOUNTS.

    (a) Protection of Federal Funds.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law--
            (1) no officer or employee of the United States may--
                    (A) delay the deposit of any amount into (or delay 
                the credit of any amount to) any Federal fund or 
                otherwise vary from the normal terms, procedures, or 
                timing for making such deposits or credits, or
                    (B) refrain from the investment in public debt 
                obligations of amounts in any Federal fund,
        if a purpose of such action or inaction is to not increase the 
        amount of outstanding public debt obligations, and
            (2) no officer or employee of the United States may 
        disinvest amounts in any Federal fund which are invested in 
        public debt obligations if a purpose of the disinvestment is to 
        reduce the amount of outstanding public debt obligations.
    (b) Protection of Benefits and Expenditures for Administrative 
Expenses.--
            (1) In general.--Notwithstanding subsection (a), during any 
        period for which cash benefits or administrative expenses would 
        not otherwise be payable from a covered benefits fund by reason 
        of an inability to issue further public debt obligations 
        because of the applicable public debt limit, public debt 
        obligations held by such covered benefits fund shall be sold or 
        redeemed only for the purpose of making payment of such 
        benefits or administrative expenses and only to the extent cash 
        assets of the covered benefits fund are not available from 
        month to month for making payment of such benefits or 
        administrative expenses.
            (2) Issuance of corresponding debt.--For purposes of 
        undertaking the sale or redemption of public debt obligations 
        held by a covered benefits fund pursuant to paragraph (1), the 
        Secretary of the Treasury may issue corresponding public debt 
        obligations to the public, in order to obtain the cash 
        necessary for payment of benefits or administrative expenses 
        from such covered benefits fund, notwithstanding the public 
        debt limit.
            (3) Advance notice of sale or redemption.--Not less than 3 
        days prior to the date on which, by reason of the public debt 
        limit, the Secretary of the Treasury expects to undertake a 
        sale or redemption authorized under paragraph (1), the 
        Secretary of the Treasury shall report to each House of the 
        Congress and to the Comptroller General of the United States 
        regarding the expected sale or redemption. Upon receipt of such 
        report, the Comptroller General shall review the extent of 
        compliance with subsection (a) and paragraphs (1) and (2) of 
        this subsection and shall issue such findings and 
        recommendations to each House of the Congress as the 
        Comptroller General considers necessary and appropriate.
    (c) Public Debt Obligation.--For purposes of this section, the term 
``public debt obligation'' means any obligation subject to the public 
debt limit established under section 3101 of title 31, United States 
Code.
    (d) Federal Fund.--For purposes of this section, the term ``Federal 
fund'' means any Federal trust fund or Government account established 
pursuant to Federal law to which the Secretary of the Treasury has 
issued or is expressly authorized by law directly to issue obligations 
under chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, in respect of public 
money, money otherwise required to be deposited in the Treasury, or 
amounts appropriated.
    (e) Covered Benefits Fund.--For purposes of subsection (b), the 
term ``covered benefits fund'' means any Federal fund from which cash 
benefits are payable by law in the form of retirement benefits, 
separation payments, life or disability insurance benefits, or 
dependent's or survivor's benefits, including (but not limited to) the 
following:
            (1) the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund;
            (2) the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund;
            (3) the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund;
            (4) the Government Securities Investment Fund;
            (5) the Department of Defense Military Retirement Fund;
            (6) the Unemployment Trust Fund;
            (7) each of the railroad retirement funds and accounts;
            (8) the Department of Defense Education Benefits Fund and 
        the Post-Vietnam Era Veterans Education Fund; and
            (9) the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund.
    (f) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) In general.--Subsections (j), (k), and (l) of section 
        8348 of title 5, United States Code, and subsections (g) and 
        (h) of section 8438 of such title are hereby repealed.
            (2) Retention of authority to restore trust funds with 
        respect to actions taken before date of enactment.--
                    (A) In general.--The repeals made by paragraph (1) 
                shall not apply to the restoration requirements imposed 
                on the Secretary of the Treasury (or the Executive 
                Director referred to in section 8438(g)(5) of title 5, 
                United States Code) with respect to amounts 
                attributable to actions taken under subsection (j)(1) 
                or (k) of section 8348, or section 8438(g)(1), of such 
                title before the date of the enactment of this Act.
                    (B) Restoration requirements.--For purposes of 
                subparagraph (A), the term ``restoration requirements'' 
                means the requirements imposed by--
                            (i) paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of 
                        subsection (j), and subsection (l)(1), of 
                        section 8348 of such title, and
                            (ii) paragraphs (2), (3), (4), and (5) of 
                        subsection (g), and subsection (h)(1), of 
                        section 8438 of such title.

SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON ISSUANCE OF PUBLIC DEBT OBLIGATIONS AFTER 
              DECEMBER 31, 2001.

    No obligation subject to the limitation under section 3101(b) of 
title 31, United States Code, may be issued to the public after 
December 31, 2001. The preceding sentence shall not apply to any 
obligation (or series of obligations) issued to refund an obligation 
issued before January 1, 2002.

SEC. 4. AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH PRIORITIES IN MANAGING CASH POSITION OF 
              UNITED STATES.

    Section 3101 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(d) Whenever the United States Government is unable to borrow in 
a timely manner sufficient funds to meet its needs because of the limit 
set forth in subsection (b), the Secretary of the Treasury is 
authorized to manage the cash position of the United States Government 
pursuant to priorities established by the President for making 
payments.''.

SEC. 5. PROHIBITION OF SALES OF ASSETS TO AVOID PUBLIC DEBT LIMIT.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no officer or employee 
of the United States may sell any property of the United States if the 
primary purpose of such sale is to avoid the limitation set forth in 
section 3101(b) of title 31, United States Code (relating to public 
debt limit).
                                 <all>