Right now, Congress can raise or suspend the legal cap on how much the federal government is allowed to borrow (the debt limit) without pairing it to any specific spending reductions. This bill would change that by requiring any future debt limit increase or suspension to come with spending cuts of equal or greater size over the following ten years, as calculated by the Congressional Budget Office. It would create a new procedural objection — a point of order — that lawmakers could raise to block a debt limit bill that doesn't meet this offset requirement, though the Senate could still override it with a three-fifths supermajority vote. The Treasury Secretary would also have to warn Congress when the government is within 60 days of hitting the debt limit, and CBO cost estimates for any debt limit bill would have to be posted publicly for at least 24 hours before lawmakers vote on it.
Transparency & Accountability
- Debt-limit warning requirement — Treasury must notify Congress within 60 days of a breach
- CBO cost-estimate disclosure — Debt-limit bills must be posted publicly 24 hours before a vote
Congressional Summary
Dollar-for-Dollar Deficit Reduction ActThe 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 the period that includes the current and next 10 fiscal years.Specifically, the bill requires the Department of the Treasury to notify the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee when it determines that the federal government will reach the debt limit within 60 days without the implementation of extraordinary measures. The notification must also indicate when extraordinary measures may be necessary to prolong the funding of the federal government in the absence of a debt limit increase.In addition, the bill requires any formal presidential request to increase the debt limit to include (1) the amount of the proposed increase, and (2) proposed legislation to reduce spending by an amount that is equal to or greater than the amount of the requested increase.Finally, the bill establishes budget points of order that may be raised in the House of Representatives and the Senate against legislation that increases or suspends the debt limit and does not contain net spending reductions that are equal to or greater than the increase in the debt that will occur under the legislation.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Senate
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in Senate
- Action Date
- 2026-03-24
- Date Added
- 2026-07-09
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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