I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1576 

To stimulate the economy, provide for a sound United States dollar by 

defining a value for the dollar, to remove the authority of Federal 

Reserve banks to pay earnings on certain balances maintained at such 

banks, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 16, 2013 

Mr. POE of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on 

Ways and Means and the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To stimulate the economy, provide for a sound United States 

dollar by defining a value for the dollar, to remove the 

authority of Federal Reserve banks to pay earnings on 

certain balances maintained at such banks, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Dollar Bill Act of 

5 2013’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of 

4 the United States provides that the Congress shall 

5 have Power to coin money, regulate the value there6 of, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of 

7 weights and measures. 

8 (2) Congress effectively delegated the power to 

9 regulate the value of United States money and for10 eign money to the Federal Reserve System via the 

11 Federal Reserve Act of 1913. 

12 (3) The value of the United States dollar has 

13 fallen dramatically relative to gold, crude oil, other 

14 real commodities and major foreign currencies. 

15 (4) The value of the United States dollar has 

16 become unstable and uncertain. 

17 (5) The Board of Governors of the Federal Re18 serve System has not produced a stable and reliable 

19 value for the United States dollar. 

20 (6) The Board of Governors of the Federal Re21 serve System cannot reasonably be expected to 

22 produce a stable and reliable value for the United 

23 States dollar. 

24 (7) An unstable dollar slows the growth of the 

25 economy by increasing the cost of capital, increasing 

26 the risks attendant to long-term capital investment, 


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1 and increasing the effective rate of the corporate in2 come tax. 

3 (8) An unstable dollar reduces the real earnings 

4 of American workers. 

5 (9) An unstable dollar reduces the real value of 

6 financial assets held by the public. 

7 (10) An unstable dollar reduces the real value 

8 of pension plans and retirement accounts upon 

9 which Americans depend for their security. 

10 (11) An unstable dollar damages the economic 

11 and political standing of the United States in the 

12 world community. 

13 (12) An unstable dollar gives rise to anxiety, 

14 uncertainty, and risk among the financial markets 

15 and the public. 

16 SEC. 3. DIRECTIVES TO THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF 

17 THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Before the end of the 30-day pe19 riod beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, 

20 the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 

21 shall designate a specific week (the ‘‘Target Week’’) start22 ing no earlier than 90 days from the date of the enactment 

23 of this Act and ending no later than 120 days from the 

24 enactment of this Act. After designating the Target Week, 

25 the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 


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1 shall then employ a random process to select a specific 

2 day, hour, minute, and second during the Target Week 

3 (the ‘‘Target Moment’’), which shall not be publicly dis4 closed. At the Target Moment, the Board of Governors 

5 of the Federal Reserve System shall make the value of 

6 the U.S. dollar equal to the price of gold on the exchange 

7 operated by the Commodities Exchange, Inc. (COMEX) 

8 of the New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc., as of the Tar9 get Moment and maintain the value of the United States 

10 dollar within plus or minus 2 percent of such price (the 

11 ‘‘Target Range’’) thereafter. 

12 (b) TARGET.—The Board of Governors of the Fed13 eral Reserve System shall maintain the value of the United 

14 States dollar within the Target Range directly, via open 

15 market operations, and not indirectly, as in the current 

16 practice of targeting the Federal Funds rate. 

17 (c) PROMOTION OF STABLE AND EFFECTIVE FINAN18 CIAL MARKETS.—The Board of Governors of the Federal 

19 Reserve System shall use the banking and bank regulatory 

20 powers of the Board to maintain and promote stable and 

21 effective financial markets during and after the transition 

22 to a defined value for the United States dollar. 

23 SEC. 4. TAX DEPRECIATION. 

24 Effective January 1, 2013, all entities that depreciate 

25 capital assets for tax purposes shall be entitled to 100 perVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:21 Apr 19, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1576.IH H1576

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1 cent expensing of all capital investment for tax purposes 

2 in the year that the investment is made. 

3 SEC. 5. DIRECTIVE TO THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OF4 FICE. 

5 In addition to the scoring that the Congressional 

6 Budget Office will do of the tax changes provided in this 

7 Act in the normal course of events, the Congressional 

8 Budget Office shall also calculate the impact on Federal 

9 revenues on a present value basis. This calculation shall 

10 be done in the manner that such calculations are done by 

11 the Social Security Trustees, and shall take into account 

12 the following: 

13 (1) That first year expensing of capital invest14 ment accelerates, but does not change the total 

15 amount of the depreciation that taxpayers take 

16 based upon their investments. 

17 (2) Capital investments by businesses have his18 torically earned much higher returns than the inter19 est rate on government bonds. 

20 SEC. 6. CONFLICT OF LAWS PROVISION. 

21 In the event that any provisions of this Act are found 

22 to be in conflict with those of the Full Employment and 

23 Balanced Growth Act of 1978, the provisions of this Act 

24 shall supersede the provisions of such Act to the extent 

25 of the conflict. 


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1 SEC. 7. REMOVAL OF FEDERAL RESERVE BANK AUTHORITY 

2 TO PAY EARNINGS ON RESERVES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 19(b)(12) of the Federal 

4 Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 461(b)(12)) is amended— 

5 (1) in the heading of such paragraph, by strik6 ing ‘‘EARNINGS’’ and inserting ‘‘NO EARNINGS’’; 

7 (2) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘may re8 ceive earnings to be paid by the Federal Reserve 

9 bank at least once each calendar quarter, at a rate 

10 or rates not to exceed the general level of short-term 

11 interest rates’’ and inserting ‘‘may not receive earn12 ings paid by the Federal Reserve bank’’; 

13 (3) by striking subparagraph (B); and 

14 (4) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub15 paragraph (B). 

16 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

17 under this section shall take effect after the end of the 

18 30-day period beginning on the date of the enactment of 

19 this Act. 

Æ 


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