Default Prevention Act
Latest action. Received in the Senate.
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)
Default Prevention Act
(Sec. 2) This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to continue to borrow to pay the principal and interest on certain obligations if the debt of the United States exceeds the statutory limit.
If the debt limit is exceeded, Treasury is required to issue obligations solely for the payment of the principal and interest on debt held by the public or the Social Security trust funds. The bill prohibits Treasury from using obligations issued under this bill to compensate Members of Congress.
If Treasury exercises authority provided by this bill, a report must be submitted to Congress including an accounting of: (1) the principal on mature obligations and interest that is due or accrued, and (2) obligations issued under this bill.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed House without amendment" stage on October 21, 2015. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Received in the Senate.
Civibrief does not map this action to a stage in the process. See the official record.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
The latest action on file does not map to a stage Civibrief recognizes, so the page will not name one. The record's own words are the reliable fact here.
The record's latest action, on October 22, 2015: Received in the Senate.
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 114th Congress (2015-16), 329 of the 10,233 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.2 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one has no outstanding steps 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?
Tom McClintock (R-CA) introduced it on February 3, 2015, and 112 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 112 Republicans.
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 February 3, 2015, 4237 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3976 days ago, on October 22, 2015.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 114th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2017 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
- HouseReceived in the Senate.
- SenateNot stated in the latest action
- PresidentNot stated in the latest action