I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1125 

To establish a fee on transactions which would eliminate the national debt 

and replace the income tax on individuals. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 16, 2011 

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

Budget, Rules, and Appropriations, 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 establish a fee on transactions which would eliminate 

the national debt and replace the income tax on individuals. 

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 Free America 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The current tax structure creates economic 

9 distortions that limit growth and job creation. 


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1 (2) The estimated cost of compliance to tax2 payers is five billion hours and approximately $200 

3 billion. 

4 (3) Restructuring the tax code will promote eco5 nomic prosperity. 

6 (4) Replacing existing Federal taxes with a fee 

7 on transactions eliminates systemic inefficiency that 

8 plagues the current tax code. 

9 (5) The United States, from its beginning in 

10 1790 to the present, has been free of a national debt 

11 for only two years, 1834 and 1835. 

12 (6) The national debt has grown from $75.5 

13 million in 1790 to $9.4 trillion as of December 

14 2010. 

15 (7) Expressed as a percentage of gross domestic 

16 product (GDP), the national debt reached a high of 

17 108.6 percent of GDP in 1946. 

18 (8) After 1946, the national debt as a percent19 age of GDP declined, reaching a low of 32.5 percent 

20 in 1981. 

21 (9) The large budget deficits of the 1980s and 

22 1990s reversed this trend and pushed the percentage 

23 to another high of 49.5 percent in 1993. 


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1 (10) The Federal budget surpluses from fiscal 

2 year 1998 to fiscal year 2001 were used to retire a 

3 portion of the publicly held national debt. 

4 (11) Between fiscal year 1997 and fiscal year 

5 2001, the publicly held portion of the national debt 

6 declined by more than $400 billion. 

7 (12) Since fiscal year 2002, a return to budget 

8 deficits has caused the debt to grow again. 

9 (b) PURPOSES.—The purpose of section 3 of this Act 

10 is to establish a fee on most transactions. Such fee— 

11 (1) is different than a sales tax in that a sales 

12 tax is charged only on sales to the final consumer 

13 and the transaction fee would apply to intermediate 

14 users as well as end users, 

15 (2) is different than a value added tax (VAT), 

16 commonly used in European and other countries, in 

17 that a VAT is imposed only on a portion of a trans18 action’s value (roughly the difference between an 

19 item’s selling price and its cost) and the transaction 

20 fee would apply to the entire amount of the trans21 action, and 

22 (3) is intended to raise sufficient revenue to— 

23 (A) eliminate the national debt, which was 

24 $6.3 trillion in January 2009, during a period 

25 of 10 years and to phase out the income tax on 


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1 individuals, including interest payments on the 

2 national debt, which will total $1 trillion annu3 ally by 2020 under current fiscal policy, and 

4 will account for 17 percent of all Federal spend5 ing, and 

6 (B) provide incentives for private sector in7 vestment in capital goods such as manufac8 turing plants and facilities, clean energy gen9 eration, and infrastructure development, cre10 ating the economic conditions for increased cap11 ital stocks and greater economic output, leading 

12 to job growth and economic expansion. 

13 SEC. 3. IMPLEMENTATION OF A TRANSACTION FEE. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of the Internal Rev15 enue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after chapter 

16 36 the following new chapter: 

17 ‘‘CHAPTER 37—TRANSACTION FEE 

‘‘Sec. 4501. Imposition of transaction fee. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 4501. IMPOSITION OF TRANSACTION FEE. 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is hereby imposed on 

20 every specified transaction a fee in an amount equal to 

21 1 percent of the amount of such transaction. 

22 ‘‘(b) SPECIFIED TRANSACTION.—For purposes of 

23 this chapter— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘specified trans2 action’ means any transaction that uses a payment 

3 instrument, including any check, cash, credit card, 

4 transfer of stock, bonds, or other financial instru5 ment. 

6 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—The term ‘specified trans7 action’ shall not include— 

8 ‘‘(A) any transfer between accounts of the 

9 taxpayer, and 

10 ‘‘(B) any deposit into a personal account 

11 of an individual. 

