PSI Sci
New here? Follow the money and the votes · Not sure of your district? Find your U.S. House member · Find your state legislators

S. 184: A bill to prohibit taxpayer bailouts of fiscally irresponsible State and local governments.

Before you vote › Federal bills

S. 184: A bill to prohibit taxpayer bailouts of fiscally irresponsible State and local governments.

112th Congress · introduced 2011-01-25 · Economics and Public Finance · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2011-01-25 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Sen. Ensign, John [R-NV] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

A bill to prohibit taxpayer bailouts of fiscally irresponsible State and local governments.

Plain summary

Prohibits the use of federal funds to purchase or guarantee obligations of, issue lines of credit to or provide direct or indirect grants-and-aid to, any state, municipal, local, or county government which a nationally recognized statistical rating organization has determined has defaulted on its obligations or is likely to default, without such federal assistance. Prohibits the Secretary of the Treasury from using, directly or indirectly, general fund revenues or borrowed funds to purchase or guarantee any asset or obligation of any such state, municipal, local, or county government. Prohibits the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from directly or indirectly lending against, purchasing, or guaranteeing any asset or obligation of such a state, municipal, local, or county government.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

A bill to prohibit taxpayer bailouts of fiscally irresponsible State and local governments.

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

AI explanation – may be wrong, check the official text

No AI explanation yet. It takes up to a minute to write and is then saved for everyone.

Limited to a few requests an hour per person.

The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Arguments against (opponents)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Alternatives

Needs sources: no published alternatives yet (for example a different bill, a law instead of an amendment, or keeping current law). We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Ensign, John [R-NV] · 0 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)
Bill
A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Obligation
A binding promise by a government agency to pay money, for example by signing a contract or awarding a grant. Spending data such as USAspending.gov counts money when it is obligated, which can be before it is actually paid out.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong112-s184 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong112 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong112