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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Debt Management and 
Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2015’’. 
SEC. 2. SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY REPORT TO CON-
GRESS BEFORE REACHING DEBT LIMIT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 31 of 
title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
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‘‘§ 3131. Report before reaching debt limit 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not more than sixty days and 
not less than twenty-one days prior to any date on which 
the Secretary of the Treasury anticipates the public debt 
will reach the limit specified under section 3101, as modi-
fied by section 3101A, the Secretary shall appear before 
the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate, 
to submit the information described under subsection (b). 
‘‘(b) 
INFORMATION
REQUIRED
TO
BE
PRE-
SENTED.—In an appearance described under subsection 
(a), the Secretary shall submit the following: 
‘‘(1) DEBT REPORT.—A report on the state of 
the public debt, including— 
‘‘(A) the historical levels of the debt, cur-
rent amount and composition of the debt, and 
future projections of the debt; 
‘‘(B) the drivers and composition of future 
debt; and 
‘‘(C) how, if the debt limit is raised, the 
United States will meet debt obligations, includ-
ing principal and interest. 
‘‘(2) STATEMENT OF INTENT.—A detailed ex-
planation of— 
‘‘(A) proposals of the President to reduce 
the public debt in the short term (the current 
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and following fiscal year), medium term (ap-
proximately three to five fiscal years), and long 
term (approximately ten fiscal years), and pro-
posals of the President to adjust the debt-to- 
gross domestic product ratio; 
‘‘(B) the impact an increased debt limit 
will have on future Government spending, debt 
service, and the position of the United States 
dollar as the international reserve currency; and 
‘‘(C) projections of fiscal health and sus-
tainability of major direct-spending entitlement 
programs (including Social Security, Medicare, 
and Medicaid). 
‘‘(3) PROGRESS REPORT.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A detailed report on 
the progress of implementing all proposals of 
the President described under subparagraph 
(A) of paragraph (2). 
‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The report described 
under this paragraph shall only be submitted if 
a Secretary has already appeared at least once 
pursuant to this section during any term of of-
fice for a particular President. 
‘‘(c) PUBLIC ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—The Sec-
retary of the Treasury shall place on the homepage of the 
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Department of the Treasury a link to a webpage that shall 
serve as a repository of information made available to the 
public for at least 6 months following the date of release 
of the relevant information, including: 
‘‘(1) The debt report submitted under sub-
section (b)(1). 
‘‘(2) The detailed explanation submitted under 
subsection (b)(2). 
‘‘(3) The progress report submitted under sub-
section (b)(3). 
‘‘(4) Such other information as the Secretary 
reasonably believes is necessary or helpful to the 
public in understanding the statutory debt limit, 
Government debt, and the reports and explanations 
described under paragraphs (1), (2), and (3).’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of analysis 
for chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, is amended 
by inserting after the item relating to section 3130 the 
following: 
‘‘3131. Report before reaching debt limit.’’. 
Æ 
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