I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5173

To provide for reconciliation pursuant to sections 103(b)(2) and 213(b)(2)(C)

of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2001 to reduce

the public debt and to decrease the statutory limit on the public debt.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 14, 2000

Mr. FLETCHER (for himself, Mr. HERGER, Mr. ARCHER, Mr. SHAW, Mr.

NUSSLE, Mr. CRANE, Mr. GARY MILLER of California, Mr. LEWIS of

Kentucky, Mr. KUYKENDALL, Mr. TANCREDO, Mr. CAMP, Ms. DUNN,

Mr. HAYWORTH, Mr. ENGLISH, Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas, Mr.

PORTMAN, Mr. RAMSTAD, and Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin) introduced the

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means,

and in addition to the Committees on the Budget, and Rules, 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 provide for reconciliation pursuant to sections 103(b)(2)

and 213(b)(2)(C) of the concurrent resolution on the

budget for fiscal year 2001 to reduce the public debt

and to decrease the statutory limit on the public debt.

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

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Debt Relief Lock-box

3 Reconciliation Act for Fiscal Year 2001’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

5 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

6 (1) fiscal discipline, resulting from the Bal7 anced Budget Act of 1997, and strong economic

8 growth have ended decades of deficit spending and

9 have produced budget surpluses without using the

10 social security surplus;

11 (2) fiscal pressures will mount in the future as

12 the aging of the population increases budget obliga13 tions;

14 (3) until Congress and the President agree to

15 legislation that saves social security and medicare,

16 the social security and medicare surpluses should be

17 used to reduce the debt held by the public;

18 (4) until Congress and the President agree on

19 significant tax reductions, amounts dedicated for

20 that purpose shall be used to reduce the debt held

21 by the public;

22 (5) strengthening the Government’s fiscal posi23 tion through public debt reduction increases national

24 savings, promotes economic growth, reduces interest

25 costs, and is a constructive way to prepare for the

26 Government’s future budget obligations; and
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1 (6) it is fiscally responsible and in the long2 term national economic interest to use a portion of

3 the nonsocial security and nonmedicare surpluses to

4 reduce the debt held by the public.

5 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to—

6 (1) reduce the debt held by the public by

7 $240,000,000,000 in fiscal year 2001 with the goal

8 of eliminating this debt by 2012; and

9 (2) decrease the statutory limit on the public

10 debt.

11 TITLE I—DEBT REDUCTION

12 LOCK-BOX

13 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF PUBLIC DEBT REDUCTION

14 PAYMENT ACCOUNT.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 31 of title

16 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end

17 the following new section:

18 ‘‘§ 3114. Public debt reduction payment account

19 ‘‘(a) There is established in the Treasury of the

20 United States an account to be known as the Public Debt

21 Reduction Payment Account (hereinafter in this section

22 referred to as the ‘account’).

23 ‘‘(b) The Secretary of the Treasury shall use amounts

24 in the account to pay at maturity, or to redeem or buy

25 before maturity, any obligation of the Government held
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1 by the public and included in the public debt. Any obliga2 tion which is paid, redeemed, or bought with amounts

3 from the account shall be canceled and retired and may

4 not be reissued. Amounts deposited in the account are ap5 propriated and may only be expended to carry out this

6 section.

7 ‘‘(c) There is hereby appropriated into the account

8 on October 1, 2000, or the date of enactment of this Act,

9 whichever is later, out of any money in the Treasury not

10 otherwise appropriated, $42,000,000,000 for the fiscal

11 year ending September 30, 2001. The funds appropriated

12 to this account shall remain available until expended.

13 ‘‘(d) The appropriation made under subsection (c)

14 shall not be considered direct spending for purposes of sec15 tion 252 of Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Con16 trol Act of 1985.

17 ‘‘(e) Establishment of and appropriations to the ac18 count shall not affect trust fund transfers that may be

19 authorized under any other provision of law.

20 ‘‘(f) The Secretary of the Treasury and the Director

21 of the Office of Management and Budget shall each take

22 such actions as may be necessary to promptly carry out

23 this section in accordance with sound debt management

24 policies.
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1 ‘‘(g) Reducing the debt pursuant to this section shall

2 not interfere with the debt management policies or goals

3 of the Secretary of the Treasury.’’.

