War on Debt Act of 2013
Latest action. Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
War on Debt Act of 2013 - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to establish and administer a new series of U.S. savings bonds to be known as "War on Debt Bonds," to be used first solely to reduce the amount of foreign-held public debt, and then to reduce other public debt.
Sets the maturity and redemption date of a War on Debt Bond at 50 years from the date of issue. Requires certain annual principal and interest payments, which shall not be includible in gross income under the Internal Revenue Code.
Allows redemption of such a Bond before 50 years if during any fiscal year during which it is outstanding: (1) the federal budget deficit exceeds 3% of gross domestic product (GDP), or (2) the public debt exceeds 10% of GDP.
Limits the holding of a War on Debt Bond to: (1) U.S. citizens or residents; (2) domestic partnerships, or domestic corporations (not more than 1% of the ownership interest of which is held, directly or indirectly, by a person who is not a U.S. person); or (3) estates or trusts which are U.S. persons, unless there is a trust beneficiary who is not a U.S. person.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on May 13, 2013. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on May 13, 2013: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
William Owens (D-NY) introduced it on May 13, 2013. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on May 13, 2013, 4868 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4868 days ago, on May 13, 2013.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers