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American Debt Repayment Act

Read twice and referred jointly to the Committees on Budget; Governmental Affairs pursuant to the order of August 4, 1977, as modified by the order of April 11, 1986, with instructions that if one Committee reports, the other Committee have thirty days to report or be discharged.

Official summary

Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Feb 4, 1998

American Debt Repayment Act - Prohibits budgeted outlays from exceeding budgeted revenues, beginning with FY 1999. Requires, beginning with FY 1999, that actual revenues exceed actual outlays in order to provide for the reduction of the gross Federal debt. Requires the amount of reduction to be equal to the amount required to amortize the debt over the next 30 years in order to repay the entire debt by the end of FY 2029. Authorizes a congressional waiver of this Act when a declaration of war is in effect. Prohibits a bill to increase revenues from being deemed to pass the House of Representatives or the Senate unless approved by a majority roll call vote of both Houses. Directs the Congress to review actual revenues on a quarterly basis and adjust outlays to comply with this Act.

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Who introduced it

Sen. Allard, Wayne [R-CO] · R–CO

Committees

  • Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
  • Budget Committee
3 cosponsorship records, including any withdrawals

Actions

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  1. Read twice and referred jointly to the Committees on Budget; Governmental Affairs pursuant to the order of August 4, 1977, as modified by the order of April 11, 1986, with instructions that if one Committee reports, the other Committee have thirty days to report or be discharged.

  2. Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S393-394)

  3. Introduced in Senate

Bill text & related measures

Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.

Related bills identified by Congress.gov

No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.

Source last updated: Aug 21, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.

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Analyze S.1608 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.

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Fairness and public impact

Progressive lens

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Institutions and government scope

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Individual rights and government power

Liberty lens

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