Protecting American Benefits Act

Protecting American Benefits Act

This bill authorizes payments for Medicare, Social Security, veteran death or disability benefits, and members of the Armed Forces to be made even if the debt limit is reached. Such payments may not be taken into consideration for purposes of calculating the debt limit until after the debt limit has already been increased.

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3157 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3157

To authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to issue obligations to make 
 Medicare and Social Security payments, veterans disability benefits, 
      and military benefits, despite the debt limit being reached.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 9, 2023

    Mr. Nunn of Iowa (for himself and Mr. Davis of North Carolina) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to issue obligations to make 
 Medicare and Social Security payments, veterans disability benefits, 
      and military benefits, despite the debt limit being reached.

    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 ``Protecting American Benefits Act''.

SEC. 2. SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE PROGRAMS, VETERANS DISABILITY 
              BENEFITS, MILITARY BENEFITS, AND THE DEBT LIMIT.

    Section 3101 of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b), by striking ``The face'' and 
        inserting ``Subject to subsection (d), the face''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d)(1) If the face value of the amount of obligations described 
in subsection (b) reaches the limit on such obligations under 
subsection (b), the Secretary may issue obligations under this chapter 
to the extent necessary to make timely payment of the full amount of--
            ``(A) benefits authorized under the Medicare program 
        established under title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 
        U.S.C. 1395 et seq.) or the old-age, survivors, and disability 
        insurance benefits program established under title II of the 
        Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq.),
            ``(B) benefits administered by the Secretary of Veterans 
        Affairs to which an individual is entitled on the basis of a 
        service-connected death or disability, and
            ``(C) pay for members of the armed forces under title 37, 
        United States Code.
    ``(2) With respect to each instance in which the Secretary of the 
Treasury begins issuing obligations in accordance with paragraph (1), 
the face value of such obligations issued during such instance shall 
not be taken into account in determining the face value of obligations 
for purposes of subsection (b) during the period--
            ``(A) beginning on the date on which the Secretary began 
        issuing obligations in accordance with paragraph (1) during 
        such instance; and
            ``(B) ending on the day after the date of enactment of the 
        first law enacted after the date described in subparagraph (A) 
        increasing the limit under subsection (b).''.
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