12 ‘‘(3) TRANSACTION.—The term ‘transaction’ in13 cludes retail and wholesale sales, purchases of inter14 mediate goods, and financial and intangible trans15 actions. 

16 ‘‘(c) LIABILITY FOR FEE.—Persons become liable for 

17 the fee at the moment the person exercises control over 

18 a piece of property or service, regardless of the payment 

19 method. 

20 ‘‘(d) COLLECTION.—The fees will be collected by the 

21 seller or financial institution servicing the transaction and 

22 shall be paid over to the Secretary. In the case of a person 

23 who fails to collect and pay over the fee as required under 

24 this subsection, such person shall become liable for the fee 

25 not so collected and paid over. 


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1 ‘‘(e) POTENTIAL EXCLUSIONS.—Subsection (a) shall 

2 not apply to transactions involving stock (and any options 

3 or derivatives with respect to stock) until— 

4 ‘‘(1) such time as the United States enters into 

5 an international agreement that regulates domestic 

6 and international stock exchanges, or 

7 ‘‘(2) the Secretary issues recommendations re8 garding the application of the fee as it applies to 

9 stock. 

10 ‘‘(f) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall issue such 

11 regulations or other guidance as may be necessary or ap12 propriate to carry out the purposes of this section, includ13 ing regulations or other guidance which require reporting 

14 of such information as the Secretary determines appro15 priate to prevent under reporting of the amounts on which 

16 a fee is imposed by this section.’’. 

17 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters 

18 for the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by in19 serting after the item relating to section 36 the following 

20 new item: 

‘‘CHAPTER 37. TRANSACTION FEE’’. 

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

22 this section shall apply to transactions in calendar years 

23 beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 4. INCOME TAX CREDIT DURING PERIOD THAT TRANS2 ACTION FEE AND INDIVIDUAL INCOME TAX 

3 ARE IN EFFECT. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart A of part IV of sub5 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

6 1986 is amended by inserting after section 25D the fol7 lowing new section: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 25E. CREDIT DURING PERIOD OF TRANSACTION FEE 

9 AND INDIVIDUAL INCOME TAX. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an individual, 

11 there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed 

12 by this chapter for the taxable year an amount equal to 

13 1 percent of the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income. 

14 ‘‘(b) PHASEOUT BASED ON ADJUSTED GROSS IN15 COME.—The credit allowed under subsection (a) for any 

16 taxable year shall be reduced (but not below zero) by an 

17 amount which bears the same ratio to the amount of such 

18 credit (determined without regard to this subsection) as— 

19 ‘‘(1) the excess (if any) of the taxpayer’s ad20 justed gross income for such taxable year over 

21 $100,000 ($250,000 in the case of a joint return), 

22 bears to 

23 ‘‘(2) $10,000 ($20,000 in the case of a joint re24 turn).’’. 

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

26 for subpart A of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 


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1 of such Code is amended by inserting after the item relat2 ing to section 25D the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 25E. Credit during period of transaction fee and individual income tax.’’. 

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

4 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning during 

5 calendar years beginning after the date of the enactment 

6 of this Act. 

7 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Congressional 

9 Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended 

10 by adding at the end the following new section: 

11 ‘‘ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE FOR RESPONSIBLE

12 FISCAL ACTION

13 ‘‘SEC. 316. (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

14 ‘‘(1) TASK FORCE.—The term ‘Task Force’ 

15 means the Bipartisan Task Force for Responsible 

16 Fiscal Action established under subsection (b)(1). 

17 ‘‘(2) TASK FORCE BILL.—The term ‘Task 

18 Force bill’ means a bill consisting of the proposed 

19 legislative language of the Task Force recommended 

20 under subsection (b)(3)(B) and introduced under 

21 subsection (e)(1). 

22 ‘‘(3) FISCAL IMBALANCE.—The term ‘fiscal im23 balance’ means the gap between the projected reve24 nues and expenditures of the Federal Government. 

25 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 

2 the legislative branch a task force to be known as 

3 the ‘Bipartisan Task Force for Responsible Fiscal 

4 Action’. 

5 ‘‘(2) PURPOSES.— 

6 ‘‘(A) REVIEW.—The Task Force shall re7 view the fiscal imbalance of the Federal Govern8 ment, including— 

9 ‘‘(i) analyses of projected Federal ex10 penditures; 

11 ‘‘(ii) analyses of projected Federal 

12 revenues; and 

13 ‘‘(iii) analyses of the current and 

14 long-term actuarial financial condition of 

15 the Federal Government. 

16 ‘‘(B) IDENTIFY FACTORS.—The Task 

17 Force shall identify factors that affect the long18 term fiscal imbalance of the Federal Govern19 ment. 

20 ‘‘(C) ANALYZE POTENTIAL COURSES OF

21 ACTION.—The Task Force shall analyze poten22 tial courses of action to address factors that af23 fect the long-term fiscal imbalance of the Fed24 eral Government. 


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1 ‘‘(D) PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS AND

2 LEGISLATIVE LANGUAGE.—The Task Force 

3 shall provide recommendations and legislative 

4 language that will significantly improve the 

5 long-term fiscal imbalance of the Federal Gov6 ernment, including recommendations address7 ing— 

8 ‘‘(i) Federal expenditures; 

9 ‘‘(ii) Federal revenues; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) the current and long-term actu11 arial financial condition of the Federal 

12 Government. 

13 ‘‘(3) DUTIES.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Task Force shall 

15 address the Nation’s long-term fiscal imbal16 ances, consistent with the purposes described in 

17 paragraph (2), and shall submit the report and 

18 recommendations required under subparagraph 

19 (B). 

20 ‘‘(B) REPORT, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND

21 LEGISLATIVE LANGUAGE.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not earlier than 

23 November 1, 2011, and not later than No24 vember 18, 2011, the Task Force shall 

25 vote on a report that contains— 


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1 ‘‘(I) a detailed statement of the 

2 findings, conclusions, and recommen3 dations of the Task Force; 

4 ‘‘(II) the assumptions, scenarios, 

5 and alternatives considered in reach6 ing such findings, conclusions, and 

7 recommendations; and 

8 ‘‘(III) proposed legislative lan9 guage to carry out such recommenda10 tions as described in paragraph 

11 (2)(D). 

12 ‘‘(ii) APPROVAL OF REPORT.—The re13 port of the Task Force submitted under 

14 clause (i) shall require the approval of not 

15 fewer than 14 of the 18 members of the 

16 Task Force. 

17 ‘‘(iii) ADDITIONAL VIEWS.—A member 

18 of the Task Force who gives notice of an 

19 intention to file supplemental, minority, or 

20 additional views at the time of final Task 

21 Force approval of the report under clause 

22 (ii), shall be entitled to not less than 3 cal23 endar days in which to file such views in 

24 writing with the staff director of the Task 

25 Force. Such views shall then be included in 


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1 the Task Force report and printed in the 

2 same volume, or part thereof, and their in3 clusion shall be noted on the cover of the 

4 report. In the absence of timely notice, the 

5 Task Force report may be printed and 

6 transmitted immediately without such 

7 views. 

8 ‘‘(iv) TRANSMISSION OF REPORT.—No 

9 later than November 30, 2011, the Task 

10 Force shall submit the Task Force bill and 

11 final report to the President, the Vice 

12 President, the Speaker of the House, and 

13 the majority and minority leaders of both 

14 Houses. 

15 ‘‘(v) REPORT TO BE MADE PUBLIC.— 

16 Upon the approval or disapproval of the 

17 Task Force report pursuant to clause (ii), 

18 the Task Force shall promptly make the 

19 full report, and a record of the vote, avail20 able to the public. 