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal5 ysis for chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, is

6 amended by inserting after the item relating to section

7 3113 the following:

‘‘3114. Public debt reduction payment account.’’.

8 SEC. 102. REDUCTION OF STATUTORY LIMIT ON THE PUB9 LIC DEBT.

10 Section 3101(b) of title 31, United States Code, is

11 amended by inserting ‘‘minus the amount appropriated

12 into the Public Debt Reduction Payment Account pursu13 ant to section 3114(c)’’ after ‘‘$5,950,000,000,000’’.

14 SEC. 103. OFF-BUDGET STATUS OF PUBLIC DEBT REDUC15 TION PAYMENT ACCOUNT.

16 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the re17 ceipts and disbursements of the Public Debt Reduction

18 Payment Account established by section 3114 of title 31,

19 United States Code, shall not be counted as new budget

20 authority, outlays, receipts, or deficit or surplus for pur21 poses of—

22 (1) the budget of the United States Govern23 ment as submitted by the President,

24 (2) the congressional budget, or
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1 (3) the Balanced Budget and Emergency Def2 icit Control Act of 1985.

3 SEC. 104. REMOVING PUBLIC DEBT REDUCTION PAYMENT

4 ACCOUNT FROM BUDGET PRONOUNCE5 MENTS.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any official statement issued by

7 the Office of Management and Budget, the Congressional

8 Budget Office, or any other agency or instrumentality of

9 the Federal Government of surplus or deficit totals of the

10 budget of the United States Government as submitted by

11 the President or of the surplus or deficit totals of the con12 gressional budget, and any description of, or reference to,

13 such totals in any official publication or material issued

14 by either of such Offices or any other such agency or in15 strumentality, shall exclude the outlays and receipts of the

16 Public Debt Reduction Payment Account established by

17 section 3114 of title 31, United States Code.

18 (b) SEPARATE PUBLIC DEBT REDUCTION PAYMENT

19 ACCOUNT BUDGET DOCUMENTS.—The excluded outlays

20 and receipts of the Public Debt Reduction Payment Ac21 count established by section 3114 of title 31, United

22 States Code, shall be submitted in separate budget docu23 ments.
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1 SEC. 105. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

2 (a) REPORTS OF THE SECRETARY OF THE TREAS3 URY.—(1) Within 30 days after the appropriation is de4 posited into the Public Debt Reduction Payment Account

5 under section 3114 of title 31, United States Code, the

6 Secretary of the Treasury shall submit a report to the

7 Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Rep8 resentatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate

9 confirming that such account has been established and the

10 amount and date of such deposit. Such report shall also

11 include a description of the Secretary’s plan for using such

12 money to reduce debt held by the public.

13 (2) Not later than October 31, 2002, the Secretary

14 of the Treasury shall submit a report to the Committee

15 on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and

16 the Committee on Finance of the Senate setting forth the

17 amount of money deposited into the Public Debt Reduc18 tion Payment Account, the amount of debt held by the

19 public that was reduced, and a description of the actual

20 debt instruments that were redeemed with such money.

21 (b) REPORT OF THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF

22 THE UNITED STATES.—Not later than November 15,

23 2002, the Comptroller General of the United States shall

24 submit a report to the Committee on Ways and Means

25 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
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1 Finance of the Senate verifying all of the information set

2 forth in the reports submitted under subsection (a).

3 TITLE II—SOCIAL SECURITY AND

4 MEDICARE LOCK-BOX

5 SEC. 201. PROTECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDI6 CARE SURPLUSES.

7 (a) PROTECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDI8 CARE SURPLUSES.—Section 201 of the concurrent resolu9 tion on the budget for fiscal year 2001 (H. Con. Res. 290,

10 106th Congress) is amended as follows:

11 (1) In the section heading, by inserting ‘‘AND

12 MEDICARE’’ before ‘‘SURPLUSES’’.

13 (2) By striking subsection (c) and inserting the

14 following new subsection:

15 ‘‘(c) LOCK-BOX FOR SOCIAL SECURITY AND HOS16 PITAL INSURANCE SURPLUSES.—

17 ‘‘(1) CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS ON THE

18 BUDGET.—It shall not be in order in the House of

19 Representatives or the Senate to consider any con20 current resolution on the budget, or conference re21 port thereon or amendment thereto, that would set

