[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2830 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2830

To prohibit assistance to foreign countries whose governments hold more 
  than $500,000,000,000 in United States Treasury securities, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 25, 2013

  Mr. McCaul introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To prohibit assistance to foreign countries whose governments hold more 
  than $500,000,000,000 in United States Treasury securities, 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Prioritizing Debt Reduction in U.S. 
Foreign Assistance Act of 2013''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the 
                Committee on Appropriations, and the Committee on the 
                Budget of the Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee 
                on Appropriations, and the Committee on the Budget of 
                the House of Representatives.
            (2) Major foreign debt holder.--The term ``major foreign 
        debt holder'' means any foreign country the government of which 
        the Secretary of the Treasury determines holds more than 
        $500,000,000,000 in United States Treasury securities.
            (3) United states treasury securities.--The term ``United 
        States Treasury securities'' means obligations issued by the 
        United States under chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The Federal debt of the United States is approximately 
        $17 trillion.
            (2) Former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, Admiral Mike 
        Mullen, has repeatedly stated that the biggest threat to the 
        national security of the United States is its debt.
            (3) A growing proportion of the Federal debt of the United 
        States is held by foreign governments, to some of which the 
        United States provides direct foreign assistance.
            (4) According to a Department of the Treasury report 
        entitled ``Major Foreign Holders of Treasury Securities'', 
        foreign holdings of United States Treasury securities stood at 
        more than $4 trillion at the end of December 2012.
            (5) In August 2011, Standard and Poor's downgraded the 
        United States long-term sovereign credit from AAA to AA+ due to 
        America's excessive borrowing and unsustainable spending 
        levels.

SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the growing Federal debt of the United States 
        jeopardizes the national security and economic stability of the 
        United States; and
            (2) paying money owed to America's major foreign debt 
        holders is a better use of American taxpayer dollars than 
        providing such debt holders with United States foreign 
        assistance.

SEC. 5. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It shall be the policy of the United States to--
            (1) prohibit further United States foreign assistance to 
        major foreign debt holders; and
            (2) aggressively address the unsustainable Federal debt of 
        the United States.

SEC. 6. PROHIBITION ON ASSISTANCE TO MAJOR FOREIGN DEBT HOLDERS.

    Chapter 1 of part III of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 620N. PROHIBITION ON ASSISTANCE TO MAJOR FOREIGN DEBT HOLDERS.

    ``(a) Prohibition.--Except as provided in subsection (b), no 
assistance may be provided directly or indirectly under this Act to any 
foreign country the government of which the Secretary of the Treasury 
determines holds more than $500,000,000,000 in United States Treasury 
securities.
    ``(b) Exceptions.--Subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to 
the following:
            ``(1) Assistance to respond to an emergency.
            ``(2) Assistance to meet humanitarian needs, including 
        needs for food, medicine, medical supplies and equipment, 
        education, and clothing.
    ``(c) Waiver.--The Secretary of State may waive the prohibition 
under subsection (a) if the Secretary submits to the appropriate 
congressional committees a written certification that the waiver is in 
the national security interests of the United States.
    ``(d) Definitions.--In this section--
            ``(1) the term `appropriate congressional committees' 
        means--
                    ``(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the 
                Committee on Appropriations, and the Committee on the 
                Budget of the Senate; and
                    ``(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 
                Committee on Appropriations, and the Committee on the 
                Budget of the House of Representatives; and
            ``(2) the term `United States Treasury securities' means 
        obligations issued by the United States under chapter 31 of 
        title 31, United States Code.''.

SEC. 7. REPORT ON ASSISTANCE TO FOREIGN DEBT HOLDERS.

    (a) Annual Report.--Not later than September 30 of each year, the 
Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
committees a report on the provision of United States foreign 
assistance to foreign countries whose governments hold United States 
Treasury securities.
    (b) Content of Report.--Each report submitted under this section 
shall include the following:
            (1) An analysis of the current and foreseeable risks to the 
        long-term national security and economic stability of the 
        United States posed by the Federal debt of the United States.
            (2) How much foreign assistance per country, per year, has 
        been provided to foreign countries whose governments hold 
        United States Treasury securities.
    (c) Form.--Each report submitted under this section shall be 
submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified annex if 
necessary.
    (d) Public Availability.--The Secretary of State shall make each 
report required by subsection (a) available, in its unclassified form, 
to the public by posting it on the Internet website of the Department 
of State in a conspicuous manner and location.
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