I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1638 
To stimulate the economy, provide for a sound United States dollar by 
defining a value for the dollar, to remove the authority of Federal 
Reserve banks to pay earnings on certain balances maintained at such 
banks, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 15, 2011 
Mr. POE of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on 
Ways and Means and the Budget, 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 stimulate the economy, provide for a sound United States 
dollar by defining a value for the dollar, to remove the 
authority of Federal Reserve banks to pay earnings on 
certain balances maintained at such banks, and for other 
purposes. 
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 ‘‘Dollar Bill Act of 
2011’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of 
the United States provides that the Congress shall 
have Power to coin money, regulate the value there-
of, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of 
weights and measures. 
(2) Congress effectively delegated the power to 
regulate the value of United States money and for-
eign money to the Federal Reserve System via the 
Federal Reserve Act of 1913. 
(3) The value of the United States dollar has 
fallen dramatically relative to gold, crude oil, other 
real commodities and major foreign currencies. 
(4) The value of the United States dollar has 
become unstable and uncertain. 
(5) The Board of Governors of the Federal Re-
serve System has not produced a stable and reliable 
value for the United States dollar. 
(6) The Board of Governors of the Federal Re-
serve System cannot reasonably be expected to 
produce a stable and reliable value for the United 
States dollar. 
(7) An unstable dollar slows the growth of the 
economy by increasing the cost of capital, increasing 
the risks attendant to long-term capital investment, 
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and increasing the effective rate of the corporate in-
come tax. 
(8) An unstable dollar reduces the real earnings 
of American workers. 
(9) An unstable dollar reduces the real value of 
financial assets held by the public. 
(10) An unstable dollar reduces the real value 
of pension plans and retirement accounts upon 
which Americans depend for their security. 
(11) An unstable dollar damages the economic 
and political standing of the United States in the 
world community. 
(12) An unstable dollar gives rise to anxiety, 
uncertainty, and risk among the financial markets 
and the public. 
SEC. 3. DIRECTIVES TO THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF 
THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Before the end of the 90-day pe-
riod beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 
shall make the value of the U.S. dollar equal to the price 
of gold on the exchange operated by the Commodities Ex-
change, Inc. (COMEX) of the New York Mercantile Ex-
change, Inc. and maintain the value of the United States 
dollar at this level. 
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(b) TARGET.—In regulating the value of the United 
States dollar, the Board of Governors of the Federal Re-
serve System shall not conduct open market operations in-
directly, as in the current practice of targeting the Federal 
Funds rate. 
(c) PROMOTION OF STABLE AND EFFECTIVE FINAN-
CIAL MARKETS.—The Board of Governors of the Federal 
Reserve System shall use the banking and bank regulatory 
powers of the Board to maintain and promote stable and 
effective financial markets during and after the transition 
to a defined value for the United States dollar. 
SEC. 4. TAX DEPRECIATION. 
Effective January 1, 2011, all entities that depreciate 
capital assets for tax purposes shall be entitled to 100 per-
cent expensing of all capital investment for tax purposes 
in the year that the investment is made. 
SEC. 5. DIRECTIVE TO THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OF-
FICE. 
In addition to the scoring that the Congressional 
Budget Office will do of the tax changes provided in this 
Act in the normal course of events, the Congressional 
Budget Office shall also calculate the impact on Federal 
revenues on a present value basis. This calculation shall 
be done in the manner that such calculations are done by 
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the Social Security Trustees, and shall take into account 
the following: 
(1) That first year expensing of capital invest-
ment accelerates, but does not change the total 
amount of the depreciation that taxpayers take 
based upon their investments. 
(2) Capital investments by businesses have his-
torically earned much higher returns than the inter-
est rate on government bonds. 
SEC. 6. CONFLICT OF LAWS PROVISION. 
In the event that any provisions of this Act are found 
to be in conflict with those of the Full Employment and 
Balanced Growth Act of 1978, the provisions of this Act 
shall supersede the provisions of such Act to the extent 
of the conflict. 
SEC. 7. REMOVAL OF FEDERAL RESERVE BANK AUTHORITY 
TO PAY EARNINGS ON RESERVES. 
Section 19(b)(12) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 
U.S.C. 461(b)(12)) is amended— 
(1) in the heading of such paragraph, by strik-
ing ‘‘EARNINGS’’ and inserting ‘‘NO EARNINGS’’; 
(2) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘may re-
ceive earnings to be paid by the Federal Reserve 
bank at least once each calendar quarter, at a rate 
or rates not to exceed the general level of short-term 
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interest rates’’ and inserting ‘‘may not receive earn-
ings paid by the Federal Reserve bank’’; 
(3) by striking subparagraph (B); and 
(4) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub-
paragraph (B). 
Æ 
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