22 forth a surplus for any fiscal year that is less than

23 the surplus of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust

24 Fund for that fiscal year.
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1 ‘‘(2) SUBSEQUENT LEGISLATION.—(A) Except

2 as provided by subparagraph (B), it shall not be in

3 order in the House of Representatives or the Senate

4 to consider any bill, joint resolution, amendment,

5 motion, or conference report if—

6 ‘‘(i) the enactment of that bill or resolution

7 as reported;

8 ‘‘(ii) the adoption and enactment of that

9 amendment; or

10 ‘‘(iii) the enactment of that bill or resolu11 tion in the form recommended in that con12 ference report,

13 would cause the on-budget surplus for any fiscal

14 year to be less than the projected surplus of the

15 Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund (as assumed

16 in the most recently agreed to concurrent resolution

17 on the budget) for that fiscal year or increase the

18 amount by which the on-budget surplus for any fis19 cal year would be less than such trust fund surplus

20 for that fiscal year.

21 ‘‘(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to social

22 security reform legislation or medicare reform legis23 lation.
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1 (3) By redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as

2 subsections (g) and (h), respectively, and inserting

3 after subsection (d) the following new subsections:

4 ‘‘(e) CONTENT OF CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON

5 THE BUDGET.—The concurrent resolution on the budget

6 for each fiscal year shall set forth appropriate levels for

7 the fiscal year beginning on October 1 of such year and

8 for at least each of the 4 ensuing fiscal years of the sur9 plus or deficit in the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust

10 Fund.

11 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:

12 ‘‘(1) The term ‘medicare reform legislation’

13 means a bill or a joint resolution to save Medicare

14 that includes a provision stating the following: ‘For

15 purposes of section 201(c) of the concurrent resolu16 tion on the budget for fiscal year 2001, this Act con17 stitutes medicare reform legislation.

18 ‘‘(2) The term ‘social security reform legisla19 tion’ means a bill or a joint resolution to save social

20 security that includes a provision stating the fol21 lowing: ‘For purposes of section 201(c) of the con22 current resolution on the budget for fiscal year

23 2001, this Act constitutes social security reform leg24 islation.’.’’.
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1 (4) In the first sentence of subsection (h) (as

2 redesignated), by striking ‘‘(1)’’.

3 (5) At the end, by adding the following new

4 subsection:

5 ‘‘(i) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall cease to

6 have any force or effect upon the enactment of social secu7 rity reform legislation and medicare reform legislation.’’.

8 (b) PROTECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDI9 CARE SURPLUSES.—(1) If the budget of the United States

10 Government submitted by the President under section

11 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, recommends an

12 on-budget surplus for any fiscal year that is less than the

13 surplus of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund for

14 that fiscal year, then it shall include proposed legislative

15 language for social security reform legislation or medicare

16 reform legislation.

17 (2) Paragraph (1) shall cease to have any force or

18 effect upon the enactment of social security reform legisla19 tion and medicare reform legislation as defined by section

20 201(f) of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal

21 year 2001 (H. Con. Res 290, 106th Congress).’’.

22 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The item relating

23 to section 201 in the table of contents set forth in section

24 1(b) of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal
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1 year 2001 (H. Con. Res 290, 106th Congress) is amended

2 to read as follows:

‘‘Sec. 201. Protection of social security and medicare surpluses.’’.

3 SEC. 202. REMOVING SOCIAL SECURITY FROM BUDGET

4 PRONOUNCEMENTS.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any official statement issued by

6 the Office of Management and Budget, the Congressional

7 Budget Office, or any other agency or instrumentality of

8 the Federal Government of surplus or deficit totals of the

9 budget of the United States Government as submitted by

10 the President or of the surplus or deficit totals of the con11 gressional budget, and any description of, or reference to,

12 such totals in any official publication or material issued

13 by either of such Offices or any other such agency or in14 strumentality, shall exclude the outlays and receipts of the

15 old-age, survivors, and disability insurance program under

16 title II of the Social Security Act (including the Federal

17 Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the

18 Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund) and the related

19 provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

20 (b) SEPARATE SOCIAL SECURITY BUDGET DOCU21 MENTS.—The excluded outlays and receipts of the old-age,

22 survivors, and disability insurance program under title II

23 of the Social Security Act shall be submitted in separate

24 Social Security budget documents.

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