I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1970 

To direct the Secretary of the Treasury to ensure that social security benefits 

are paid, to prioritize payments when the United States is not able 

to issue new obligations due to the statutory debt limit, and to address 

a lapse in appropriations to fund the Armed Forces. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 14, 2013 

Mr. GOHMERT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Armed 

Services, 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 direct the Secretary of the Treasury to ensure that social 

security benefits are paid, to prioritize payments when 

the United States is not able to issue new obligations 

due to the statutory debt limit, and to address a lapse 

in appropriations to fund the Armed Forces. 

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

3 SECTION 1. TIMELY PAYMENT OF SOCIAL SECURITY BENE4 FITS IF STATUTORY DEBT LIMIT IS REACHED. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1145 of the Social Secu6 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b–15) is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as 

2 subsections (c) and (d), respectively; and 

3 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol4 lowing new subsection: 

5 ‘‘(b) TIMELY PAYMENT OF BENEFITS IF STATUTORY

6 DEBT LIMIT IS REACHED.— 

7 ‘‘(1) DISINVESTMENT OF FUND TO MAKE CUR8 RENT BENEFIT PAYMENTS.—For the purpose of 

9 making payment of cash benefits or administrative 

10 expenses during any debt limit default period, public 

11 debt obligations held by the applicable Federal fund 

12 shall be sold or redeemed in an amount not to ex13 ceed the sum of— 

14 ‘‘(A) the face amount of obligations held 

15 by such fund which mature during such month; 

16 plus 

17 ‘‘(B) the amount necessary only for the 

18 purpose of making payment of such benefits or 

19 administrative expenses and only to the extent 

20 cash assets of the applicable Federal fund are 

21 not available during such period for making 

22 payment of such benefits or administrative ex23 penses. 

24 ‘‘(2) ISSUANCE OF CORRESPONDING DEBT.— 

25 For purposes of undertaking the sale or redemption 


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1 of public debt obligations held by the applicable Fed2 eral fund pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary 

3 of the Treasury shall issue corresponding public debt 

4 obligations to the public in order to obtain the 

5 amounts necessary for payment of benefits or ad6 ministrative expenses from the applicable Federal 

7 fund, notwithstanding the public debt limit. 

8 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub9 section— 

10 ‘‘(A) DEBT LIMIT DEFAULT PERIOD.—The 

11 term ‘debt limit default period’ means a period 

12 for which cash benefits or administrative ex13 penses would not otherwise be payable from the 

14 applicable Federal fund by reason of an inabil15 ity to issue further public debt obligations be16 cause of the public debt limit. 

17 ‘‘(B) APPLICABLE FEDERAL FUND.—The 

18 term ‘applicable Federal fund’ means a Federal 

19 fund specified in paragraph (1) or (2) of sub20 section (d).’’. 

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

22 (1) Section 1145 of the Social Security Act, as 

23 amended by subsection (a), is amended— 

24 (A) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub25 section (e), and 


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1 (B) by inserting after subsection (c) the 

2 following new subsection: 

3 ‘‘(d) PUBLIC DEBT LIMIT.—For purposes of this sec4 tion, the term ‘public debt limit’ means the limitation es5 tablished under section 3101 of title 31, United States 

6 Code, as increased under section 3101A of such title.’’. 

7 (2) Section 1145(c) of the Social Security Act, 

8 as amended by subsection (a), is amended by strik9 ing ‘‘established under section 3101 of title 31, 

10 United States Code’’. 

11 SEC. 2. PRIORITIZATION OF PAYMENTS IN EVENT THAT 

12 STATUTORY DEBT LIMIT IS REACHED. 

13 Section 3101 of title 31, United States Code, is 

14 amended by adding at the end the following new sub15 section: 

16 ‘‘(d) In the event that the Secretary of the Treasury 

17 is not able to issue obligations to make all payments au18 thorized by law due to the limitation under subsection (b) 

19 (as increased under section 3101A), the Secretary shall 

20 give equal priority to the following: payments of principal 

21 and interest on public debt; payments of amounts that the 

22 Secretary of Defense (and the Secretary of Homeland Se23 curity in the case of the Coast Guard) determines to be 

24 necessary to continue pay and allowances (without inter25 ruption) to the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and 


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1 Coast Guard, including reserve components thereof, who 

2 perform active service; payments determined by the Presi3 dent (and reported to the Congress) to be necessary to 

4 continue United States priorities of its vital national secu5 rity interests; and payments for items and services under 

6 title XVIII of the Social Security Act (relating to Medi7 care).’’. 

