    [Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 104th Congress]
    [104th Congress]
    [House Document 103-342]
    [Rules of the House of Representatives]
    [Pages 821-824]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 821]]

                                   Rule XLIX.

              ESTABLISHMENT OF STATUTORY LIMIT ON THE PUBLIC DEBT.

    [[Page 822]]
    dent for his signature (and otherwise treated for all purposes) in the
    manner provided for bills and joint resolutions generally.

    Sec. 945. Public Debt Limit.

      1. Upon the  adoption by the
    Congress (under section 301 or 304 of the Congressional Budget Act of
    1974) of any concurrent resolution on the budget setting forth as the
    appropriate level of the public debt for the period to which such
    concurrent resolution relates an amount which is different from the
    amount of the statutory limit on the public debt that would otherwise be
    in effect for such period, the enrolling clerk of the House of
    Representatives shall prepare an engrossment of a joint resolution, in
    the form prescribed in clause 2, increasing or decreasing the statutory
    limit on the public debt. The vote by which the conference report on the
    concurrent resolution on the budget was agreed to in the House (or by
    which the concurrent resolution itself was adopted in the House, if
    there is no conference report) shall be deemed to have been a vote in
    favor of such joint resolution upon final passage in the House of
    Representatives. Upon the engrossment of such joint resolution it shall
    be deemed to have passed the House of Representatives and been duly
    certified and examined; the engrossed copy shall be signed by the Clerk
    and transmitted to the Senate for further legislative action; and (upon
    final passage by both Houses) the joint resolution shall be signed by
    the presiding officers of both Houses and presented to the Presi

      2. The matter after the resolving clause in any joint resolution
    described in clause 1 shall be as follows: ``That subsection (b) of
    section 3101 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking out
    the dollar limitation contained in such subsection and inserting in lieu
    thereof `$        '.'', with the blank being filled in with a limitation
    equal to the appropriate level of the public debt as set forth, pursuant
    to section 301(a)(5) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, in the
    concurrent resolution on the budget (whether such resolution was adopted
    under section 301, 304, or 310 of such Act). Only one joint resolution
    shall be prepared under clause 1 upon the adoption of any concurrent
    resolution on the budget; and, if the concurrent resolution set forth a
    different appropriate level of the public debt (pursuant to such section
    301(a)(5)) for each of two separate periods, the blank referred to in
    the preceding sentence shall be filled in with both the limitation which
    is to apply for the later of the two periods (specifying the date on
    which that limitation is to take effect) and the limitation which is to
    apply for the earlier of such periods.

    [[Page 823]]
    ment accompanying the conference report on any concurrent resolution on
    the budget, shall contain a clear statement of the effect under this
    rule that the adoption by both the House and the Senate of such
    concurrent resolution in the form in which it is being reported (and the
    adoption of the joint resolution thereupon prepared and enrolled under
    clause 1) would have upon the statutory limit on the public debt. It
    shall not be in order in the House of Representatives at any time to
    consider or adopt any concurrent resolution on the budget (or agree to
    any conference report thereon) if at that time the report accompanying
    such concurrent resolution (or the joint statement accompanying such
    conference report) does not comply with the requirements of this clause.
      3. The report of the Committee on the Budget of the House of
    Representatives accompanying any concurrent resolution on the budget
    under section 301(d) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, as well as
    the joint explanatory state

      4. Nothing in this rule shall be construed as limiting or otherwise
    affecting the power of the House of Representatives or the Senate to
    consider and pass a bill which (without regard to the procedures under
    clause 1) changes the statutory limit on the public debt most recently
    established under this rule or otherwise; and the rights of Members and
    committees of the House with respect to the introduction, consideration,
    and reporting of any such bill shall be determined as though this rule
    had not been adopted.

    [[Page 824]]
    interest by the United States (except such guaranteed obligations as
    may be held by the Secretary of the Treasury), determined under section
    3101(b) of title 31 after the application of section 3101(a), title 31
    which may be outstanding at any one time.

      5. As used in this rule, the term ``statutory limit on the public
    debt'' means the maximum face amount of obligations issued under
    authority of chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code and obligations
    guaranteed as to principal and

      This rule was added in the 96th Congress by Public Law 96-78 (93 Stat.
    589) and was originally applicable to concurrent resolutions on the
    budget for fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 1980 (fiscal
    1981). However, in the 96th Congress (H. Res. 642, Apr. 23, 1980, p.
    8800), the provisions of that public law amending the rules of the House
    were made applicable to the third concurrent resolution on the budget
    for Fiscal Year 1980 as well as the first concurrent resolution on the
    budget for Fiscal 1981 (H. Con. Res. 307, June 12, 1980, pp. 14505-19;
    see H.J. Res. 569 and H.J. Res. 570, June 13, 1980, p. 14609).
    Conforming changes were made in clauses 2 and 5 of this rule with the
    codification of title 31, United States Code, by Public Law 97-258 (96
    Stat. 1066). The rule was amended in the 98th Congress (H. Res. 241,
    June 23, 1983, p. 17162) to reflect the enactment into law (P.L. 98-34)
    of a new permanent, rather than temporary, debt limit. Clause 2 of the
    rule was rewritten, and clause 1 modified, to change the form of the
    joint resolution engrossed pursuant to the rule in order to delete
    references to a temporary debt limit and to reflect instead changes in a
    permanent debt limit. The rules change also provided that where a budget
    resolution contains more than one public debt limit figure (for the
    current and the next fiscal year), only one joint resolution be
    engrossed, containing the debt limit figure for the current fiscal year
    with a time limitation, and the debt limit figure for the following
    fiscal year as the permanent limit. The date of final House action in
    adopting the conference report on the concurrent resolution on the
    budget, rather than the date of final Senate action, when later, is the
    appropriate date under this rule for deeming the House to have passed
    the joint resolution (July 14, 1986, p. 16316; Speaker Wright, June 25,
    1987, p. 17424). Another conforming change in clause 1 was made in the
    Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (P.L. 99-177,
    Dec. 12, 1985, p. 36209) to delete reference to a second concurrent
    resolution on the budget (no longer required under section 310 of the
    Budget Act). This rule was rendered inapplicable to a conference report
    on a concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 1996 (sec. 3,
    H. Res. 149, May 17, 1995, p. ----).