I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 429

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow individuals to designate

that up to 10 percent of their income tax liability be used to reduce

the national debt, and to require spending reductions equal to the

amounts so designated.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 5, 1993

Mr. WALKER (for himself, Mr. GINGRICH, Mr. BARTON of Texas, Mr. BLILEY,

Mr. CAMP, Mr. COBLE, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. DOOLITTLE, Mr. DORNAN, Mr.

EWING, Mr. FAWELL, Mr. GEKAS, Mr. GOSS, Mr. HANCOCK, Mr.

HEFLEY, Mr. KINGSTON, Mr. KOLBE, Mr. LEWIS of Florida, Mr.

MCCOLLUM, Mr. NUSSLE, Mr. OXLEY, Mr. PACKARD, Mr. RAVENEL, Mr.

ROHRABACHER, Mr. SANTORUM, Mr. THOMAS of Wyoming, Mr. UPTON,

Mr. ZELIFF, and Mr. ZIMMER) introduced the following bill; which was

referred jointly to the Committees on Ways and Means and Government

Operations

A BILL

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow individuals to designate that up to 10 percent of their income

tax liability be used to reduce the national debt, and

to require spending reductions equal to the amounts

so designated.

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 ‘‘Taxpayer Debt Buy3 Down Act’’.

4 SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF AMOUNTS FOR REDUCTION OF

5 PUBLIC DEBT.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter A of chapter 61 of the

7 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to returns and

8 records) is amended by adding at the end the following

9 new part:

10 ‘‘PART IX—DESIGNATION FOR REDUCTION OF

11 PUBLIC DEBT.

‘‘Sec. 6097. Designation.

12 ‘‘SEC. 6097. DESIGNATION.

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Every individual with adjusted

14 income tax liability for any taxable year may designate

15 that a portion of such liability (not to exceed 10 percent

16 thereof) shall be used to reduce the public debt.

17 ‘‘(b) MANNER AND TIME OF DESIGNATION.—A des18 ignation under subsection (a) may be made with respect

19 to any taxable year only at the time of filing the return

20 of tax imposed by chapter 1 for the taxable year. The des21 ignation shall be made on the first page of the return or

22 on the page bearing the taxpayer’s signature.

23 ‘‘(c) ADJUSTED INCOME TAX LIABILITY.—For pur24 poses of this section, the term ‘adjusted income tax liabil25 ity’ means income tax liability (as defined in section
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1 6096(b)) reduced by any amount designated under section

2 6096 (relating to designation of income tax payments to

3 Presidential Election Campaign Fund).’’

4 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of parts for

5 such subchapter A is amended by adding at the end the

6 following new item:

‘‘Part IX. Designation for reduction of public debt.’’

7 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

8 this section shall apply to taxable years ending after the

9 date of the enactment of this Act.

10 SEC. 3. PUBLIC DEBT REDUCTION TRUST FUND.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter A of chapter 98 of the

12 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to trust fund

13 code) is amended by adding at the end the following sec14 tion:

15 ‘‘SEC. 9512. PUBLIC DEBT REDUCTION TRUST FUND.

16 ‘‘(a) CREATION OF TRUST FUND.—There is estab17 lished in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund

18 to be known as the ‘Public Debt Reduction Trust Fund’,

19 consisting of any amount appropriated or credited to the

20 Trust Fund as provided in this section or section 9602(b).

21 ‘‘(b) TRANSFERS TO TRUST FUND.—There are here22 by appropriated to the Public Debt Reduction Trust Fund

23 amounts equivalent to the amounts designated under sec24 tion 6097 (relating to designation for public debt reduc25 tion).
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1 ‘‘(c) EXPENDITURES.—Amounts in the Public Debt

2 Reduction Trust Fund shall be available only for purposes

3 of paying at maturity, or to redeem or buy before matu4 rity, any obligation of the Federal Government included

5 in the public debt. Any obligation which is paid, redeemed,

6 or bought with amounts from such Trust Fund shall be

7 canceled and retired and may not be reissued.’’

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

9 for such subchapter is amended by adding at the end the

10 following new item:

‘‘Sec. 9512. Public Debt Reduction Trust Fund.’’

11 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

12 this section shall apply to amounts received after the date

13 of the enactment of this Act.