21 ‘‘(4) MEMBERSHIP.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Task Force shall 

23 be composed of 18 members designated pursu24 ant to subparagraph (B). 


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1 ‘‘(B) DESIGNATION.—Members of the 

2 Task Force shall be designated as follows: 

3 ‘‘(i) The President shall designate 2 

4 members, one of whom shall be the Sec5 retary of the Treasury, and the other of 

6 whom shall be an officer of the executive 

7 branch. 

8 ‘‘(ii) The majority leader of the Sen9 ate shall designate 4 members from among 

10 Members of the Senate. 

11 ‘‘(iii) The minority leader of the Sen12 ate shall designate 4 members from among 

13 Members of the Senate. 

14 ‘‘(iv) The Speaker of the House of 

15 Representatives shall designate 4 members 

16 from among Members of the House of 

17 Representatives. 

18 ‘‘(v) The minority leader of the House 

19 of Representatives shall designate 4 mem20 bers from among Members of the House of 

21 Representatives. 

22 ‘‘(C) CO-CHAIRS.— 

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—There shall be 2 

24 Co-Chairs of the Task Force. The Presi25 dent, majority leader of the Senate, and 


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1 Speaker of the House shall designate one 

2 Co-Chair among the members of the Task 

3 Force. The minority leader of the Senate 

4 and minority leader of the House shall des5 ignate the second Co-Chair among the 

6 members of the Task Force. The Co7 Chairs shall be appointed not later than 14 

8 days after the date of enactment of this 

9 section. 

10 ‘‘(ii) STAFF DIRECTOR.—The Co11 Chairs, acting jointly, shall hire the staff 

12 director of the Task Force. 

13 ‘‘(D) DATE.—Members of the Task Force 

14 shall be designated by not later than 14 days 

15 after the date of enactment of this section. 

16 ‘‘(E) PERIOD OF DESIGNATION.—Members 

17 shall be designated for the life of the Task 

18 Force. Any vacancy in the Task Force shall not 

19 affect its powers, but shall be filled not later 

20 than 14 days after the date on which the va21 cancy occurs in the same manner as the origi22 nal designation. 

23 ‘‘(F) COMPENSATION.—Members of the 

24 Task Force shall serve without any additional 

25 compensation for their work on the Task Force. 


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1 However, members may be allowed travel ex2 penses, including per diem in lieu of subsist3 ence, in accordance with sections 5702 and 

4 5703 of title 5, United States Code, while away 

5 from their homes or regular places of business 

6 in performance of services for the Task Force. 

7 ‘‘(5) ADMINISTRATION.— 

8 ‘‘(A) AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH RULES

9 AND REGULATIONS.—The Co-Chairs, in con10 sultation with the other members of the Task 

11 Force, may establish rules and regulations for 

12 the conduct of Task Force business, if such 

13 rules and regulations are not inconsistent with 

14 this section or other applicable law. 

15 ‘‘(B) QUORUM.—Fourteen members of the 

16 Task Force shall constitute a quorum for pur17 poses of voting, meeting, and holding hearings. 

18 ‘‘(C) VOTING.— 

19 ‘‘(i) PROXY VOTING.—No proxy voting 

20 shall be allowed on behalf of the members 

21 of the Task Force. 

22 ‘‘(ii) REPORT, RECOMMENDATIONS

23 AND LEGISLATIVE LANGUAGE.— 

24 ‘‘(I) DATES.—The Task Force 

25 may not vote on any version of the reVerDate Mar 15 2010 19:49 Mar 17, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1125.IH H1125

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1 port, recommendations, or legislative 

2 language before the timing provided 

3 for in paragraph (3)(B)(i). 

4 ‘‘(II) CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET

5 OFFICE AND JOINT COMMITTEE ON

6 TAXATION ESTIMATES.—The Congres7 sional Budget Office and Joint Com8 mittee on Taxation shall provide esti9 mates of the Task Force report and 

10 recommendations (as described in 

11 subsection (b)(2)(D)) in accordance 

12 with section 308(a) and 201(f) of the 

13 Congressional Budget Act of 1974. 

14 The Task Force may not vote on any 

15 version of the report, recommenda16 tions, or legislative language unless a 

17 final estimate is available for consider18 ation by all the members at least 72 

19 hours prior to the vote. 

20 ‘‘(D) HEARINGS.—The Task Force may, 

21 for the purpose of carrying out this section, 

22 hold such hearings, sit and act at such times 

23 and places, take such testimony, receive such 

24 evidence, and administer such oaths the Task 

25 Force considers advisable. 


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1 ‘‘(c) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION OF TASK FORCE

2 RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) INTRODUCTION.— 

4 ‘‘(A) RECONVENING.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTA6 TIVES.—Upon receipt of a report under 

7 subsection (b)(3)(B), the Speaker, if the 

8 House would otherwise be adjourned, shall 

9 notify the Members of the House that, 

10 pursuant to this section, the House shall 

11 convene not later than December 7, 2011. 

12 ‘‘(ii) IN THE SENATE.— 

13 ‘‘(I) CONVENING.—Upon receipt 

14 of a report under subsection 

15 (b)(3)(B), if the Senate has adjourned 

16 or recessed for more than 2 days, the 

17 majority leader of the Senate, after 

18 consultation with the minority leader 

19 of the Senate, shall notify the Mem20 bers of the Senate that, pursuant to 

21 this section, the Senate shall convene 

22 not later than December 7, 2011. 

23 ‘‘(II) ADJOURNING.—No concur24 rent resolution adjourning the Senate 

25 for more than 3 days shall be in order 


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1 until the Senate votes on passage of 

2 the Task Force bill under paragraph 

3 (2)(B)(iv). 

4 ‘‘(B) INTRODUCTION OF TASK FORCE

5 BILL.—The proposed legislative language con6 tained in the report submitted pursuant to sub7 section (b)(3)(B), upon receipt by the Congress, 

8 shall be introduced not later than December 7, 

9 2011, in the Senate and in the House of Rep10 resentatives by the majority leader of each 

11 House of Congress, for himself, the minority 

12 leader of each House of Congress, for himself, 

13 or any member of the House designated by the 

14 majority leader or minority leader. If the Task 

15 Force bill is not introduced in accordance with 

16 the preceding sentence in either House of Con17 gress, then any Member of that House may in18 troduce the Task Force bill on any day there19 after. Upon introduction, the Task Force bill 

20 shall be referred to the appropriate committees 

21 under subparagraph (C). 

22 ‘‘(C) COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION.—A 

23 Task Force bill introduced in either House of 

24 Congress shall be jointly referred to the com25 mittee or committees of jurisdiction and the 


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1 Committee on the Budget of that House, which 

2 committees shall report the bill without any re3 vision and with a favorable recommendation, an 

4 unfavorable recommendation, or without rec5 ommendation, not later than 7 calendar days 

6 after the date of introduction of the bill in that 

7 House, or the first day thereafter on which that 

8 House is in session. If any committee fails to 

9 report the bill within that period, that com10 mittee shall be automatically discharged from 

11 consideration of the bill, and the bill shall be 

12 placed on the appropriate calendar. 

13 ‘‘(2) EXPEDITED PROCEDURES.— 

14 ‘‘(A) FAST TRACK CONSIDERATION IN

15 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.— 

16 ‘‘(i) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDER17 ATION.—It shall be in order, not later than 

18 2 days of session after the date on which 

19 a Task Force bill is reported or discharged 

20 from all committees to which it was re21 ferred, for the majority leader of the 

22 House of Representatives or the majority 

23 leader’s designee, to move to proceed to 

24 the consideration of the Task Force bill. It 

25 shall also be in order for any Member of 


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1 the House of Representatives to move to 

2 proceed to the consideration of the Task 

3 Force bill at any time after the conclusion 

4 of such 2-day period. All points of order 

5 against the motion are waived. Such a mo6 tion shall not be in order after the House 

7 has disposed of a motion to proceed on the 

8 Task Force bill. The previous question 

9 shall be considered as ordered on the mo10 tion to its adoption without intervening 

11 motion. The motion shall not be debatable. 

12 A motion to reconsider the vote by which 

13 the motion is disposed of shall not be in 

14 order. 

15 ‘‘(ii) CONSIDERATION.—The Task 

16 Force bill shall be considered as read. All 

17 points of order against the Task Force bill 

18 and against its consideration are waived. 

19 The previous question shall be considered 

20 as ordered on the Task Force bill to its 

21 passage without intervening motion except 

22 100 hours of debate equally divided and 

23 controlled by the proponent and an oppo24 nent, and any motion to limit debate. A 


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1 motion to reconsider the vote on passage of 

2 the Task Force bill shall not be in order. 

3 ‘‘(iii) APPEALS.—Appeals from deci4 sions of the chair relating to the applica5 tion of the Rules of the House of Rep6 resentatives to the procedure relating to a 

7 Task Force bill shall be decided without 

8 debate. 

9 ‘‘(iv) APPLICATION OF HOUSE

10 RULES.—Except to the extent specifically 

11 provided in paragraph (2)(A), consider12 ation of a Task Force bill shall be gov13 erned by the Rules of the House of Rep14 resentatives. It shall not be in order in the 

15 House of Representatives to consider any 

16 Task Force bill introduced pursuant to the 

17 provisions of this subsection under a sus18 pension of the rules pursuant to Clause 1 

19 of House Rule XV, or under a special rule 

20 reported by the House Committee on 

21 Rules. 

22 ‘‘(v) NO AMENDMENTS.—No amend23 ment to the Task Force bill shall be in 

24 order in the House of Representatives. 


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1 ‘‘(vi) VOTE ON PASSAGE.—Imme2 diately following the conclusion of consider3 ation of the Task Force bill, the vote on 

4 passage of the Task Force bill shall occur 

5 without any intervening action or motion, 

6 requiring an affirmative vote of three-fifths 

7 of the Members, duly chosen and sworn. If 

8 the Task Force bill is passed, the Clerk of 

9 the House of Representatives shall cause 

10 the bill to be transmitted to the Senate be11 fore the close of the next day of session of 

12 the House. The vote on passage shall occur 

13 not later than December 23, 2011. 

14 ‘‘(vii) VOTE.—The House Committee 

15 on Rules may not report a rule or order 

16 that would have the effect of causing the 

17 Task Force bill to be approved by a vote 

18 of less than three-fifths of the Members, 

19 duly chosen and sworn. 

20 ‘‘(B) FAST TRACK CONSIDERATION IN SEN21 ATE.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

23 Rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the 

24 Senate, it is in order, not later than 2 days 

25 of session after the date on which a Task 


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1 Force bill is reported or discharged from 

2 all committees to which it was referred, for 

3 the majority leader of the Senate or the 

4 majority leader’s designee to move to pro5 ceed to the consideration of the Task 

6 Force bill. It shall also be in order for any 

7 Member of the Senate to move to proceed 

8 to the consideration of the Task Force bill 

9 at any time after the conclusion of such 2- 

10 day period. A motion to proceed is in order 

11 even though a previous motion to the same 

12 effect has been disagreed to. All points of 

13 order against the motion to proceed to the 

14 Task Force bill are waived. The motion to 

15 proceed is not debatable. The motion is not 

16 subject to a motion to postpone. A motion 

17 to reconsider the vote by which the motion 

18 is agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in 

19 order. If a motion to proceed to the consid20 eration of the Task Force bill is agreed to, 

21 the Task Force bill shall remain the unfin22 ished business until disposed of. 

