[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 523 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 523
To provide further means of accountability of the United States debt
and promote fiscal responsibility.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 13, 2017
Mr. Marchant introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Ways and Means
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide further means of accountability of the United States debt
and promote fiscal responsibility.
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 ``Debt Transparency and Accountability
Act''.
SEC. 2. SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY REPORT TO CONGRESS BEFORE REACHING
DEBT LIMIT.
(a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 31 of title 31, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 3131. Report before reaching debt limit
``(a) In General.--Not more than sixty days and not less than
twenty-one days prior to any date on which the Secretary of the
Treasury anticipates the public debt will reach the limit specified
under section 3101, as modified by section 3101A, the Secretary shall
appear before the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate, to submit
the information described under subsection (b).
``(b) Information Required To Be Presented.--In an appearance
described under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit the
following:
``(1) Debt report.--A report on the state of the public
debt, including--
``(A) the historical levels of the debt, current
amount and composition of the debt, and future
projections of the debt;
``(B) the drivers and composition of future debt;
and
``(C) how, if the debt limit is raised, the United
States will meet debt obligations, including principal
and interest.
``(2) Statement of intent.--A detailed explanation of--
``(A) proposals of the President to reduce the
public debt in the short term (the current and
following three fiscal years), medium term
(approximately five to nine fiscal years), and long
term (approximately ten to twenty-five fiscal years),
and proposals of the President to adjust the debt-to-
gross domestic product ratio;
``(B) the impact an increased debt limit will have
on future Government spending, debt service, and the
position of the United States dollar as the
international reserve currency;
``(C) projections of fiscal health and
sustainability of major direct-spending entitlement
programs (including Social Security, Medicare, and
Medicaid); and
``(D) any extraordinary measures the Secretary
intends to take to fund Federal Government obligations
if the debt limit is not raised, a projection of how
long such extraordinary measures will fund the Federal
Government, and a projection of the administrative cost
of taking such extraordinary measures.
``(3) Progress report.--
``(A) In general.--A detailed report on the
progress of implementing all proposals of the President
described under subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2).
``(B) Exception.--The report described under this
paragraph shall only be submitted if a Secretary has
already appeared at least once pursuant to this section
during any term of office for a particular President.
``(c) Public Access to Information.--The Secretary of the Treasury
shall place on the homepage of the Department of the Treasury a link to
a webpage that shall serve as a repository of information made
available to the public for at least 6 months following the date of
release of the relevant information, including:
``(1) The debt report submitted under subsection (b)(1).
``(2) The detailed explanation submitted under subsection
(b)(2).
``(3) The progress report submitted under subsection
(b)(3).
``(d) Extraordinary Measures Defined.--For purposes of this
section, the term `extraordinary measures' means each of the following:
``(1) Directing or approving the issuance of debt by the
Federal Financing Bank for the purpose of entering into an
exchange transaction for debt that is subject to the limit
under this section.
``(2) Suspending investments in the Government Securities
Investment Fund of the Thrift Savings Fund.
``(3) Suspending investments in the stabilization fund
established under section 5302.
``(4) Suspending new investments in the Civil Service
Retirement and Disability Fund or the Postal Service Retiree
Health Benefits Fund.
``(5) Selling or redeeming securities, obligations, or
other invested assets of the Civil Service Retirement and
Disability Fund or the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits
Fund before maturity.
``(6) Suspending sales of State and Local Government Series
Treasury securities.
``(7) Such other measures as the Secretary determines
appropriate.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of analysis for chapter 31 of
title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item
relating to section 3130 the following:
``3131. Report before reaching debt limit.''.
SEC. 3. ACCESS TO CERTAIN TREASURY DEPARTMENT DATA.
Not later than thirty days after receipt of a written request from
the Chairman of the Committee on Finance of the Senate or of the
Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, but no
more than four times per fiscal year for each, the Secretary of the
Treasury shall provide to the requesting Chairman financial and
economic data relevant to determining the amount of the public debt of
the United States, including--
(1) cash flow and debt transaction information used in
preparing the Daily Treasury Statement, including current
balances, receipts, and payments;
(2) operating cash balance projections; and
(3) relevant information regarding any extraordinary
measures (as defined under section 3131(d) of title 31, United
States Code) taken to prevent the public debt from exceeding
the limitation imposed by section 3101 of title 31, United
States Code, as modified by section 3101A of such title.
<all>