14 SEC. 4. TAXPAYER-GENERATED SEQUESTRATION OF FED15 ERAL SPENDING TO REDUCE THE PUBLIC

16 DEBT.

17 (a) SEQUESTRATION TO REDUCE THE PUBLIC

18 DEBT.—Part C of the Balanced Budget and Emergency

19 Deficit Control Act of 1985 is amended by adding after

20 section 253 the following new section:

21 ‘‘SEC. 253A. SEQUESTRATION TO REDUCE THE PUBLIC

22 DEBT.

23 ‘‘(a) SEQUESTRATION.—Notwithstanding sections

24 255 and 256, within 15 days after Congress adjourns to

25 end a session, and on the same day as sequestration (if
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1 any) under sections 251, 252, and 253, but after any se2 questration required by those sections, there shall be a se3 questration equivalent to the estimated aggregate amount

4 designated under section 6097 of the Internal Revenue

5 Code of 1986 for the last taxable year ending before the

6 beginning of that session of Congress, as estimated by the

7 Department of the Treasury on May 1 and as modified

8 by the total of (1) any amounts by which net discretionary

9 spending is reduced by legislation below the discretionary

10 spending limits (or, in the absence of such limits, any net

11 deficit change from the baseline amount calculated under

12 section 257, except that such baseline for fiscal year 1996

13 and thereafter shall be based upon fiscal year 1995 en14 acted appropriations less any 1995 sequesters) and (2) the

15 net deficit change that has resulted from direct spending

16 legislation.

17 ‘‘(b) APPLICABILITY.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided by

19 paragraph (2), each account of the United States

20 shall be reduced by a dollar amount calculated by

21 multiplying the level of budgetary resources in that

22 account at that time by the uniform percentage nec23 essary to carry out subsection (a). All obligational

24 authority reduced under this section shall be done in

25 a manner that makes such reductions permanent.
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1 ‘‘(2) EXEMPT ACCOUNTS.—No order issued

2 under this part may—

3 ‘‘(A) reduce benefits payable the old-age,

4 survivors, and disability insurance program es5 tablished under title II of the Social Security

6 Act;

7 ‘‘(B) reduce payments for net interest (all

8 of major functional category 900); or

9 ‘‘(C) make any reduction in the following

10 accounts:

11 ‘‘Federal Deposit Insurance Corpora12 tion, Bank Insurance Fund;

13 ‘‘Federal Deposit Insurance Corpora14 tion, FSLIC Resolution Fund;

15 ‘‘Federal Deposit Insurance Corpora16 tion, Savings Association Insurance Fund;

17 ‘‘National Credit Union Administra18 tion, credit union share insurance fund; or

19 ‘‘Resolution Trust Corporation.’’.

20 (b) REPORTS.—Section 254 of the Balanced Budget

21 and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 is amended—

22 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting before the

23 item relating to August 10 the following:

24 ‘‘May 1 . . . Department of Treasury report to Con25 gress estimating amount of income tax designated pursu-
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1 ant to section 6097 of the Internal Revenue Code of

2 1986.’’;

3 (2) in subsection (d)(1), by inserting ‘‘, and se4 questration to reduce the public debt,’’;

5 (3) in subsection (d), by redesignating para6 graph (5) as paragraph (6) and by inserting after

7 paragraph (4) the following new paragraph:

8 ‘‘(5) SEQUESTRATION TO REDUCE THE PUBLIC

9 DEBT REPORTS.—The preview reports shall set forth

10 for the budget year estimates for each of the follow11 ing:

12 ‘‘(A) The aggregate amount designated

13 under section 6097 of the Internal Revenue

14 Code of 1986 for the last taxable year ending

15 before the budget year.

16 ‘‘(B) The amount of reductions required

17 under section 253A and the deficit remaining

18 after those reductions have been made.

19 ‘‘(C) The sequestration percentage nec20 essary to achieve the required reduction in ac21 counts under section 253A(b).’’; and

22 (4) in subsection (g), by redesignating para23 graphs (4) and (5) as paragraphs (5) and (6), re24 spectively, and by inserting after paragraph (3) the

25 following new paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(4) SEQUESTRATION TO REDUCE THE PUBLIC

2 DEBT REPORTS.—The final reports shall contain all

3 of the information contained in the public debt tax4 ation designation report required on May 1.’’.

5 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Notwithstanding section

6 275(b) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit

7 Control Act of 1985, the expiration date set forth in that

8 section shall not apply to the amendments made by this

9 section. The amendments made by this section shall cease

10 to have any effect after the first fiscal year during which

11 there is no public debt.

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