Title: Dollar-for-Dollar Deficit Reduction Act
Policy area: Economics and Public Finance

Summary:
Dollar-for-Dollar Deficit Reduction Act
The bill establishes a framework to require legislation that increases or suspends the public debt limit to include spending reductions that are equal to or greater than the projected increase in debt that will occur under the legislation. The bill allows the spending reductions to be phased in over a 10-year period.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2002 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2002

 To require that any debt limit increase or suspension be balanced by 
               equal spending cuts over the next decade.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 27, 2019

 Mr. Portman (for himself, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Isakson, Mrs. Capito, and 
  Mr. Toomey) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
                referred to the Committee on the Budget

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require that any debt limit increase or suspension be balanced by 
               equal spending cuts over the next decade.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Dollar-for-Dollar Deficit Reduction 
Act''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO TITLE 31.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter I of chapter 31 of title 31, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 3101A the following:
``Sec. 3101B. Debt limit control
    ``(a) Declaration of a Debt Limit Warning.--
            ``(1) In general.--In the event of a near breach of the 
        public debt limit established by section 3101, the Secretary of 
        the Treasury shall issue a debt limit warning to the Committee 
        on Finance of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means of 
        the House of Representatives that shall include a determination 
        as to when extraordinary measures may be necessary in order to 
        prolong the funding of the United States Government.
            ``(2) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Extraordinary measures.--The term 
                `extraordinary measures' means measures that may be 
                taken by the Secretary of the Treasury in the event of 
                a breach of the debt limit by the United States to 
                prolong the function of the United States Government in 
                the absence of a debt limit increase.
                    ``(B) Near breach.--The term `near breach' means 
                the point at which the Secretary of the Treasury 
                determines that the United States Government will reach 
                the statutorily prescribed debt limit within 60 
                calendar days notwithstanding the implementation of 
                extraordinary measures.
    ``(b) Presidential Submission of Debt Limit Legislation.--
            ``(1) Savings recommendations from the president.--Any 
        formal Presidential request to increase the debt limit under 
        this section shall include the amount of the proposed debt 
        limit increase and be accompanied by proposed legislation to 
        reduce spending over the sum of the current and following 10 
        years by an amount equal to or greater than the amount of the 
        requested debt limit increase. Net interest savings may not be 
        counted towards spending reductions required by this paragraph.
            ``(2) Calculation.--The spending savings under paragraph 
        (1) shall be calculated against a budget baseline consistent 
        with section 257 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 
        Control Act of 1985. This baseline shall exclude the 
        extrapolation of any spending that had been enacted under an 
        emergency designation.''.
    (b) Subchapter Analysis.--The table of sections for chapter 31 of 
title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item 
for section 3101A the following:

``3101B. Debt limit control.''.

SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL REQUIREMENT TO RESTRAIN SPENDING WHILE RAISING OR 
              SUSPENDING THE DEBT LIMIT.

    (a) In General.--Title III of the Congress and Budget Act of 1974 
(2 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended by inserting at the end the 
following:

``SEC. 316. DEBT LIMIT INCREASE POINT OF ORDER.

