[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 177 (Friday, November 18, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7832-S7834]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ENZI:
  S. 1909. A bill to amend title 31, United States Code, to provide for 
the issuance of Buy Back America Bonds; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. ENZI. I rise today to introduce my Buy Back America Bonds bill, 
S. 1909. This bill will not only help raise awareness of our Nation's 
debt crisis, but it will also give every American the chance to be a 
part of the solution to fix our country's fiscal dilemma. My bill will 
allow Americans to invest in this incredible country and bring foreign-
held U.S. debt back to American hands while at the same time reducing 
Federal Government spending. But before I talk about where my bill is 
going, I want to explain where I am coming from.
  In World War II, war bonds were sold to help pay for our Nation's 
national defense and reduce the amount of debt incurred. People from 
all kinds of backgrounds saved toward purchasing war bonds, often with 
nickels, dimes, and quarters. On the job, people deducted the cost of 
war bonds from their meager paychecks. Families invested in war bonds 
and saved for the future. During World War II, President Roosevelt even 
asked the Boy Scouts of America to sell war bonds, and they did. Boy 
Scouts and Girl Scouts worked with their packs and troops to sell bonds 
to their neighbors and communities. In other words, all across the 
country, folks of all walks and types were working together for one 
collective goal--to do their part for the country's war effort. Men, 
women, and children were selling and purchasing these war bonds, all in 
the name of lending a hand to our fellow countrymen and to pay for the 
costs of war.
  I was born during World War II. When I was born, my parents bought me 
a war bond. I still have that $20 bond today. Not cashing it was my 
first gift to my country, and it is also a keepsake to me.
  In 1941, when savings bonds were retitled as ``war bonds'' in the 
terrible and devastating aftermath of Pearl Harbor, the United States 
rallied as a collective nation in support of the war and war bond 
effort. At the time, though, the average American only earned about 
$2,000 a year. Despite these hardships and tough times, 134 million 
Americans were called on to be part of the war bond effort, and more 
than half of the U.S. population--85 million people--responded to the 
patriotic call to participate.
  The Scouts raised money and personally donated their own funds 10 
cents at a time in the form of stamps that could be pasted into a war 
bond booklet. When war bond books were complete, they could be taken to 
the local bank, and sometimes even the local post office, to purchase 
bonds. One innovative group even created a promotional cardboard with 
slots for 75 quarters that had to be filled before it could be redeemed 
for a bond.
  Showing his leadership and dedication to the effort, President 
Franklin Delano Roosevelt purchased the very first war bond issued. In 
part of President Roosevelt's April 30, 1941, radio address to the 
American people, he said:

       One thought is uppermost in my mind as I make grateful 
     acknowledgment of this dual honor. It is that in reserving 
     the first Defense Savings Bond and the first Defense Postal 
     Savings Stamps in the name of the President, the Secretary of 
     the Treasury and the Postmaster General have given emphasis 
     to the national character of this defense savings campaign. 
     This character of the campaign is national in the best sense 
     of the word, for it is going to reach down, we hope, to the 
     individual and the family in every community and on every 
     farm, in every State and every possession of the United 
     States.

  The President goes on to say:

       It is national and it is homey at the same time. For 
     example, I am buying not one stamp but ten stamps each to go 
     into a little book for each of my ten grandchildren. And the 
     first savings bond is being made out in the name of Mrs. 
     Roosevelt as beneficiary.
       It is fitting that the President in his purchases should be 
     a sort of a symbol of the determination of all the people to 
     save and sacrifice in defense of democracy. In a larger 
     sense, this first defense bond and these first defense stamps 
     sold to the President constitute tangible evidence of a 
     partnership--a partnership between all of the people and 
     their Government--entered into to safeguard and perpetuate 
     all of those precious freedoms which Government guarantees. 
     In this time of national peril, what we all must realize is 
     that the United States Government is you and I and all other 
     families next door all the way across the country and back 
     again. It is one great partnership.

  That ends the quote from President Roosevelt.
  The President concluded his address by asking his fellow Americans to 
demonstrate their faith in America by investing in the new defense 
bonds and stamps.

[[Page S7833]]

  I remember as a child bringing dimes to school so that I could 
purchase a stamp for my savings bond book--one stamp at a time, saving 
toward the price of a full savings bond. I remember vividly that the 
bond was a lofty $18.75. When I got my book filled, we could go down to 
the bank so that I could finally trade for my bond--that piece of paper 
showing that I had done my small part to help in the effort and make 
this country better. Kids of my generation learned the value of saving 
and helping their country through the savings bond program.
  Today, I rise to speak about a different sort of fight, and yet, at 
the same time, this fight is one that is no less serious than the one I 
remember as a child. Today, our Nation is struggling to fight a growing 
spending problem and a debt crisis. Debt is our problem now.
  It is time to get all of America involved, not with a promise of 
wealth but with a sense of investing in our country, of buying America 
back, pulling us back from the brink of bankruptcy to other countries. 
The national debt stands at $15 trillion, which breaks down to nearly 
$48,000 for every person in our entire country. These figures are a 
frightening reminder that we cannot continue to put off the tough 
choices and that we must restore the fiscal discipline to the Federal 
Government.
  This is a tough fight that has to be tackled on all fronts. Today I 
am proposing a step in the right direction and calling upon Americans 
for support of this effort. I am proposing that we bring American debt 
back to American hands. I am introducing the Buy Back America Bonds, S. 
1909. My bill would buy back American bonds to American citizens in 
affordable $25 increments so every American can afford to invest and do 
their part. The Treasury would then use the funds from these bonds to 
begin paying down the $4.4 trillion in foreign-held U.S. debt. 
Investing in Buy Back America Bonds would allow Americans to show their 
patriotism and faith in this great Nation.
  Unlike the war bonds of my childhood, Buy Back America Bonds would 
create a new series of savings bonds which are indexed for inflation as 
well as earning a fixed interest rate. By tying Buy Back America Bonds 
to inflation, we ensure the buying power of consumers' investments 
remains the same while also earning them additional interest. These 
could be called Gold Standard Bonds.
  Those are two ways the Buy Back America Bonds would earn and keep 
their value for investors in addition to their patriotic and symbolic 
investment. These are not going to be barn-burner investments, but they 
will help our Nation not only pay down our debt but pay down the amount 
of debt owed to foreign nations.
  What makes this bill particularly special is that for every bond 
purchased, citizens are also helping the Federal Government to reduce 
spending. Every year after the first year the amount of Buy Back 
America Bonds sold would be tallied and that exact amount would then be 
cut from Federal spending the following year.
  I stand before you to explain not only where I am coming from with my 
Buy Back America Bonds but also why our Nation needs a collective 
effort to rally around to make steps toward a more responsible Federal 
budget and getting our national debt under control. Investing in 
America and bringing foreign-held debt back to American hands is where 
I propose to start. I ask my colleagues and the American people to help 
me be an integral part of the debt crisis solution.
  Not only am I a father, I am a grandfather, and I want to be the 
first to purchase Buy Back America Bonds for my four grandchildren. I 
want my grandchildren and yours to have every opportunity for a great 
quality of life, to know the meaning of faith and investment in a 
prosperous United States. I am doing everything I can to ensure that 
happens. That means proposing solutions to problems and working to get 
my colleagues on board.
  So I rise and ask for the support of my colleagues for this great 
effort and support for S. 1909, my Buy Back America Bonds bill. What 
President Roosevelt said then is equally true now:

       In this time of national peril we must realize the U.S. 
     Government is you and I, and all other families next door all 
     the way across the country and back again. It is one great 
     partnership.

  Working together we can solve all of this. We need to solve all of 
this. We need to start solving it right now and this is one way to do 
it.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1909

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

     SECTION 1. BUY BACK AMERICA BONDS.

