[Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 110th Congress]
[110th Congress]
[House Document 109-157]
[Rules of the House of Representatives]
[Pages 978-981]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


 

                               Rule XXVII


                     Statutory Limit on Public Debt


[[Page 979]]

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.


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


  2. The matter after the resolving clause in a 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 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.


[[Page 980]]

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.
  3. (a) The report of the Committee on the Budget on a concurrent 
resolution described in

  (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).

  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.


[[Page 981]]

3101(a) of such title, that may be outstanding at any one time.

  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

  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 
year 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 year 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 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. 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. 47). 
The rule was repealed in the 107th Congress (sec. 2(s), H. Res. 5, Jan. 
3, 2001, p. 24) and reinstated in the 108th Congress as rule XVII (sec. 
2(t), H. Res. 5, Jan. 7, 2003, p. 7).





  This rule has been ordered inapplicable to a conference report on a 
concurrent resolution on the budget (e.g., H. Res. 131, Mar. 25, 1999, 
p. 5671; H. Res. 446, Mar. 23, 2000, p. 3442). 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).