I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 5173
To provide for reconciliation pursuant to sections 103(b)(2) and 213(b)(2)(C)
of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2001 to reduce
the public debt and to decrease the statutory limit on the public debt.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 14, 2000
Mr. FLETCHER (for himself, Mr. HERGER, Mr. ARCHER, Mr. SHAW, Mr.
NUSSLE, Mr. CRANE, Mr. GARY MILLER of California, Mr. LEWIS of
Kentucky, Mr. KUYKENDALL, Mr. TANCREDO, Mr. CAMP, Ms. DUNN,
Mr. HAYWORTH, Mr. ENGLISH, Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas, Mr.
PORTMAN, Mr. RAMSTAD, and Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means,
and in addition to the Committees on the Budget, and Rules, for a period
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
A BILL
To provide for reconciliation pursuant to sections 103(b)(2)
and 213(b)(2)(C) of the concurrent resolution on the
budget for fiscal year 2001 to reduce the public debt
and to decrease the statutory limit on the public debt.
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 Relief Lock-box
Reconciliation Act for Fiscal Year 2001’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
(1) fiscal discipline, resulting from the Bal-
anced Budget Act of 1997, and strong economic
growth have ended decades of deficit spending and
have produced budget surpluses without using the
social security surplus;
(2) fiscal pressures will mount in the future as
the aging of the population increases budget obliga-
tions;
(3) until Congress and the President agree to
legislation that saves social security and medicare,
the social security and medicare surpluses should be
used to reduce the debt held by the public;
(4) until Congress and the President agree on
significant tax reductions, amounts dedicated for
that purpose shall be used to reduce the debt held
by the public;
(5) strengthening the Government’s fiscal posi-
tion through public debt reduction increases national
savings, promotes economic growth, reduces interest
costs, and is a constructive way to prepare for the
Government’s future budget obligations; and
(6) it is fiscally responsible and in the long-
term national economic interest to use a portion of
the nonsocial security and nonmedicare surpluses to
reduce the debt held by the public.
(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to—
(1) reduce the debt held by the public by
$240,000,000,000 in fiscal year 2001 with the goal
of eliminating this debt by 2012; and
(2) decrease the statutory limit on the public
debt.
TITLE I—DEBT REDUCTION
LOCK-BOX
SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF PUBLIC DEBT REDUCTION
PAYMENT ACCOUNT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 31 of title
31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end
the following new section:
‘‘§ 3114. Public debt reduction payment account
‘‘(a) There is established in the Treasury of the
United States an account to be known as the Public Debt
Reduction Payment Account (hereinafter in this section
referred to as the ‘account’).
‘‘(b) The Secretary of the Treasury shall use amounts
in the account to pay at maturity, or to redeem or buy
before maturity, any obligation of the Government held
by the public and included in the public debt. Any obliga-
tion which is paid, redeemed, or bought with amounts
from the account shall be canceled and retired and may
not be reissued. Amounts deposited in the account are ap-
propriated and may only be expended to carry out this
section.
‘‘(c) There is hereby appropriated into the account
on October 1, 2000, or the date of enactment of this Act,
whichever is later, out of any money in the Treasury not
otherwise appropriated, $42,000,000,000 for the fiscal
year ending September 30, 2001. The funds appropriated
to this account shall remain available until expended.
‘‘(d) The appropriation made under subsection (c)
shall not be considered direct spending for purposes of sec-
tion 252 of Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Con-
trol Act of 1985.
‘‘(e) Establishment of and appropriations to the ac-
count shall not affect trust fund transfers that may be
authorized under any other provision of law.
‘‘(f) The Secretary of the Treasury and the Director
of the Office of Management and Budget shall each take
such actions as may be necessary to promptly carry out
this section in accordance with sound debt management
policies.
‘‘(g) Reducing the debt pursuant to this section shall
not interfere with the debt management policies or goals
of the Secretary of the Treasury.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal-
ysis for chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after the item relating to section
3113 the following:
‘‘3114. Public debt reduction payment account.’’.
SEC. 102. REDUCTION OF STATUTORY LIMIT ON THE PUB-
LIC DEBT.
Section 3101(b) of title 31, United States Code, is
amended by inserting ‘‘minus the amount appropriated
into the Public Debt Reduction Payment Account pursu-
ant to section 3114(c)’’ after ‘‘$5,950,000,000,000’’.
SEC. 103. OFF-BUDGET STATUS OF PUBLIC DEBT REDUC-
TION PAYMENT ACCOUNT.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the re-
ceipts and disbursements of the Public Debt Reduction
Payment Account established by section 3114 of title 31,
United States Code, shall not be counted as new budget
authority, outlays, receipts, or deficit or surplus for pur-
poses of—
(1) the budget of the United States Govern-
ment as submitted by the President,
(2) the congressional budget, or
(3) the Balanced Budget and Emergency Def-
icit Control Act of 1985.
SEC. 104. REMOVING PUBLIC DEBT REDUCTION PAYMENT
ACCOUNT 
FROM 
BUDGET 
PRONOUNCE-
MENTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Any official statement issued by
the Office of Management and Budget, the Congressional
Budget Office, or any other agency or instrumentality of
the Federal Government of surplus or deficit totals of the
budget of the United States Government as submitted by
the President or of the surplus or deficit totals of the con-
gressional budget, and any description of, or reference to,
such totals in any official publication or material issued
by either of such Offices or any other such agency or in-
strumentality, shall exclude the outlays and receipts of the
Public Debt Reduction Payment Account established by
section 3114 of title 31, United States Code.
(b) SEPARATE PUBLIC DEBT REDUCTION PAYMENT
ACCOUNT BUDGET DOCUMENTS.—The excluded outlays
and receipts of the Public Debt Reduction Payment Ac-
count established by section 3114 of title 31, United
States Code, shall be submitted in separate budget docu-
ments.
SEC. 105. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.
(a) REPORTS OF THE SECRETARY OF THE TREAS-
URY.—(1) Within 30 days after the appropriation is de-
posited into the Public Debt Reduction Payment Account
under section 3114 of title 31, United States Code, the
Secretary of the Treasury shall submit a report to the
Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate
confirming that such account has been established and the
amount and date of such deposit. Such report shall also
include a description of the Secretary’s plan for using such
money to reduce debt held by the public.
(2) Not later than October 31, 2002, the Secretary
of the Treasury shall submit a report to the Committee
on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Finance of the Senate setting forth the
amount of money deposited into the Public Debt Reduc-
tion Payment Account, the amount of debt held by the
public that was reduced, and a description of the actual
debt instruments that were redeemed with such money.
(b) REPORT OF THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF
THE UNITED STATES.—Not later than November 15,
2002, the Comptroller General of the United States shall
submit a report to the Committee on Ways and Means
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Finance of the Senate verifying all of the information set
forth in the reports submitted under subsection (a).
TITLE II—SOCIAL SECURITY AND
MEDICARE LOCK-BOX
SEC. 201. PROTECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDI-
CARE SURPLUSES.
(a) PROTECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDI-
CARE SURPLUSES.—Section 201 of the concurrent resolu-
tion on the budget for fiscal year 2001 (H. Con. Res. 290,
106th Congress) is amended as follows:
(1) In the section heading, by inserting ‘‘AND
MEDICARE’’ before ‘‘SURPLUSES’’.
(2) By striking subsection (c) and inserting the
following new subsection:
‘‘(c) LOCK-BOX FOR SOCIAL SECURITY AND HOS-
PITAL INSURANCE SURPLUSES.—
‘‘(1) CONCURRENT
RESOLUTIONS
ON
THE
BUDGET.—It shall not be in order in the House of
Representatives or the Senate to consider any con-
current resolution on the budget, or conference re-
port thereon or amendment thereto, that would set
forth a surplus for any fiscal year that is less than
the surplus of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust
Fund for that fiscal year.
‘‘(2) SUBSEQUENT LEGISLATION.—(A) Except
as provided by subparagraph (B), it shall not be in
order in the House of Representatives or the Senate
to consider any bill, joint resolution, amendment,
motion, or conference report if—
‘‘(i) the enactment of that bill or resolution
as reported;
‘‘(ii) the adoption and enactment of that
amendment; or
‘‘(iii) the enactment of that bill or resolu-
tion in the form recommended in that con-
ference report,
would cause the on-budget surplus for any fiscal
year to be less than the projected surplus of the
Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund (as assumed
in the most recently agreed to concurrent resolution
on the budget) for that fiscal year or increase the
amount by which the on-budget surplus for any fis-
cal year would be less than such trust fund surplus
for that fiscal year.
‘‘(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to social
security reform legislation or medicare reform legis-
lation.
(3) By redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as
subsections (g) and (h), respectively, and inserting
after subsection (d) the following new subsections:
‘‘(e) CONTENT OF CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON
THE BUDGET.—The concurrent resolution on the budget
for each fiscal year shall set forth appropriate levels for
the fiscal year beginning on October 1 of such year and
for at least each of the 4 ensuing fiscal years of the sur-
plus or deficit in the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust
Fund.
‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:
‘‘(1) The term ‘medicare reform legislation’
means a bill or a joint resolution to save Medicare
that includes a provision stating the following: ‘For
purposes of section 201(c) of the concurrent resolu-
tion on the budget for fiscal year 2001, this Act con-
stitutes medicare reform legislation.
‘‘(2) The term ‘social security reform legisla-
tion’ means a bill or a joint resolution to save social
security that includes a provision stating the fol-
lowing: ‘For purposes of section 201(c) of the con-
current resolution on the budget for fiscal year
2001, this Act constitutes social security reform leg-
islation.’.’’.
(4) In the first sentence of subsection (h) (as
redesignated), by striking ‘‘(1)’’.
(5) At the end, by adding the following new
subsection:
‘‘(i) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall cease to
have any force or effect upon the enactment of social secu-
rity reform legislation and medicare reform legislation.’’.
(b) PROTECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDI-
CARE SURPLUSES.—(1) If the budget of the United States
Government submitted by the President under section
1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, recommends an
on-budget surplus for any fiscal year that is less than the
surplus of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund for
that fiscal year, then it shall include proposed legislative
language for social security reform legislation or medicare
reform legislation.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall cease to have any force or
effect upon the enactment of social security reform legisla-
tion and medicare reform legislation as defined by section
201(f) of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal
year 2001 (H. Con. Res 290, 106th Congress).’’.
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The item relating
to section 201 in the table of contents set forth in section
1(b) of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal
year 2001 (H. Con. Res 290, 106th Congress) is amended
to read as follows:
‘‘Sec. 201. Protection of social security and medicare surpluses.’’.
SEC. 202. REMOVING SOCIAL SECURITY FROM BUDGET
PRONOUNCEMENTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Any official statement issued by
the Office of Management and Budget, the Congressional
Budget Office, or any other agency or instrumentality of
the Federal Government of surplus or deficit totals of the
budget of the United States Government as submitted by
the President or of the surplus or deficit totals of the con-
gressional budget, and any description of, or reference to,
such totals in any official publication or material issued
by either of such Offices or any other such agency or in-
strumentality, shall exclude the outlays and receipts of the
old-age, survivors, and disability insurance program under
title II of the Social Security Act (including the Federal
Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the
Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund) and the related
provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(b) SEPARATE SOCIAL SECURITY BUDGET DOCU-
MENTS.—The excluded outlays and receipts of the old-age,
survivors, and disability insurance program under title II
of the Social Security Act shall be submitted in separate
Social Security budget documents.
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