I 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6724 

To amend chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, to provide procedures 

for congressional disapproval of the issuance of additional debt. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 15, 2022 

Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania (for himself and Mr. YARMUTH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways 

and Means, and in addition to the Committee on 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 amend chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, to 

provide procedures for congressional disapproval of the 

issuance of additional debt. 

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 Ceiling Reform 

5 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PROCEDURES FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL 

2 OF ISSUANCE OF ADDITIONAL DEBT. 

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

4 amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘§ 3101. Public debt limit 

6 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF JOINT RESOLUTION.—In this 

7 section, the term ‘joint resolution’ means a joint resolu8 tion— 

9 ‘‘(1) that is introduced during the period— 

10 ‘‘(A) beginning on the date on which a cer11 tification under subsection (b)(1) is received; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(B) ending on the date that is 3 calendar 

14 days after the date described in subparagraph 

15 (A) (or, if a House was not in session, the next 

16 calendar day on which that House is in ses17 sion); 

18 ‘‘(2) which does not have a preamble; 

19 ‘‘(3) the title of which is only as follows: ‘Joint 

20 resolution relating to the disapproval of the Presi21 dent’s exercise of authority to issue additional debt, 

22 as submitted under section 3101 of title 31, United 

23 States Code, on llllll’ (with the blank 

24 space being filled in with the date on which the ap25 plicable certification under subsection (b)(1) was re26 ceived); and 


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1 ‘‘(4) the matter after the resolving clause of 

2 which is only as follows: ‘That Congress disapproves 

3 of the President’s exercise of the authority to issue 

4 additional debt, as exercised pursuant to the certifi5 cation under section 3101(b) of title 31, United 

6 States Code.’. 

7 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall submit 

9 to Congress a written certification whenever the 

10 President determines that the debt is within 

11 $100,000,000,000 of a $1,000,000,000,000 incre12 ment and that further borrowing is required to meet 

13 existing commitments. 

14 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY TO ISSUE DEBT AFTER CER15 TIFICATION.—Subject to the requirements of this 

16 section, the United States may issue additional debt 

17 as necessary to meet existing commitments on and 

18 after the date on which the President submits a 

19 written certification to Congress under paragraph 

20 (1). 

21 ‘‘(3) RESOLUTION OF DISAPPROVAL.—Congress 

22 may consider a joint resolution relating to each cer23 tification submitted by the President under para24 graph (1). 


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1 ‘‘(c) ENACTMENT OF JOINT RESOLUTION.—The 

2 United States may not issue additional debt if, not later 

3 than 50 calendar days after the date on which Congress 

4 receives a certification submitted under subsection (b)(1) 

5 (regardless of whether Congress is in session), there is en6 acted into law a joint resolution disapproving the Presi7 dent’s exercise of authority to issue additional debt. 

8 ‘‘(d) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION IN THE HOUSE OF

9 REPRESENTATIVES.— 

10 ‘‘(1) RECONVENING.—Upon receipt of a certifi11 cation submitted under subsection (b)(1), the Speak12 er, if the House of Representatives would otherwise 

13 be adjourned, shall notify the Members of the House 

14 of Representatives that, pursuant to this section, the 

15 House of Representatives shall convene not later 

16 than the second calendar day after receipt of such 

17 certification. 

18 ‘‘(2) REPORTING AND DISCHARGE.—Any com19 mittee of the House of Representatives to which a 

20 joint resolution is referred shall report it to the 

21 House of Representatives without amendment not 

22 later than 5 calendar days after the date of intro23 duction of the joint resolution. If a committee fails 

24 to report the joint resolution within that period, the 

25 committee shall be discharged from further considerVerDate Sep 11 2014 15:47 Feb 22, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6724.IH H6724

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1 ation of the joint resolution and the joint resolution 

2 shall be referred to the appropriate calendar. 

3 ‘‘(3) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDERATION.—After 

4 each committee authorized to consider a joint resolu5 tion reports it to the House of Representatives or 

6 has been discharged from its consideration, it shall 

7 be in order, not later than the sixth day after intro8 duction of the joint resolution, to move to proceed 

9 to consider the joint resolution in the House of Rep10 resentatives. All points of order against the motion 

11 are waived. Such a motion shall not be in order with 

12 respect to a joint resolution relating to a certifi13 cation after the House of Representatives has dis14 posed of a motion to proceed that joint resolution. 

15 The previous question shall be considered as ordered 

16 on the motion to its adoption without intervening 

17 motion. The motion shall not be debatable. A motion 

18 to reconsider the vote by which the motion is dis19 posed of shall not be in order. 

20 ‘‘(4) CONSIDERATION.—A joint resolution shall 

21 be considered as read. All points of order against a 

22 joint resolution and against its consideration are 

23 waived. An amendment to a joint resolution is not 

24 in order. The previous question shall be considered 

25 as ordered on a joint resolution to its passage withVerDate Sep 11 2014 15:47 Feb 22, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6724.IH H6724

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1 out intervening motion except 2 hours of debate 

2 equally divided and controlled by the proponent and 

3 an opponent. A motion to reconsider the vote on 

4 passage of a joint resolution shall not be in order. 

5 ‘‘(e) EXPEDITED PROCEDURE IN THE SENATE.— 

6 ‘‘(1) RECONVENING.—Upon receipt of a certifi7 cation under subsection (b)(1), if the Senate has ad8 journed or recessed for more than 2 days, the major9 ity leader of the Senate, after consultation with the 

10 minority leader of the Senate, shall notify the Mem11 bers of the Senate that, pursuant to this section, the 

12 Senate shall convene not later than the second cal13 endar day after receipt of such message. 

14 ‘‘(2) PLACEMENT ON CALENDAR.—Upon intro15 duction in the Senate, a joint resolution shall be im16 mediately placed on the calendar. 

17 ‘‘(3) FLOOR CONSIDERATION.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding rule 

19 XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, it is 

20 in order at any time during the period begin21 ning on the day after the date on which Con22 gress receives a certification under subsection 

23 (b)(1) and ending on the 6th day after the date 

24 on which Congress receives the certification 

25 (even though a previous motion to the same efVerDate Sep 11 2014 15:47 Feb 22, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6724.IH H6724

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1 fect has been disagreed to) to move to proceed 

2 to the consideration of a joint resolution relat3 ing to the certification, and all points of order 

4 against the joint resolution (and against consid5 eration of the joint resolution) are waived. The 

6 motion to proceed is not debatable. The motion 

7 is not subject to a motion to postpone. A mo8 tion to reconsider the vote by which the motion 

9 is agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in 

10 order. If a motion to proceed to the consider11 ation of a joint resolution is agreed to, the joint 

12 resolution shall remain the unfinished business 

13 until disposed of. 

14 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATION.—Consideration of a 

15 joint resolution, and on all debatable motions 

16 and appeals in connection therewith, shall be 

17 limited to not more than 10 hours, which shall 

18 be divided equally between the majority and mi19 nority leaders or their designees. A motion fur20 ther to limit debate is in order and not debat21 able. An amendment to a joint resolution, a mo22 tion to postpone, or a motion to proceed to the 

23 consideration of other business, or a motion to 

24 recommit a joint resolution is not in order. 


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1 ‘‘(C) VOTE ON PASSAGE.—If the Senate 

2 has voted to proceed to a joint resolution, the 

3 vote on passage of the joint resolution shall 

4 occur immediately following the conclusion of 

5 consideration of the joint resolution, and a sin6 gle quorum call at the conclusion of the debate 

7 if requested in accordance with the rules of the 

8 Senate. 

9 ‘‘(D) RULINGS OF THE CHAIR ON PROCE10 DURE.—Appeals from the decisions of the Chair 

11 relating to the application of the rules of the 

12 Senate, as the case may be, to the procedure re13 lating to a joint resolution shall be decided 

14 without debate. 

15 ‘‘(f) COORDINATION WITH ACTION BY OTHER

16 HOUSE.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If, before passing a joint 

18 resolution relating to a certification under subsection 

19 (b)(1), one House receives from the other a joint 

20 resolution relating to the same certification— 

21 ‘‘(A) the joint resolution of the other 

22 House shall not be referred to a committee; and 

23 ‘‘(B) the procedure in the receiving House 

24 shall be the same as if no joint resolution had 

25 been received from the other House until the 


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1 vote on passage, when the joint resolution re2 ceived from the other House shall supplant the 

3 joint resolution of the receiving House. 

4 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF JOINT RESOLUTION OF

5 OTHER HOUSE.—If the Senate fails to introduce or 

6 consider a joint resolution under this section relating 

7 to a certification under subsection (b)(1), the joint 

8 resolution of the House relating to the same certifi9 cation shall be entitled to expedited floor procedures 

10 under this section. 

11 ‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF COMPANION MEASURES.— 

12 If, following passage of a joint resolution in the Sen13 ate, the Senate receives the companion measure 

14 from the House of Representatives, the companion 

15 measure shall not be debatable. 

16 ‘‘(4) CONSIDERATION AFTER PASSAGE.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If Congress passes a 

18 joint resolution, the period beginning on the 

19 date the President is presented with the joint 

20 resolution and ending on the date the President 

21 signs, allows to become law without his signa22 ture, or vetoes and returns the joint resolution 

23 (but excluding days when either House is not in 

24 session) shall be disregarded in computing the 

25 calendar day period described in subsection (c). 


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1 ‘‘(B) VETO MESSAGE.—Debate on a veto 

2 message in the Senate under this section shall 

3 be 1 hour equally divided between the majority 

4 and minority leaders or their designees. 

5 ‘‘(5) VETO OVERRIDE.—If, within the calendar 

6 day period described in subsection (c), Congress 

7 overrides a veto of a joint resolution relating to a 

8 certification submitted under subsection (b)(1), the 

9 United States may not issue any additional debt this 

10 chapter. 

11 ‘‘(g) RULES OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND

12 SENATE.—This subsection and subsections (a), (d), (e), 

13 and (f) are enacted by Congress— 

14 ‘‘(1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of 

15 the Senate and House of Representatives, respec16 tively, and as such are deemed a part of the rules 

17 of each House, respectively, but applicable only with 

18 respect to the procedure to be followed in that 

19 House in the case of a joint resolution, and they su20 persede other rules only to the extent that they are 

21 inconsistent with such rules; and 

22 ‘‘(2) with full recognition of the constitutional 

23 right of either House to change the rules (so far as 

24 relating to the procedure of that House) at any time, 


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1 in the same manner, and to the same extent as in 

2 the case of any other rule of that House. 

3 ‘‘(h) DEBT DEFINED.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec5 tion, the term ‘debt’ means the face amount of obli6 gations issued under this chapter and the face 

7 amount of obligations whose principal and interest 

8 are guaranteed by the United States Government 

9 (except guaranteed obligations held by the Secretary 

10 of the Treasury). 

11 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF FACE AMOUNT.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this 

13 section, the current redemption value of an obli14 gation issued on a discount basis and redeem15 able before maturity at the option of its holder 

16 is deemed to be the face amount of the obliga17 tion. 

18 ‘‘(B) CERTAIN OBLIGATIONS NOT REDEEM19 ABLE BEFORE MATURITY.—For purposes of 

20 this section, the face amount, for any month, of 

21 any obligation issued on a discount basis that 

22 is not redeemable before maturity at the option 

23 of the holder of the obligation is an amount 

24 equal to the sum of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the original issue price of the ob2 ligation, plus 

3 ‘‘(ii) the portion of the discount on 

4 the obligation attributable to periods be5 fore the beginning of such month (as de6 termined under the principles of section 

7 1272(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

8 1986 without regard to any exceptions con9 tained in paragraph (2) of such section).’’. 

10 SEC. 3. REPEAL OF EXPIRED PROVISION. 

11 (a) REPEAL.—Section 3101A of title 31, United 

12 States Code, is repealed. 

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

14 for subchapter I of chapter 31 of title 31, United States 

15 Code, is amended by striking the item relating to section 

16 3101A. 

17 SEC. 4. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

19 (1) Section 8348 of title 5, United States Code, 

20 is amended by striking subsections (j), (k), and (l). 

21 (2) Section 8438 of title 5, United States Code, 

22 is amended by striking subsections (g) and (h). 

23 (3) Section 14(d)(2)(A) of the Federal Deposit 

24 Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1824(d)(2)(A)) is amend25 ed— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘in section 3101(b)’’ and 

2 inserting ‘‘under section 3101’’; and 

3 (B) by striking ‘‘an obligation to which 

4 such limit applies’’ and inserting ‘‘debt, as de5 fined in subsection (h) of such section’’. 

6 (b) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.—Notwithstanding the 

7 amendments made by paragraphs (1) and (2) of sub8 section (a)— 

9 (1) paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of subsection 

10 (j) and subsection (l)(1) of section 8348 of title 5, 

11 United States Code, as in effect on the day before 

12 the date of enactment of this Act, shall apply to any 

13 debt issuance suspension period (as defined under 

14 section 8348(j)(5) of such title) that is in effect on 

15 the date of enactment of this Act; and 

16 (2) paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of subsection 

17 (g) and subsection (h)(1) of section 8438 of title 5, 

18 United States Code, as in effect on the day before 

19 the date of enactment of this Act, shall apply to any 

20 debt issuance suspension period (as defined under 

21 section 8438(g)(6) of such title) that is in effect on 

22 the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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