    ``(a) In General.--
            ``(1) Point of order.--Except as provided in subsection 
        (b), it shall not be in order in the Senate or the House of 
        Representatives to consider any bill, joint resolution, 
        amendment, motion, or conference report that increases the 
        statutory debt limit unless the bill contains net spending 
        reductions of an equal or greater amount over the period of the 
        current and next 10 fiscal years. Net interest savings may not 
        be counted towards spending reductions required by this 
        paragraph.
            ``(2) Components of net spending reduction.--
                    ``(A) Calculation.--The savings resulting from the 
                proposed spending reductions under paragraph (1) shall 
                be calculated by the Congressional Budget Office 
                against a budget baseline consistent with section 257 
                of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control 
                Act of 1985. This baseline shall exclude the 
                extrapolation of any spending that had been enacted 
                under an emergency designation.
                    ``(B) Availability.--The Senate and the House of 
                Representatives may not vote on any bill, joint 
                resolution, amendment, motion, or conference report 
                that increases the public debt limit unless the cost 
                estimate of that measure prepared by the Congressional 
                Budget Office has been publicly available on the Web 
                site of the Congressional Budget Office for at least 24 
                hours.
                    ``(C) Prohibit timing shifts.--Any provision that 
                shifts outlays or revenues from within the 10-year 
                window to outside the window shall not count towards 
                the budget savings target for purposes of this 
                subsection.
    ``(b) Senate Supermajority Waiver and Appeal.--
            ``(1) Waiver.--In the Senate, subsection (a)(1) may be 
        waived or suspended only by an affirmative vote of three-fifths 
        of the Members, duly chosen and sworn.
            ``(2) Appeal.--An affirmative vote of three-fifths of the 
        Members of the Senate, duly chosen and sworn, shall be required 
        to sustain an appeal of the ruling of the Chair on a point of 
        order raised under subsection (a)(1).

``SEC. 317. DEBT LIMIT SUSPENSION POINT OF ORDER.

    ``(a) In General.--
            ``(1) Point of order.--Except as provided in subsection 
        (b), it shall not be in order in the Senate or the House of 
        Representatives to consider any bill, joint resolution, 
        amendment, motion, or conference report that suspends the 
        statutory debt limit unless the bill contains net spending 
        reductions over the period of the current and next 10 fiscal 
        years in an amount that is equal to or greater than the 
        projected debt amount for the period of the suspension of the 
        statutory debt limit as determined by the Congressional Budget 
        Office in accordance with paragraph (3). Net interest savings 
        may not be counted towards spending reductions required by this 
        paragraph.
            ``(2) Components of net spending reduction.--
                    ``(A) Calculation.--The savings resulting from the 
                proposed spending reductions under paragraph (1) shall 
                be calculated by the Congressional Budget Office 
                against a budget baseline consistent with section 257 
                of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control 
                Act of 1985. This baseline shall exclude the 
                extrapolation of any spending that had been enacted 
                under an emergency designation.
                    ``(B) Availability.--The Senate and the House of 
                Representatives may not vote on any bill, joint 
                resolution, amendment, motion, or conference report 
                that increases the public debt limit unless the cost 
                estimate of that measure prepared by the Congressional 
                Budget Office has been publicly available on the Web 
                site of the Congressional Budget Office for at least 24 
                hours.
                    ``(C) Prohibit timing shifts.--Any provision that 
                shifts outlays or revenues from within the 10-year 
                window to outside the window shall not count towards 
                the budget savings target for purposes of this 
                subsection.
            ``(3) Calculation of projected debt amount.--For purposes 
        of paragraph (1), the Congressional Budget Office shall 
        determine the amount of projected debt for the period for which 
        the bill, joint resolution, amendment, motion, or conference 
        report suspends the statutory debt limit by calculating the 
        difference between--
                    ``(A) the amount the statutory debt is projected to 
                be on the date on which the suspension of the statutory 
                debt limit is to end, as determined by the debt 
                projection of the Congressional Budget Office, and
                    ``(B) the amount of statutory debt as of the date 
                on which the suspension of the statutory debt limit is 
                to begin.
    ``(b) Senate Supermajority Waiver and Appeal.--
            ``(1) Waiver.--In the Senate, subsection (a)(1) may be 
        waived or suspended only by an affirmative vote of three-fifths 
        of the Members, duly chosen and sworn.
            ``(2) Appeal.--An affirmative vote of three-fifths of the 
        Members of the Senate, duly chosen and sworn, shall be required 
        to sustain an appeal of the ruling of the Chair on a point of 
        order raised under subsection (a)(1).''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents set forth in 
section 1(b) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 
1974 is amended by inserting after section 315 the following:

``Sec. 316. Debt limit increase point of order.
``Sec. 317. Debt limit suspension point of order.''.
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