H.R. 846: DEBT Act

118th Congress · introduced 2023-02-06 · Economics and Public Finance · Latest: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2023-02-06 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Schweikert, David [R-AZ-1] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. 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

DEBT Act

Plain summary

Debt Explanation Before Taxwriters Act or the DEBT Act This bill requires the Secretary of the Treasury to appear before the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee before the federal debt limit is reached or extraordinary measures are taken to prevent the United States from defaulting on its obligations. The term extraordinary measures generally refers to a series of actions that the Department of the 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. The bill requires the Secretary of the Treasury to appear before the committees to provide a detailed explanation of (1) the extraordinary measures that Treasury will take and the administrative costs of taking the measures, and (2) any reversal of such measures and any other changes in the funding of federal government obligations.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), 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

DEBT Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Schweikert, David [R-AZ-1] · 4 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Adrian Smith (R-NE), Lloyd Smucker (R-PA), W. Gregory Steube (R-FL), Byron Donalds (R-FL)

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Schweikert, David [R-AZ-1] reported raising $1.7 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 (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

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-118hr846.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/118/hr>

Record fed-us-cong118-hr846 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong118 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong118