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S 4173

Dollar-for-Dollar Deficit Reduction Act

119th Congress Introduced by John Barrasso and 2 co-sponsors

The bill requires any debt-limit increase or suspension to be matched with equal net spending reductions over the current and next 10 years, excluding interest savings.

Introduced in Senate
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · S 4173

Summary of Bill: Dollar-for-Dollar Deficit Reduction Act (S. 4173, 119th Congress)

Overview
- Purpose: Require that any increase or suspension of the federal debt limit be balanced by equal net spending reductions over the current and next 10 fiscal years.
- Introduced: March 24, 2026, by Sen. Barrasso, with cosponsors including Sen. Lummis, Sen. McCormick.
- Status: Referred to the Committee on the Budget.

Key Provisions

1) Debt Limit “Debt Limit Control” requirement (Title II, §3101B)
- When a debt limit breach is imminent, the Treasury Secretary must issue a debt limit warning to the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee, detailing when extraordinary measures may be needed to extend funding.
- Presidential submission on debt limit increases must include:
- The amount of the proposed increase, plus a proposed package of spending reductions totaling at least the same amount over the current and following 10 years.
- Net interest savings may not be counted toward the spending reductions.
- Calculations must use a budget baseline aligned with the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act’s section 257, excluding emergency-designated spending.

2) Congressional Budget Impoundment Control Act amendments (Title III, additional Sec. 316 and related)
- Debt Limit Increase Point of Order (Sec. 316):
- It shall not be in order to consider any bill or amendment that increases the debt limit unless it includes net spending reductions equal to or greater than the proposed increase, calculated over the current and next 10 fiscal years.
- Net interest savings cannot count toward reductions.
- Components:
- Calculation of savings against the section 257 baseline.
- Availability: CBO cost estimates must be publicly available on the CBO website for at least 24 hours before voting.
- No timing shifts (shifting outlays/revenues outside the 10-year window does not count toward the savings target).
- Senate supermajority waiver and appeal (Sec. 316, subsection in both chambers):
- Waiver of the point of order requires a 3/5 majority in the Senate.
- Appeals of the ruling on the point of order require a 3/5 majority to sustain.
- Debt Limit Suspension Point of Order (Sec. 317):
- It shall not be in order to suspend the debt limit unless the accompanying bill provides net spending reductions over the current and next 10 fiscal years equal to or greater than the projected debt increase during the suspension, calculated by the CBO with the same baseline.
- No counting of net interest savings toward the reductions.
- Similar 24-hour publicly available cost estimate requirement and forbidding timing shifts.
- Definitions and methodology:
- “Projected debt amount” is determined by the difference between projected debt at the end of the suspension and the current debt as of the suspension start, per CBO projections.
- Baselines exclude spending enacted under emergency designations.

3) Structural changes and conformity
- The bill adds new sections (3101B, 316, 317) to the relevant statutes and amends the Table of Sections accordingly.
- It requires transparency and public availability of CBO scoring for any debt-limit related measures, and it imposes hard spending-reduction targets tied to the debt limit actions.

Who Would Be Affected

  • Legislative Branch: House, Senate, and relevant committees (Budget, Finance/Ways and Means) would enforce new points of order, require 3/5 majority thresholds for waivers, and manage scoring procedures.
  • Federal Policymaking: Any proposal to increase or suspend the debt limit would be conditioned on accompanying, verifiable net spending reductions over the current and following 10 years.
  • Treasury and Fiscal Agencies: Treasury would issue debt limit warnings and coordinate with Congress on extraordinary measures, while CBO would provide required baseline-based cost estimates and debt projections.

Procedural and Timeline Aspects

  • Effective triggers: The debt limit warning mechanism activates on a near-breach of the debt limit, with defined timelines (60 days feasibility for extraordinary measures within the warning definitions).
  • Voting thresholds: Any debt-limit increasing or suspending measure faces a standing point-of-order that requires compliance with the 10-year net-reduction requirement; waivers and appeals require a 3/5 Senate majority.
  • Transparency: Cost estimates must be publicly available on the CBO website at least 24 hours before votes.
  • Baseline rules: Net reductions are calculated against a fixed baseline consistent with the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, excluding emergency-designated spending.

Notes for readers
- The bill emphasizes a “dollar-for-dollar” approach, tying debt-limit actions directly to predetermined spending reductions.
- It does not allow counting net interest savings toward the spending-reduction requirement.
- The framework applies to both increases and suspensions of the debt limit, potentially constraining debt-limit policy unless substantial budgetary cuts are identified and scored.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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