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S 46 113th Congress Senate

Ensuring the Full Faith and Credit of the United States and Protecting America's Soldiers and Seniors Act

Official title: A bill to protect Social Security benefits and military pay and require that the United States Government prioritize all obligations on the debt held by the pu… Show full official titleShow less

Official title: A bill to protect Social Security benefits and military pay and require that the United States Government prioritize all obligations on the debt held by the public in the event that the debt limit is reached.

Introduced: January 24, 2013 See on congress.gov
Economics and Public Finance Budget deficits and national debtCongressional oversightMilitary personnel and dependentsSocial security and elderly assistance
This bill died when the 113th Congress ended
It never became law before the 113th Congress (2013–2014) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jan 22, 2013
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Jan 22, 2013
Introduced in Senate
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 Latest action January 22, 2013

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Ensuring the Full Faith and Credit of the United States and Protecting America's Soldiers and Seniors Act - Requires the following to take equal priority over all other federally incurred obligations in the event that the public debt reaches the statutory limit: (1) the authority of the Department of the Treasury to pay with legal tender the principal and interest on debt held by the public; (2) the authority of the Commissioner of Social Security to pay monthly Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance benefits under title II of the Social Security Act; and (3) the payment of pay and allowances for members of the Armed Forces on active duty.

Requires the Secretary of the Treasury, if the Secretary determines that incoming revenue will not be sufficient to finance the priorities described in this Act over the following two weeks, to: (1) notify Congress of the expected revenue shortfall, and (2) raise the debt limit by the amount necessary to cover the difference between incoming revenue and the revenue needed to finance such priorities on a two-week basis.

Prohibits such a debt limit increase from exceeding the difference between expected outlays for the listed priorities and expected revenue. Places in reserve and applies to the following two-week period any amount of incoming revenue in excess of the amount projected by the Secretary as necessary to finance such priorities.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 46: Ensuring the Full Faith and Credit of the United States and Protecting America's Soldiers and Seniors Act. 113th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/113-S-46/
MLA
"S. 46: Ensuring the Full Faith and Credit of the United States and Protecting America's Soldiers and Seniors Act." 113th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/113-S-46/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 46, 113th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/113-S-46/.
Markdown link
[S. 46: Ensuring the Full Faith and Credit of the United States and Protecting America's Soldiers and Seniors Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/113-S-46/)
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