S. 4173: Dollar-for-Dollar Deficit Reduction Act

This bill, titled the "Dollar-for-Dollar Deficit Reduction Act," proposes a set of requirements regarding the federal debt limit in the United States. Here are the main points of the legislation:

1. Debt Limit Control

The bill establishes new control measures for how increases or suspensions of the debt limit can occur:

• The Secretary of the Treasury must issue a warning when the federal government is close to reaching the statutory debt limit, defined as a near breach.
• If the President requests an increase in the debt limit, the request must include:
  • The amount of the requested increase.
  • A proposal for spending cuts that match or exceed the requested increase over the next ten years.
  • Net interest savings cannot be included in the calculation of spending reductions.

2. Congressional Requirements

The legislation introduces several conditions that Congress must adhere to when considering increases to the debt limit:

• Any bill to increase the debt limit must include net spending reductions that equal or exceed the amount by which the debt limit is to be raised, calculated over the current and next ten fiscal years.
• Spending reductions must be determined using a specific budget baseline and cannot include emergency spending designations.
• It requires that estimated costs of these bills must be publicly available for at least 24 hours before voting.
• Any actions that merely shift spending or revenues to avoid recognizing costs within the ten-year window do not count toward the necessary reductions.

3. Points of Order

The legislation also establishes what is known as points of order, which are rules that can prevent the legislative body from considering certain matters:

• In both the Senate and the House, members cannot vote on debt limit increase legislation unless it includes the required reductions.
• A higher threshold of three-fifths majority in the Senate is required to waive these rules or sustain appeals against them.

4. Suspension of the Debt Limit

Similar requirements are applied when a suspension of the debt limit is proposed:

• No legislation to suspend the debt limit can be considered unless it also includes net spending reductions equal to or greater than the projected amount of debt that would accrue during that suspension period.

5. Conforming Amendments

The bill includes provisions for amending existing laws to accommodate these new requirements and definitions regarding the debt limit and budget control measures.

Relevant Companies

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