8 SEC. 3. CONTINUANCE OF MILITARY PAY AND ALLOW9 ANCES DURING PERIODS OF LAPSED APPRO10 PRIATIONS. 

11 (a) CONTINUANCE OF PAY.—Chapter 19 of title 37, 

12 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

13 following new section: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 1015. CONTINUANCE OF PAY AND ALLOWANCES DUR15 ING PERIODS OF LAPSED APPROPRIATIONS. 

16 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

17 ‘‘(1) The term ‘military personnel accounts’ 

18 means the military personnel, reserve personnel, and 

19 National Guard personnel accounts of the Depart20 ment of Defense, generally title I of an annual De21 partment of Defense appropriations Act, and the 

22 corresponding accounts for the Department of 

23 Homeland Security used to provide pay and allow24 ances for members of the Coast Guard. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The term ‘pay and allowances’ means 

2 basic pay, bonuses and special pay, allowances and 

3 any other forms of compensation available for mem4 bers of the armed forces under this title or otherwise 

5 paid from the military personnel accounts. 

6 ‘‘(3) The term ‘period of lapsed appropriations’, 

7 when used with respect to members of the armed 

8 forces, means any period during which appropria9 tions are not available due to the absence of the 

10 timely enactment of any Act or joint resolution (in11 cluding any Act or joint resolution making con12 tinuing appropriations) appropriating funds for the 

13 payment of the pay and allowances of members of 

14 the armed forces. 

15 ‘‘(b) APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS TO CONTINUE PAY16 MENT OF PAY AND ALLOWANCES.—For any period of 

17 lapsed appropriations, there are appropriated, out of any 

18 moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to the 

19 Secretary of Defense (and the Secretary of Homeland Se20 curity in the case of the Coast Guard) to allow the Sec21 retary of Defense (and the Secretary of Homeland Secu22 rity in the case of the Coast Guard) to continue to provide 

23 pay and allowances (without interruption) to members of 

24 the United States armed forces. 


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1 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON AMOUNTS PAID.—This section 

2 only authorizes the expenditure of funds during a period 

3 of lapsed appropriations for the pay and allowances of a 

4 member of the armed forces at a rate that is equal to the 

5 rate in effect for that member immediately before the start 

6 of the period of lapsed appropriations. The rate for a 

7 member may neither exceed the rate in effect immediately 

8 before the start of the period of lapsed appropriations nor 

9 be less than that rate, unless reduced by disciplinary ac10 tion under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. 

11 ‘‘(d) RELATION TO OTHER PAY AUTHORITIES.—This 

12 section shall not be construed to affect the entitlement of 

13 a member of the armed forces to an amount of pay and 

14 allowances that exceeds the amount of pay and allowances 

15 authorized to be paid under this section and to which the 

16 member becomes entitled under other applicable provisions 

17 of law. 

18 ‘‘(e) EFFECT OF END OF PERIOD OF LAPSED AP19 PROPRIATIONS.—Expenditures made for any fiscal year 

20 pursuant to this section shall be charged to the applicable 

21 appropriation, fund, or authorization whenever the regular 

22 appropriation bill (or other bill or joint resolution making 

23 continuing appropriations through the end of the fiscal 

24 year) becomes law.’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

2 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding 

3 at the end the following new item: 

‘‘1015. Continuance of pay and allowances during periods of lapsed appropriations.’’. 

Æ 


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