Pay Our Bills Act
Latest action. Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdictionA court's legal authority to hear a case: over the subject matter, the parties, and the territory.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) of the committee concerned.
Pay Our Bills Act - Authorizes an extension of the presidential authority to modify the public debt ceiling (subject to enactment of a congressional joint resolution of disapproval).
Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to borrow an additional amount required to meet existing commitments if the President certifies to Congress that the public debt is within $100 billion of the current limit and that further borrowing is required. (The debt limit was $16.699 trillion before its suspension in the Continuing Appropriations Act, FY2014 [P.L. 113-46].)
Authorizes Congress to use current requirements for expedited consideration of the joint resolution. Increases the debt limit by the certified amount if the time for disaproval has lapsed without enactment of the joint resolution.
Suspends the debt limit for the period beginning on the date on which the President submits such a certification to Congress and ending on the earlier of:
15 calendar days after Congress receives the certification, or
enactment of a joint resolution disapproving the President's exercise of authority for the debt limit under that certification.
Increases the debt limit, effective on the day after the certification is submitted, to the extent that:
the face amount of public debt obligations and those whose principal and interest are guaranteed by the U.S. government (except guaranteed obligations held by the Secretary) outstanding on the day after such date exceeds
the face amount of such obligations outstanding on the date the President certifies Congress.
Excludes from such formula any obligation whose issuance was not necessary to fund a commitment that required payment before the day after the certification is submitted to Congress.
Prohibits the debt limit from being increased if a joint resolution of disapproval is enacted within 15 days after receipt by Congress (in session or not) of a presidential certification that the public debt is within $100 billion of the current limit.
Provides for expedited consideration of such a joint resolution in the House and Senate.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on October 29, 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 October 29, 2013: Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- 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?
MICHAEL HONDA (D-CA) introduced it on October 29, 2013, and 24 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 24 Democrats.
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 October 29, 2013, 4699 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4699 days ago, on October 29, 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