I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 420
To amend the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985
to require that the size of the public debt be reduced during each
fiscal year by the amount of the net surplus in the social security
trust funds at the end of that fiscal year.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 19, 1999
Mr. SMITH of Michigan introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on the Budget, and in addition to the Committee on Ways
and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To amend the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Con-
trol Act of 1985 to require that the size of the public
debt be reduced during each fiscal year by the amount
of the net surplus in the social security trust funds
at the end of that fiscal year.
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 ‘‘Social Security Surplus
Protection Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. SEQUESTRATION OF FEDERAL SPENDING TO RE-
DUCE THE PUBLIC DEBT.
(a) SEQUESTRATION
TO
REDUCE
THE
PUBLIC
DEBT.—Part C of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985 is amended by adding after
section 253 the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 253A. SEQUESTRATION TO REDUCE THE PUBLIC
DEBT.
‘‘(a) SEQUESTRATION.—Within 15 days after Con-
gress adjourns to end a session, and on the same day as
a sequestration (if any) under sections 251 and 252, but
after any sequestration of budget-year budgetary re-
sources required by those sections, there shall be a seques-
tration equivalent to the estimated net surplus in the so-
cial security trust funds for the budget year, as estimated
by the Secretary of the Treasury on September 30 of that
year.
‘‘(b) APPLICABILITY.—Each non-exempt account
within a category shall be reduced by a dollar amount cal-
culated by multiplying the level of budgetary resources in
that account at that time by the uniform percentage nec-
essary to carry out subsection (a). All obligational author-
ity reduced under this section shall be done in a manner
that makes such reductions permanent.’’.
(b) REPORTS.—Section 254 of the Balanced Budget
and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 is amended—
(1) in subsection (c)(1), by inserting ‘‘, and se-
questration to reduce the public debt,’’;
(2) in subsection (c), by redesignating para-
graph (5) as paragraph (6) and by inserting after
paragraph (4) the following new paragraph:
‘‘(5) SEQUESTRATION TO REDUCE THE PUBLIC
DEBT REPORTS.—The preview reports shall set forth
for the budget year estimates for each of the follow-
ing:
‘‘(A) The net surplus in the social security
trust funds for the budget year, as estimated by
the Secretary of the Treasury.
‘‘(B) The amount of reductions required
under section 253A.
‘‘(C) The sequestration percentage nec-
essary to achieve the required reduction in ac-
counts under section 253A(b).’’; and
(3) in subsection (f), by redesignating para-
graphs (4) and (5) as paragraphs (5) and (6), re-
spectively, and by inserting after paragraph (3) the
following new paragraph:
‘‘(4) SEQUESTRATION TO REDUCE THE PUBLIC
DEBT REPORTS.—The final reports shall contain the
net surplus in the social security trust funds for the
budget year, as estimated by the Secretary of the
Treasury on September 30.’’.
(c) DEFINITION.—Section 250(c) of the Balanced
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 is
amended by adding at the end the following new para-
graph:
‘‘(20) The term ‘social security trust funds’ re-
fers to the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance
Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance
Trust Fund.’’.
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall apply to fiscal year 1999 and each fiscal
year thereafter and shall cease to have any effect after
the earlier of—
(1) the first fiscal year during which there is no
public debt; or
(2) the fiscal year during which there is enacted
legislation which is determined, under Government
budgeting and scoring principles, to keep social secu-
rity solvent.
Æ