S. 1740: Default Prevention Act

115th Congress · introduced 2017-08-03 · Economics and Public Finance · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2017-08-03 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Paul, Rand [R-KY] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
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

Default Prevention Act

Plain summary

Default Prevention Act This bill requires the following obligations to be granted priority over all other U.S. obligations if the public debt reaches the statutory limit: principal and interest on debt held by the public; compensation, allowances, and benefits for members of the Armed Forces on active duty; Social Security benefits; Medicare benefits; and obligations under any program administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs. If Congress is notified, the Department of the Treasury may issue additional debt for the priority obligations in excess of the debt limit. Treasury may issue the additional debt during the 30-day period beginning on the date on which the United States is unable to use revenues or extraordinary measures to fully pay the priority obligations at the time they are due. (The term "extraordinary measures" refers to a series of actions that Treasury may implement to allow the United States to borrow additional funds without exceeding the debt limit. The measures generally include suspensions or delays of debt sales and suspensions or redemptions of investments in certain government funds.)

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

Default Prevention Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Paul, Rand [R-KY] · 0 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Paul, Rand [R-KY] reported raising $4.6 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

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 (4)

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.
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.
Statute: A written law passed by a legislature. A statute can be changed by a later law; changing a constitution needs an amendment.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-115s1740.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/115/s>

Record fed-us-cong115-s1740 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115