PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Jul 21, 2011
Protect Spending Priorities Act - Requires amounts necessary for incurred federal obligations, in the event that the public debt reaches the statutory limit, to be made available to certain obligations, in prioritized order, before all other obligations.
Prioritizes such obligations in the following descending order: (1) amounts necessary to carry out the authority of the Department of the Treasury to pay with legal tender the principal and interest on public debt; (2) amounts determined by the Secretary of Defense (DOD) (and the Secretary of Homeland Security [DHS] in the case of the Coast Guard) to be necessary to continue to provide pay and allowances (without interruption) to members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, including their reserve components, who perform active service; (3) amounts necessary for the Commissioner of Social Security to pay monthly old-age, survivors', and disability insurance benefits under title II of the Social Security Act (SSA); (4) amounts necessary for the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to pay compensation related to a veteran's service-connected disability or death; (5) amounts certified to Congress by the President as necessary to carry out vital national security priorities; (6) amounts necessary to make payments under the Medicare program under SSA title XVIII; and (7) sability or death; (5) amounts certified to Congress by the President as necessary to carry out government functions necessary for protecting public health and public safety.
People & committees
Rep. Latham, Tom [R-IA-4] · R–IA
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Aug 14, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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