S. 4173

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4173 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4173

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

March 24, 2026

Mr. Barrasso (for himself and Ms. Lummis) 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 (2 U.S.C. 907). 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 Congressional Budget Impoundment 
Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended by adding 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 
website 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 
website 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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