I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2496 
To specify that in the event that the debt ceiling is reached, the United 
States shall prioritize the payment of pay and allowances to members 
of the Armed Forces, including reserve components thereof, and the 
payment of obligations on the public debt, and to appropriate such 
funds as may be necessary to ensure that members of the Armed Forces, 
including reserve components thereof, continue to receive pay and allow-
ances for active service performed when a funding gap occurs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 12, 2011 
Mr. KING of Iowa (for himself, Mr. GOHMERT, and Mrs. BACHMANN) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways 
and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services and 
Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To specify that in the event that the debt ceiling is reached, 
the United States shall prioritize the payment of pay 
and allowances to members of the Armed Forces, includ-
ing reserve components thereof, and the payment of obli-
gations on the public debt, and to appropriate such funds 
as may be necessary to ensure that members of the 
Armed Forces, including reserve components thereof, 
continue to receive pay and allowances for active service 
performed when a funding gap occurs. 
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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 ‘‘Payment Reliability 
for our Obligations to Military and Investors to Secure 
Essential Stability Act’’ or the ‘‘PROMISES Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PRIORITY OF PAYMENTS IF THE DEBT CEILING IS 
REACHED. 
In the event that the debt of the United States Gov-
ernment, as defined in section 3101 of title 31, United 
States Code, reaches the statutory limit, amounts nec-
essary for obligations incurred by the Government of the 
United States shall be made available to the following obli-
gations before all other obligations and shall be made 
available as prioritized in the following order (with items 
listed in descending order of prioritization): 
(1) Such amounts as the Secretary of Defense 
(and the Secretary of Homeland Security in the case 
of the Coast Guard) determines to be necessary to 
continue to provide pay and allowances (without 
interruption) to members of the Army, Navy, Air 
Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, including 
reserve components thereof, who perform active serv-
ice. 
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(2) Amounts necessary to carry out the author-
ity of the Department of the Treasury provided in 
section 3123 of title 31, United States Code, to pay 
with legal tender the principal and interest on debt 
held by the public. 
SEC. 3. EMERGENCY APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS TO PRO-
VIDE PAY AND ALLOWANCES FOR MEMBERS 
OF THE ARMED FORCES DURING FUNDING 
GAP IMPACTING THE DEPARTMENT OF DE-
FENSE OR DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SE-
CURITY. 
(a) APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS FOR MILITARY PAY 
AND ALLOWANCES.—During a funding gap impacting the 
Armed Forces, the Secretary of the Treasury shall make 
available to the Secretary of Defense (and the Secretary 
of Homeland Security in the case of the Coast Guard), 
out of any amounts in the general fund of the Treasury 
not otherwise appropriated, such amounts as the Secretary 
of Defense (and the Secretary of Homeland Security in 
the case of the Coast Guard) determines to be necessary 
to continue to provide pay and allowances (without inter-
ruption) to members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Ma-
rine Corps, and Coast Guard, including reserve compo-
nents thereof, who perform active service during the fund-
ing gap. 
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(b) FUNDING GAP DEFINED.—In this section, the 
term ‘‘funding gap’’ means any period of time after the 
beginning of a fiscal year for which interim or full-year 
appropriations for the personnel accounts of the Armed 
Forces for that fiscal year have not been enacted. 
Æ 
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