       (a) In General.--Subchapter I of chapter 31 of subtitle III 
     of title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
     after section 3105 the following new section:

     ``Sec. 3105a. Buy Back America Bonds

       ``(a) The Secretary shall establish and administer a new 
     series of United States savings bonds, to be known as`Buy 
     Back America Bonds'. Proceeds from the bonds shall be used 
     first solely to reduce the amount of foreign-held public 
     debt, and then to reduce other public debt.
       ``(b) A Buy Back America Bond shall be subject to such 
     terms and conditions of issue, conversion, redemption, and 
     maturation as the Secretary may prescribe, except that a Buy 
     Back America Bond shall not mature, and may not be redeemed 
     by the holder, earlier than 10 years from the date of issue 
     and shall mature not more than 20 years from the date of 
     issue. Interest on a Buy Back America Bond whenever paid 
     shall not be includible in gross income under the Internal 
     Revenue Code of 1986.
       ``(c) Buy Back America Bonds shall be issued at face value 
     and in denominations of not less than $25.
       ``(d) The redemption value of a Buy Back America Bond shall 
     be determined as the Secretary shall provide--
       ``(1) at a fixed interest rate equal to the rate applicable 
     to a Series I savings bond for the rate period during which 
     the Buy Back America Bond is purchased, and
       ``(2) for purposes of calculating yearly interest, by 
     increasing the purchase price of such Buy Back America Bond 
     in each calendar year after the year of purchase by an amount 
     equal to--
       ``(A) such purchase price, multiplied by
       ``(B) the cost-of-living adjustment determined under 
     section 1(f)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for such 
     calendar year, determined by substituting the calendar year 
     in which such bond was purchased for `1992' in subparagraph 
     (B) thereof.
       ``(e) If during any fiscal year during which any Buy Back 
     America Bond is outstanding--
       ``(1) the Federal budget deficit for such fiscal year is 
     less than the amount equal to 3 percent of gross domestic 
     product (as most recently computed and published by the 
     Department of Commerce); and
       ``(2) the public debt is less than the amount equal to 10 
     percent of gross domestic product (as so computed and 
     published);

     then any such bond may be redeemed without regard to 
     subsection (b).
       ``(f) A Buy Back America Bond may only be held by--
       ``(1) a citizen or resident of the United States;
       ``(2) a domestic partnership, or domestic corporation, not 
     more than 1 percent of the ownership interest of which is 
     held (directly or indirectly) by a person who is not a United 
     State person (as defined in section 7701(a)(30) of the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986); or
       ``(3) an estate or trust which is a United States person 
     (as so defined), unless there is a beneficiary of the trust 
     who is not a United States person (as so defined),

     and may be purchased only by an individual who provides a 
     valid social security account number (not including a 
     taxpayer identification number provided by the Internal 
     Revenue Service).
       ``(g) A Buy Back America Bond may be transferred as 
     provided by the Secretary, but only to an individual who has 
     a valid social security account number (not including a 
     taxpayer identification number provided by the Internal 
     Revenue Service).''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections subchapter I 
     of chapter 31 of subtitle III of title 31, United States 
     Code, is amended by inserting after section 3105 the 
     following new item:

``3105. Buy Back America Bonds.''.

     SEC. 2. DEFICIT REDUCTION.

       (a) Calculation.--The Office of Management and Budget shall 
     calculate the net deficit reduction resulting from the 
     implementation of this Act and the sale of Buy Back America 
     Bonds for the period beginning on the date of the sale of the 
     first such Buy Back America Bond and ending on the date that 
     is 1 year after such date.
       (b) Adjustment of the Discretionary Caps.--Effective on the 
     effective date of this Act, the limit for the appropriate 
     discretionary budget category set forth in section 251(c) and 
     251A of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act 
     of 1985 for the first fiscal year beginning after the date 
     that is 1 year after the date of the sale of the first Buy 
     Back America Bond shall be reduced by the amount of the net 
     deficit reduction calculated pursuant to subsection (a).

[[Page S7834]]

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