I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3442 

To provide further means of accountability of the United States debt and 

promote fiscal responsibility. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 8, 2015 

Mr. MARCHANT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL 

To provide further means of accountability of the United 

States debt and promote fiscal responsibility. 

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 ‘‘Debt Management and 

5 Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY REPORT TO CON7 GRESS BEFORE REACHING DEBT LIMIT. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 31 of 

9 title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

10 end the following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 3131. Report before reaching debt limit 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not more than sixty days and 

3 not less than twenty-one days prior to any date on which 

4 the Secretary of the Treasury anticipates the public debt 

5 will reach the limit specified under section 3101, as modi6 fied by section 3101A, the Secretary shall appear before 

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

9 to submit the information described under subsection (b). 

10 ‘‘(b) INFORMATION REQUIRED TO BE PRE11 SENTED.—In an appearance described under subsection 

12 (a), the Secretary shall submit the following: 

13 ‘‘(1) DEBT REPORT.—A report on the state of 

14 the public debt, including— 

15 ‘‘(A) the historical levels of the debt, cur16 rent amount and composition of the debt, and 

17 future projections of the debt; 

18 ‘‘(B) the drivers and composition of future 

19 debt; and 

20 ‘‘(C) how, if the debt limit is raised, the 

21 United States will meet debt obligations, includ22 ing principal and interest. 

23 ‘‘(2) STATEMENT OF INTENT.—A detailed ex24 planation of— 

25 ‘‘(A) proposals of the President to reduce 

26 the public debt in the short term (the current 


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1 and following fiscal year), medium term (ap2 proximately three to five fiscal years), and long 

3 term (approximately ten fiscal years), and pro4 posals of the President to adjust the debt-to5 gross domestic product ratio; 

6 ‘‘(B) the impact an increased debt limit 

7 will have on future Government spending, debt 

8 service, and the position of the United States 

9 dollar as the international reserve currency; and 

10 ‘‘(C) projections of fiscal health and sus11 tainability of major direct-spending entitlement 

12 programs (including Social Security, Medicare, 

13 and Medicaid). 

14 ‘‘(3) PROGRESS REPORT.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A detailed report on 

16 the progress of implementing all proposals of 

17 the President described under subparagraph 

18 (A) of paragraph (2). 

19 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The report described 

20 under this paragraph shall only be submitted if 

21 a Secretary has already appeared at least once 

22 pursuant to this section during any term of of23 fice for a particular President. 

24 ‘‘(c) PUBLIC ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—The Sec25 retary of the Treasury shall place on the homepage of the 


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1 Department of the Treasury a link to a webpage that shall 

2 serve as a repository of information made available to the 

3 public for at least 6 months following the date of release 

4 of the relevant information, including: 

5 ‘‘(1) The debt report submitted under sub6 section (b)(1). 

7 ‘‘(2) The detailed explanation submitted under 

8 subsection (b)(2). 

9 ‘‘(3) The progress report submitted under sub10 section (b)(3). 

11 ‘‘(4) Such other information as the Secretary 

12 reasonably believes is necessary or helpful to the 

13 public in understanding the statutory debt limit, 

14 Government debt, and the reports and explanations 

15 described under paragraphs (1), (2), and (3).’’. 

16 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of analysis 

17 for chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, is amended 

18 by inserting after the item relating to section 3130 the 

19 following: 

‘‘3131. Report before reaching debt limit.’’. 

Æ 


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