    [Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 108th Congress]
    [108th Congress]
    [House Document 107-284]
    [Rules of the House of Representatives]
    [Pages 939-942]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                   Rule XXVII

                         Statutory Limit on Public Debt

    Sec. 1104. Public debt limit.

      1.  Upon adoption by Congress
    of a concurrent resolution on the budget under section 301 or 304 of the
    Congressional Budget Act of 1974 that sets forth, as the appropriate
    level of the public debt for the period to which the concurrent
    resolution relates, an amount that is different from the amount of the
    statutory limit on the public debt that otherwise would be in effect for
    that period, the Clerk shall prepare an engrossment of a joint
    resolution increasing or decreasing, as the case may be, the statutory
    limit on the public debt in the form prescribed in clause 2. Upon
    engrossment of the joint resolution, the vote by which the concurrent
    resolution on the budget was finally agreed to in the House shall also
    be considered as a vote on passage of the joint resolution in the House,
    and the joint resolution shall be considered as passed by the House and
    duly certified and examined. The engrossed copy shall be signed by the
    Clerk and transmitted to the Senate for further legislative action.

    [[Page 940]]

    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 with a dollar limitation equal to the appropriate
    level of the public debt set forth pursuant to section 301(a)(5) of the
    Congressional Budget Act of 1974 in the relevant concurrent resolution
    described in clause 1. If an adopted concurrent resolution under clause
    1 sets forth different appropriate levels of the public debt for
    separate periods, only one engrossed joint resolution shall be prepared
    under clause 1; and the blank referred to in the preceding sentence
    shall be filled with the limitation that is to apply for each period.
      2. The matter after the resolving clause in a joint resolution
    described in clause 1 shall be as

      3. (a) The report of the Committee on the Budget on a concurrent
    resolution described in clause 1 and the joint explanatory statement of
    the managers on a conference report to accompany such a concurrent
    resolution each shall contain a clear statement of the effect the
    eventual enactment of a joint resolution engrossed under this rule would
    have on the statutory limit on the public debt.

      (b) It shall not be in order for the House to consider a concurrent
    resolution described in clause 1, or a conference report thereon, unless
    the report of the Committee on the Budget or the joint explanatory
    statement of the managers complies with paragraph (a).

    [[Page 941]]

      4. Nothing in this rule shall be construed as limiting or otherwise
    affecting--

          (a) the power of the House or the Senate to consider and pass
    bills or joint resolutions, without regard to the procedures under
    clause 1, that would change the statutory limit on the public debt; or

          (b) the rights of Members, Delegates, the Resident Commissioner,
    or committees with respect to the introduction, consideration, and
    reporting of such bills or joint resolutions.

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

    [[Page 942]]

    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. 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). Before the House
    recodified its rules in the 106th Congress, this provision was found in
    former rule XLIX. Recodification placed it as rule XXIII (H. Res. 5,
    Jan. 6, 1999, p. ----). The rule was repealed in the 107th Congress
    (sec. 2(s), H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 2001, p. ----) and reinstated in the
    108th Congress (sec. 2(t), H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 2003, p. ----).
      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

      This rule was rendered inapplicable to a conference report on a
    concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2000 (H. Res. 131,
    Mar. 25, 1999, p. ----). 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).