[Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 105th Congress]
[105th Congress]
[House Document 104-272]
[Rules of the House of Representatives]
[Pages 857-860]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 857]]
 

                               Rule XLIX.


          establishment of statutory limit on the public debt.


[[Page 858]]

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 859]]

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 860]]

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. ----).