S. 4173 · Where this bill is now
In committee
Introduced in the Senate, Mar 24, 2026
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryTies debt limit increases to spending cuts
This bill sets up a requirement that whenever Congress passes legislation to raise or suspend the federal debt limit, that same legislation must include spending reductions equal to or greater than the projected increase in debt. The Treasury Department would have to notify Congress when the government is within 60 days of hitting the debt limit, and any presidential request to raise the debt limit would need to come with a spending reduction plan attached.
How it affects you
This bill doesn't directly affect your daily life in an immediate way, but it would shape how Congress handles future debates over raising the debt limit. Taxpayers and beneficiaries of federal programs could see effects depending on which spending reductions Congress chooses to pair with any debt limit increase, though this bill itself doesn't specify which programs would be cut.
Read the official summary (Introduced in Senate, Mar 24, 2026)
Dollar-for-Dollar Deficit Reduction Act
The bill establishes a framework to require legislation that increases or suspends the public debt limit to include spending reductions that are equal to or greater than the projected increase in debt that will occur under the legislation. The bill allows the spending reductions to be phased in over the period that includes the current and next 10 fiscal years.
Specifically, the bill requires the Department of the Treasury to notify the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee when it determines that the federal government will reach the debt limit within 60 days without the implementation of extraordinary measures. The notification must also indicate when extraordinary measures may be necessary to prolong the funding of the federal government in the absence of a debt limit increase.
In addition, the bill requires any formal presidential request to increase the debt limit to include (1) the amount of the proposed increase, and (2) proposed legislation to reduce spending by an amount that is equal to or greater than the amount of the requested increase.
Finally, the bill establishes budget points of order that may be raised in the House of Representatives and the Senate against legislation that increases or suspends the debt limit and does not contain net spending reductions that are equal to or greater than the increase in the debt that will occur under the legislation.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
2nd SessionS. 4173
A BILL
Dollar-for-Dollar Deficit Reduction Act
Sponsor: Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) · Introduced Mar 24, 2026 · Economics and Public Finance · 1 version of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Mar 24, 2026: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget. (text: CR S1582-1583)”