23 ‘‘(ii) DEBATE.—All points of order 

24 against the Task Force bill and against 

25 consideration of the Task Force bill are 


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1 waived. Consideration of the Task Force 

2 bill and of all debatable motions and ap3 peals in connection therewith shall not ex4 ceed a total of 100 hours. Debate shall be 

5 divided equally between the majority and 

6 minority leaders or their designees. A mo7 tion further to limit debate on the Task 

8 Force bill is in order, shall require an af9 firmative vote of three-fifths of the Mem10 bers duly chosen and sworn, and is not de11 batable. Any debatable motion or appeal is 

12 debatable for not to exceed 1 hour, to be 

13 divided equally between those favoring and 

14 those opposing the motion or appeal. All 

15 time used for consideration of the Task 

16 Force bill, including time used for quorum 

17 calls and voting, shall be counted against 

18 the total 100 hours of consideration. 

19 ‘‘(iii) NO AMENDMENTS.—An amend20 ment to the Task Force bill, or a motion 

21 to postpone, or a motion to proceed to the 

22 consideration of other business, or a mo23 tion to recommit the Task Force bill, is 

24 not in order. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) VOTE ON PASSAGE.—The vote 

2 on passage shall occur immediately fol3 lowing the conclusion of the debate on a 

4 Task Force bill, and a single quorum call 

5 at the conclusion of the debate if re6 quested. Passage shall require an affirma7 tive vote of three-fifths of the Members, 

8 duly chosen and sworn. The vote on pas9 sage shall occur not later than December 

10 23, 2011. 

11 ‘‘(v) ADJOURNMENT.—If, by Decem12 ber 23, 2011, either House has failed to 

13 adopt a motion to proceed to the Task 

14 Force bill, paragraph (1)(A)(ii)(II) shall 

15 not apply. 

16 ‘‘(vi) RULINGS OF THE CHAIR ON

17 PROCEDURE.—Appeals from the decisions 

18 of the Chair relating to the application of 

19 the rules of the Senate, as the case may 

20 be, to the procedure relating to a Task 

21 Force bill shall be decided without debate. 

22 ‘‘(C) RULES TO COORDINATE ACTION WITH

23 OTHER HOUSE.— 

24 ‘‘(i) REFERRAL.—If, before the pas25 sage by 1 House of a Task Force bill of 


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1 that House, that House receives from the 

2 other House a Task Force bill, then the 

3 Task Force bill of the other House shall 

4 not be referred to a committee and shall 

5 immediately be placed on the calendar. 

6 ‘‘(ii) PROCEDURE.—If the Senate re7 ceives the Task Force bill passed by the 

8 House of Representatives before the Sen9 ate has voted on passage of the Task 

10 Force bill— 

11 ‘‘(I) the procedure in the Senate 

12 shall be the same as if no Task Force 

13 bill had been received from House of 

14 Representatives; and 

15 ‘‘(II) the vote on passage in the 

16 Senate shall be on the Task Force bill 

17 of the House of Representatives. 

18 ‘‘(iii) TREATMENT OF TASK FORCE

19 BILL OF OTHER HOUSE.—If 1 House fails 

20 to introduce or consider a Task Force bill 

21 under this section, the Task Force bill of 

22 the other House shall be entitled to expe23 dited floor procedures under this section. 

24 ‘‘(iv) TREATMENT OF COMPANION

25 MEASURES IN THE SENATE.—If following 


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1 passage of the Task Force bill in the Sen2 ate, the Senate then receives the Task 

3 Force bill from the House of Representa4 tives, the House-passed Task Force bill 

5 shall not be debatable. The vote on passage 

6 of the Task Force bill in the Senate shall 

7 be considered to be the vote on passage of 

8 the Task Force bill received from the 

9 House of Representatives. 

10 ‘‘(v) VETOES.—If the President vetoes 

11 the Task Force bill, debate on a veto mes12 sage in the Senate under this section shall 

13 be 1 hour equally divided between the ma14 jority and minority leaders or their des15 ignees. 

16 ‘‘(3) SUSPENSION.—No motion to suspend the 

17 application of this subsection shall be in order in the 

18 Senate or in the House of Representatives.’’. 

19 (b) FUNDING.—From the amounts appropriated or 

20 made available and remaining unobligated under division 

21 A (other than under title X of division A) of the American 

22 Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111– 

23 5), there is rescinded pro rata an aggregate amount equal 

24 to $9,000,000, which amount shall be made available with25 out need for further appropriation to the Bipartisan Task 


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1 Force for Responsible Fiscal Action to carry out the pur2 poses of the Bipartisan Task Force for Responsible Fiscal 

3 Action, and which shall remain available through fiscal 

4 year 2013. Not later than 14 days after the date of enact5 ment of this section, the Director of the Office of Manage6 ment and Budget shall administer the rescission and make 

7 available such amount to the Bipartisan Task Force for 

8 Responsible Fiscal Action. 

9 SEC. 6. REPEAL OF INCOME TAX ON INDIVIDUALS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of the Internal Rev11 enue Code of 1986 is amended by striking the following 

12 provisions: 

13 (1) Part I of subchapter A. 

14 (2) Subpart A of part IV of subchapter A. 

15 (3) Sections 31, 32, 35, 36, and 36A. 

16 (b) REPEAL OF ALTERNATIVE MINIMUM TAX FOR

17 INDIVIDUALS.—Section 55 of the Internal Revenue Code 

18 of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following 

19 new subsection: 

20 ‘‘(f) EXEMPTION FOR NONCORPORATE TAX21 PAYERS.—The tentative minimum tax for any taxpayer 

22 other than a corporation shall be zero.’’. 

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

24 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

25 December 31, 2021. 


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1 SEC. 7. PRIORITIZATION FOR REPAYMENT OF NATIONAL 

2 DEBT. 

3 To take into account the national security concerns 

4 of the United States, the Secretary of the Treasury, in 

5 consultation with the Secretary of State, shall prioritize 

6 the repayment of the national debt and shall take into ac7 count circumstances in which the Secretary of the Treas8 ury determines the early repayment of outstanding debt 

9 is detrimental to the fiscal stability of the United States. 

10 SEC. 8. STUDY AND REPORT. 

11 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of the Treasury, in con12 sultation with the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, 

13 shall— 

14 (1) analyze methods to prevent and relieve any 

15 distortions among economic sectors created by the 

16 implementation of this Act, 

17 (2) make recommendations regarding the appli18 cation of the transaction fee established under this 

19 Act to barter transactions which do not involve a 

20 payment instrument, 

21 (3) assess the transaction fee established under 

22 this Act as a tool of Federal fiscal policy, including 

23 an impact analysis on the elimination or retention of 

24 existing tax expenditures, incentives, penalties, and 

25 credits, including— 

26 (A) the earned income credit, 


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1 (B) the alternative minimum tax, 

2 (C) the child tax credit, and 

3 (D) the deduction for mortgage interest, 

4 (4) analyze the extent to which the transaction 

5 fee could offset the cost to the Federal Government 

6 of increasing discretionary and mandatory spending, 

7 particularly expenditures related to education, de8 fense, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, 

9 (5) make recommendations with respect to the 

10 Internal Revenue Service, which— 

11 (A) assume the transition and grandfather12 ing of all existing personnel of the Internal Rev13 enue Service, 

14 (B) identify the elements of the current In15 ternal Revenue Service needed to administer the 

16 transaction fee, and 

17 (C) examine the feasibility of modifying 

18 the overall mission and jurisdiction of the Inter19 nal Revenue Service from one focused on tax 

20 law application to one focused on uncovering 

21 waste, fraud, and abuse throughout the Federal 

22 Government, and 

23 (6) make determinations and recommendations 

24 for methods of phasing out the income tax on indi25 viduals before its repeal under section 4 in a manner 


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1 which is consistent with the purposes described in 

2 section 2(b)(3). 

3 (b) REPORT.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall, 

4 not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 

5 this Act, submit to Congress a written report containing 

6 the results, determinations, and recommendations of the 

7 Secretary under subsection (a). 

Æ 


Emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS