Votes on Measures to Adjust the Statutory Debt Limit, 1978 to Present

November 16, 2015 (R41814)
Jump to Main Text of Report

Introduction
Debt Limit Votes: 1978 to Present
Selected CRS Reports and Resources

Tables

Table 1. Roll Call Votes on Enacted Measures to Adjust the Federal Debt Limit
Table 2. Stand-Alone Debt Limit Measures
Table 3. Other Than Stand-Alone Debt Limit Measures

Summary

Almost all borrowing by the federal government is conducted by the Treasury Department, within the restrictions established by a single, statutory limit (ceiling) on the total amount of debt that may be outstanding at any time. By law, the Treasury cannot exceed federal debt limits, so the Treasury periodically has had to ask Congress to enact new debt limits so it can fulfill its financial commitments. Since 1978, Congress has passed, and the President has signed into law, 56 measures adjusting the statutory debt limit either as stand-alone legislation or as part of legislation dealing with other matters.

This report provides roll call vote data identified by the Congressional Research Service for measures to adjust the statutory debt limit. This report will be updated as events warrant.

Votes on Measures to Adjust the Statutory Debt Limit, 1978 to Present

Introduction

In the 113^th Congress, three "debt-limit suspension" measures were enacted. The first bill, P.L. 113-3, suspended the debt limit and provided the Treasury with the ability to borrow to finance obligations through May 18, 2013.¹ The Treasury Department reset the debt limit at $16.699 trillion once the debt-limit suspension period ended. For several months starting on May 18, 2013, through October 16, 2013, the Treasury Department employed extraordinary measures to allow the government to continue timely payment of its obligations. On October 17, 2013, as part of P.L. 113-46, a measure providing continuing appropriations for FY2014, the debt limit was suspended again until February 7, 2014. Selected extraordinary measures were again employed on February 7, 2014. A third measure, P.L. 113-83, was enacted on February 15, 2014, and suspended the debt limit through March 15, 2015.² The debt limit was re-established on March 16, 2015, at $18.113 billion, and extraordinary measures to meet federal fiscal obligations were initiated by the Treasury.³

In the 114^th Congress, H.R. 1314, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, was enacted on November 2, 2015, as P.L. 114-74. In addition to amending budget enforcement provisions in the Budget Control Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-25), the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 also suspended the federal debt limit through March 15, 2017. The provisions in the act on the debt limit allow the federal government to engage in budgetary activities that incur additional debt without the risk of default while the debt limit is suspended.⁴

This report provides tallies of votes on final passage for each enacted measure that adjusted the statutory debt limit from 1978 to present. The process for congressional consideration of bills can be complex. Attempting to interpret the intent of votes prior to the final vote on passage of a measure may yield various, and sometimes conflicting, interpretations. For the sake of clarity, the report only provides vote information on the final passage of each measure.⁵

Debt Limit Votes: 1978 to Present

As noted above, this report identifies information on debt limit legislation and votes on final passage in the House and Senate. Other data elements identified in the tables below include bill number; whether final passage involved a roll call vote, voice vote, or passage by unanimous consent; dates of final passage and vote tally information; dates of enactment and public law number for the enacted law; and brief background information on whether the measure was considered a stand-alone measure (i.e., dealing entirely with just a change to the federal debt limit and not including provisions on other matters).

Table 1 provides information on all enacted measures to increase or otherwise change the federal debt limit from 1978 to 2015, including data on the changes to the federal debt limit set at the time of enactment. The bill number and public law columns of the table provide links to LIS bill summary and status information for each measure. Roll call votes on final enactment can be extracted through the major actions display for each measure within LIS back to 1993.⁶ Also, Table 1 contains cross-references to the notes columns in Table 2 and Table 3. The notes columns in those tables provide additional details on how each measure was considered.

Table 2 identifies stand-alone measures from the period. Table 3 identifies bills considered as other than stand-alone measures⁷ and provides brief background information on the nature of each measure and by what means it was considered.

Table 1. Roll Call Votes on Enacted Measures to Adjust the Federal Debt Limit

(1978 to 2015)

Year	Bill Number	Final House & Senate Vote Tally & Date of Votes		Public Law Number & Date of Enactment	Debt Limit Amount ($ in billions)	Temporary Provisions Expiration Date
		House	Senate
1978	H.R. 11518	233-172 3/21/1978	Voice Vote 3/22/1978	P.L. 95-252 3/27/1978	$752.0	8/01/1978
	H.R. 13385	205-202 7/19/1978	62-31 8/02/1978	P.L. 95-333 8/03/1978	$798	3/31/1979
1979	H.R. 2534	209-165 (H.Res. 183, 4/2/1979) (See notes column in Table 3)	62-33 3/27/1979	P.L. 96-5 4/02/1979	$830	9/30/1979
	H.R. 5369	219-198 9/26/1979	49-29 9/28/1979	P.L. 96-78 9/29/1979	$879	5/31/1980
1980	H.R. 7471	Voice Vote 5/30/1980	47-10 5/30/1980	P.L. 96-256 5/30/1980	same	6/5/1980
	H.R. 7428	335-34 6/05/1980	68-10 6/06/1980	P.L. 96-264 6/06/1980	same	6/30/1980
	H.J.Res. 569	6/13/1980 (See notes column in Table 2)	54-39 6/28/1980	P.L. 96-286 6/28/1980	$925	2/28/1981
	H.J.Res. 570	6/13/1980 (See notes column in Table 2)	Voice Vote 12/12/1981	P.L. 96-556 12/19/1980	$935.1	None
1981	H.R. 1553	305-104 2/05/1981	73-18 2/06/1981	P.L. 97-2 2/07/1981	$985	9/30/1981
	H.J.Res. 266	5/21/1981 (See notes column in Table 2)	Voice Vote 9/29/1981	P.L. 97-48 9/30/1981	$999.8	9/30/1981
	H.J.Res. 265	5/21/1981 (See notes column in Table 2)	64-34 09/29/1981	P.L. 97-49 9/30/1981	$1,079.8	9/28/1981
1982	H.J.Res. 519	6/23/1982 (See notes column in Table 2)	49-41 6/23/1982	P.L. 97-204 6/28/1982	$1,143.1	9/30/1982
	H.J.Res. 520	6/23/1982 (See notes column in Table 2)	50-41 9/23/1982	P.L. 97-270 9/30/1982	$1,290.2	9/30/1983
1983	H.R. 2990	Voice Vote 5/18/1983	51-41 5/25/1983	P.L. 98-34 5/26/1983	$1,389	None
	H.J.Res. 308	214-186 11/18/1983	Voice Vote 11/17/1983	P.L. 98-161 11/21/1983	$1,490	None
1984	H.R. 5692	211-198 5/24/1984	Voice Vote 5/24/1984	P.L. 98-302 5/25/1984	$1,520	None
	H.R. 5953	208-202 6/29/1984	Voice Vote 6/29/1984	P.L. 98-342 7/06/1984	$1,573	None
	H.J.Res. 654	Unanimous Consent 10/01/1984	37-30 10/12/1984	P.L. 98-475 10/13/1984	$1,823.8	None
1985	H.R. 3721	300-121 11/13/1985	Voice Vote 11/13/1985	P.L. 99-155 11/14/1985	$1,903.8	12/06/1985
	H.J.Res. 372	271-154 12/11/1985	61-31 12/11/1985	P.L. 99-177 12/12/1985	$2,078.7	None
1986	H.R. 5395	216-199 8/14/1986	36-35 8/15/1986	P.L. 99-384 8/21/1986	$2,111	None
	H.R. 5300	305-70 10/17/1986	61-25 10/17/1986	P.L. 99-509 10/21/1986	$2,300	5/15/1987
1987	H.R. 2360	296-124 5/13/1987	58-36 5/14/1987	P.L. 100-40 5/15/1987	$2,320	7/17/1987
	H.R. 3022	263-155 7/29/1987	Voice Vote 7/29/1987	P.L. 100-80 7/30/1987	same	8/06/1987
	H.R. 3190	Voice Vote 8/07/1987	51-39 8/07/1987	P.L. 100-84 8/10/1987	$2,352	9/23/1987
	H.J.Res. 324	230-176 9/22/1987	64-34 9/23/1987	P.L. 100-119 9/29/1987	$2,800	None
1989	H.R. 3024	231-185 8/01/1989	Voice Vote 8/04/1989	P.L. 101-72 8/07/1989	$2,870	10/31/1989
	H.J.Res. 280	11/07/1989 269-99	Voice Vote 11/07/1989	P.L. 101-140 11/08/1989	$3,122.7	None
1990	H.R. 5350	247-172 8/03/1990	Voice Vote 8/03/1990	P.L. 101-350 8/09/1990	$3,195	10/02/1990
	H.R. 5755	Voice Vote 9/30/1990	Unanimous Consent 09/30/1990	P.L. 101-405 10/02/1990	same	10/06/1990
	H.J.Res. 666	362-3 10/09/1990	Voice Vote 10/08/1990	P.L. 101-412 10/09/1990	same	10/09/1990
	H.J.Res. 677	379-37 10/18/1990	Voice Vote 10/19/1990	P.L. 101-444 10/19/1990	same	10/24/1990
	H.J.Res. 681	380-45 10/24/1990	Unanimous Consent 10/24/1990	P.L. 101-461 10/25/1990	same	10/27/1990
	H.J.Res. 687	283-49 10/27/1990	Voice Vote 10/27/1990	P.L. 101-467 10/28/1990	$3,230	11/05/1990
	H.R. 5835	228-200 10/26/1990	54-45 10/27/1990	P.L. 101-508 11/05/1990	$4,145	None
1993	H.R. 1430	237-177 4/02/1993	Unanimous Consent 4/05/1993	P.L. 103-12 4/06/1993	$4,370	09/30/1993
	H.R. 2264	218-216 8/05/1993	51-50 8/06/1993	P.L. 103-66 8/10/1993	$4,900	None
1996	H.R. 2924	396-0 2/01/1996	Unanimous Consent 2/01/1996	P.L. 104-103 02/08/1996	(See notes column in Table 3)	03/15/1990
	H.R. 3021	362-51 3/07/1996	Voice Vote 3/07/1996	P.L. 104-115 3/12/1996	(See notes column in Table 3)	3/30/1990
	H.R. 3136	328-91 3/28/1996	Unanimous Consent 3/28/1996	P.L. 104-121 3/29/1996	$5,500	None
1997	H.R. 2015	346-85 07/30/1997	85-15 7/31/1997	P.L. 105-33 8/05/1997	$5,950	None
2002	S. 2578	215-214-1 6/27/2002	68-29 6/11/2002	P.L. 107-199 6/28/2002	$6,400	None
2003	H.J.Res. 51	216-211 H.Con.Res. 95 04/11/2003 (See notes column Table 2)	53-44 5/23/2003	P.L. 108-24 5/27/2003	$7,384	None
2004	S. 2986	208-204 11/18/2004	52-44 11/17/2004	P.L. 108-415 11/19/2004	$8,184	None
2005	H.J.Res. 47	4/28/2005 (See notes column in Table 2)	52-48 3/16/2005	P.L. 109-182 3/20/2006	$8,965	None
2007	H.J.Res. 43	5/17/2007 (See notes column in Table 2)	53-42 9/27/2007	P.L. 110-91 9/29/2007	$9,815	None
2008	H.R. 3221	272-152 7/23/2008	72-13 7/26/2008	P.L. 110-289 7/30/2008	$10,615	None
	H.R. 1424	263-171 10/03/2008	74-25 10/1/2008	P.L. 110-343 10/3/2008	$11,315	None
2009	H.R. 1	246-183-1 2/13/2009	60-38 2/13/2009	P.L. 111-5 2/17/2009	$12,104	None
	H.R. 4314	218-214 12/16/2009	60-39 12/24/2009	P.L. 111-123 12/28/2009	$12,394	None
2010	H.J.Res. 45	233-187 2/04/2010	60-39 1/28/2010	P.L. 111-139 2/12/2010	$14,294	None
2011	S. 365	269-161 8/01/2011	74-26 8/02/2011	^{P.L. 112-25}^a 8/02/2011	$16,394	None
2013	H.R. 325	285-144 01/23/2013	64-34 1/31/2013	P.L. 113-3 02/4/2013	(See notes column in Table 3)	5/18/2013
2013	H.R. 2775	285-144 10/16/2013	81-18 10/16/2013	P.L. 113-46 10/17/2013	(See notes column in Table 3)	2/07/2014
2014	S. 540	221-201 2/11/2014	55-43 2/12/2014	P.L. 113-83 2/15/2014	(See notes column in Table 2)	3/15/2015
2015	H.R. 1314	266-167 10/29/2015	65-35 10/30/2015	P.L. 114-74 -11/02/2015	(See notes column in Table 3)	3/15/2017

Sources: The LIS available at http://www.congress.gov, Annual Congressional Quarterly Almanac volumes, CRS Report RL31967, The Debt Limit: History and Recent Increases, by [author name scrubbed] , and out-of-print CRS Report 97-297, Debt Limit Increases, 1978 to 1996: Fact Sheet and Uses of the Debt Limit for Other Legislation. Enacted levels of Statutory Debt Limit were obtained from the FY2012 Budget Historical Tables volume, Table 7.3.

Notes: For more information on temporary and permanent increases, see Table 7.3 of the FY2012 Budget Historical Tables. Measures in Table 1 are organized by year of initial consideration of each measure.

a. P.L. 112-25, the Budget Control Act (BCA) included provisions allowing the debt limit to rise in three stages—up to $2.4 trillion—following certification by the President that the debt balance was within $100 billion of the current limit. The debt limit as of January 28, 2012, is $16.4 trillion. This $16.4 trillion figure includes incremental increases of $400 billion (August 2, 2011), $500 billion (September 22, 2011), and $1.2 trillion (January 28, 2012). More information on stipulations for debt-limit increases included within P.L. 112-25 appears in CRS Report RL31967, The Debt Limit: History and Recent Increases, by [author name scrubbed] .

Table 2. Stand-Alone Debt Limit Measures

(1978-2014)

Year of Enactment	Bill Number	Public Law Number & Date of Enactment	Descriptive Notes on the Measure
1978	H.R. 11518	P.L. 95-252 3/27/1978	None
	H.R. 13385	P.L. 95-333 8/03/1978	None
1980	H.R. 7471	P.L. 96-256 6/06/1980	None
	H.J.Res. 569	P.L. 96-286 6/28/1980	On June 13, 1980, the day after Congress completed action on the FY1981 Budget Resolution, H.Con.Res. 307, its projected debt increase was incorporated into H.J.Res. 569, which was then deemed to have been passed by the House. The measure was enacted as P.L. 96-286 and included a temporary extension of the debt limit from June 30, 1980, to February 28, 1981.
	H.J.Res. 570	P.L. 96-556 12/19/1980	A debt limit increase was incorporated in H.Con.Res. 307, the FY1981 Budget Resolution passed by the House on June 12, 1980, by a vote of 205-195. H.J.Res. 570 was enacted as P.L. 96-556. The enacted measure included a temporary extension of the debt limit from February 28, 1981, to September 30, 1981.
1981	H.R. 1553	P.L. 97-2 2/07/1981	None
	H.J.Res. 266	P.L. 97-48 9/30/1981	H.J.Res. 266 was engrossed and deemed passed by the House on May 21, 1981. After passing the Senate, H.J.Res. 266 was enacted as P.L. 97-48 on September 30, 1981. The measure raised the temporary debt limit without altering its September 30, 1981, expiration date.
	H.J.Res. 265	P.L. 97-49 9/30/1981	A debt limit figure from H.Con.Res. 307, the FY1981 Budget Resolution, was incorporated into H.J.Res. 265 without a vote. P.L. 97-49 as enacted extended the temporary limit from September 30, 1981, to September 30, 1982.
1982	H.J.Res. 519	P.L. 97-204 6/28/1982	S.Con.Res. 92, the FY1983 Budget Resolution, automatically incorporated respective debt limit increases in H.J.Res. 519 and H.J.Res. 520. Both measures were engrossed by the House on June 23, 1982. H.J.Res. 520 also extended the temporary debt limit from September 30, 1982, to September 30, 1983.
	H.J.Res. 520	P.L. 97-270 9/30/1982	See notes above on H.J.Res. 519.
1983	H.J.Res. 308	P.L. 98-161 11/21/1983	None
1984	H.R. 5953	P.L. 98-342 7/6/1984	None
	H.J.Res. 654	P.L. 98-475 10/13/1984	None
1986	H.R. 5395	P.L. 99-384 8/21/1986	None
1987	H.R. 2360	P.L. 100-40 5/15/1987	None
	H.R. 3022	P.L. 100-80 7/30/1987	None
	H.R. 3190	P.L. 100-84 8/10/1987	None
1990	H.R. 5350	P.L. 101-350 8/09/1990	None
	H.R. 5755	P.L. 101-405 10/02/1990	None
1993	H.R. 1430	P.L. 103-12 4/06/1993	None
2002	S. 2578	P.L. 107-199 6/28/2002	The House roll call votes on P.L. 107-199 included one Member voting "present."
2003	H.J.Res. 51	P.L. 108-24 5/27/2003	On April 11, 2003, pursuant to Rule XXVII, H.J.Res. 51 was deemed to have passed the House as a result of the adoption by the House and the Senate of the conference report for H.Con.Res. 95, the FY2004 Budget Resolution.
2004	S. 2986	P.L. 108-415 11/19/2004	None
2006	H.J.Res. 47	P.L. 109-182 3/20/2006	H.J.Res. 47 (P.L. 109-182) was passed pursuant to Rule XXVII and H.Con.Res. 95, the FY2006 Budget Resolution.
2007	H.J.Res. 43	P.L. 110-91 9/29/2007	H.J.Res. 43 (P.L. 110-91) was passed by the House pursuant to provisions in S.Con.Res. 21, the FY2008 Budget Resolution.
2009	H.R. 4314	P.L. 111-123 12/28/2009	None
2014	S. 540	P.L. 113-83 2/15/2014	P.L. 113-83, the Temporary Debt Limit Extension Act, suspended the federal debt limit through March 15, 2015.

Source: The LIS, available at http://www.congress.gov, Annual Congressional Quarterly Almanac volumes, CRS Report RL31967, The Debt Limit: History and Recent Increases, by [author name scrubbed] , and out-of-print CRS Report 97-297, Debt Limit Increases, 1978 to 1996: Fact Sheet and Uses of the Debt Limit for Other Legislation.

Notes: Vote tally, enacted debt limit amounts, and other data are available in Table 1. Measures in Table 2 are organized by year of enactment.

Table 3. Other Than Stand-Alone Debt Limit Measures

(1979-2013)

Year of Enactment	Bill Number	Public Law Number & Date of Enactment	Type of Measure	Notes on the Measure
1979	H.R. 2534	P.L. 96-5 4/02/1979	Change to debt imit included as provision within measure on other matters	P.L. 96-5 included an increase in savings bonds yields and required Congress and the President to present budgets that would be in balance for FY1981 and FY1982. See also H.Res. 183, a resolution concurring in amendments to H.R. 2534 as passed by the Senate. H.Res. 183 was passed by the House on April 2, 1979, by a vote of 209-165. House Roll Vote #133.
	H.R. 5369	P.L. 96-78 9/29/1979	Change to debt limit included within measure on other matters	P.L. 96-78 included an increase in the amount of long-term bonds that could be outstanding and established House Rule 49 making the increase in the debt limit part of the budget process (in the House).
1980	H.R. 7428	P.L. 96-264 6/06/1980	Change to debt limit included within measure on other matters	P.L. 96-264 included a repeal of the presidentially imposed oil import fee under Section 232(b) of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, 19 U.S.C. 18629(b). This legislation was passed over a presidential veto.
1983	H.R. 2990	P.L. 98-34 5/26/1983	Change to debt limit included within measure on other matters	P.L. 98-34 included making the whole debt limit permanent and increasing the amount of long-term bonds that could be issued.
1984	H.R. 5692	P.L. 98-302 5/25/1984	Change to debt limit included within measure on other matters	P.L. 98-302 included an increase in the amount of long-term bonds that could be issued and provided some miscellaneous administrative authority to the Secretary of the Treasury.
1985	H.R. 3721	P.L. 99-155 11/14/1985	Change to debt limit included within measure on other matters	P.L. 99-155 included a requirement to restore Social Security Trust Funds and to extend for a month a number of expiring acts, including a cigarette tax.
	H.J.Res. 372	P.L. 99-177 12/12/1985	Change in debt limit included as part of Balanced Budget and Deficit Reduction measure	H.J.Res. 372, enacted as P.L. 99-177, was also a vehicle for the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Reduction Act of 1985. The legislation also required the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee to report by July 1, 1986, legislation for alternative minimum corporate tax.
1986	H.R. 5300	P.L. 99-509 10/21/1986	Change to debt limit included in Budget Reconciliation measure	P.L. 99-509, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986, included a debt limit increase to Section 8201 of Title VII of the act. Section 8201 also required the restoration of lost interest to certain trust funds.
1987	H.J.Res. 324	P.L. 100-119 9/29/1987	Change in debt limit included as part of a Balanced Budget and Deficit Reduction measure	H.J.Res. 324 was also used as the legislative vehicle for the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control and Reaffirmation Act of 1987.
1989	H.R. 3024	P.L. 101-72 8/07/1989	Change to debt limit within measure on other matters	P.L. 101-72 included a change in the method of accounting for federal debt instruments.
	H.J.Res. 280	P.L. 101-140 11/08/1989	Change in debt limit included within measure on other matters	Pursuant to the provisions of H.Con.Res. 106, the FY1990 Budget Resolution, H.J.Res. 280, was considered passed by the House on May 17, 1989. The House vote on the conference report for H.Con.Res. 106 was 241-185. P.L. 101-140 included a repeal of Section 89 nondiscrimination, rules that dealt with employee benefit plans.
1990	H.J.Res. 666	P.L. 101-412 10/09/1990	Change in debt limit included within measure on other matters	H.J.Res. 666 was a continuing appropriations measure that included a debt limit extension. The House initially passed the measure by a vote of 305-105 on October 7, 1990. The Senate took up the measure and then passed it by unanimous consent. The House then passed the Senate amended measure on October 9, 1990, by a vote of 362-3. The measure passed the Senate by unanimous consent on October 8, 1990, and was enacted as P.L. 101-412 on October 9, 1990
	H.J.Res. 677	P.L. 101-444 10/19/1990	Change in debt limit included in a continuing resolution	None
	H.J.Res. 681	P.L. 101-461 10/25/1990	Change in debt limit included in a continuing resolution	None
	H.J.Res. 687	P.L. 101-467 10/28/1990	Change in debt limit included in a continuing resolution	None
	H.R. 5835	P.L. 101-508 11/05/1990	Change to debt limit included in Budget Reconciliation measure	A debt limit increase was included in Section 11901 of Title XI of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, P.L. 101-508.
1993	H.R. 2264	P.L. 103-66 8/10/1993	Change to debt limit included in Budget Reconciliation measure	A debt limit increase was included in Section 13411 of Title XIII of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, P.L. 103-66.
1996	H.R. 2924	P.L. 104-103 2/08/1996	Addressed parameters and temporary exemptions of certain Social Security related funds from the debt limit	P.L. 104-103 temporarily exempted from limit obligations in an amount equal to the monthly insurance benefits payable under Title II of the Social Security Act in March 1996, The exemption was set to expire in the event of an increase in the debt limit or by March 15, 1996. P.L. 104-115 temporarily exempted from limit obligations in an amount equal to the monthly insurance benefits payable under Title II of the Social Security Act in March 1996 and certain obligations issued to trust funds and other federal government accounts, The exemption was set to expire on the earlier of an increase in the limit or by March 30, 1996.
	H.R. 3021	P.L. 104-115 3/12/1996	Addressed parameters and temporary exemptions of certain Social Security related funds from the debt limit	P.L. 104-115 temporarily exempted from limit obligations in an amount equal to the monthly insurance benefits payable under Title II of the Social Security Act in March 1996 and certain obligations issued to trust funds and other federal government accounts. The exemption was set to expire on the earlier of an increase in the limit or by March 30, 1996.
	H.R. 3136	P.L. 104-121 3/29/1996	Change to debt limit within measure on other matters	P.L. 104-121, the Contract with America Advancement Act, included an increase in the debt limit in Title III.
1997	H.R. 2015	P.L. 105-33 8/05/1997	Change to the debt limit included in Balanced Budget measure	P.L. 107-199, the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 included a debt limit increase in Title V, Subtitle G.
2008	H.R. 3221	P.L. 110-289 7/30/2008	Change to debt limit included within measure on other matters	H.R. 3221 (P.L. 110-289), the Housing and Economic Recovery Act, included an increase to the debt limit.
2008	H.R. 1424	P.L. 110-343 10/03/2008	Change to debt limit included within measure on other matters	H.R. 1424 (P.L. 110-343), the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, included an increase to the debt limit.
2009	H.R. 1	P.L. 111-5 2/17/2009	Change to debt limit included within measure on other matters	H.R. 1 (P.L. 111-5), the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, included an increase to the debt limit.
2010	H.J.Res. 45	P.L. 111-139 2/12/2010	Change to debt limit included within measure on other matters	During final consideration of H.J.Res. 45, the House took up a portion of the bill passed by the Senate with an amendment that included an increase to the debt limit and passed this portion of the measure on February 4, 2010. The bill also included provisions related to "Statutory PAYGO," and elimination of "duplicative and wasteful spending."
2011	S. 365	P.L. 112-25 8/02/2011	Change to debt limit included within measure addressing deficit reduction	Final legislation was in the form of a House amendment in the nature of a substitute to a previously unrelated Senate bill. The Budget Control Act of 2011 as enacted includes provisions aimed at deficit reduction and an increase of up to $2.4 trillion that would occur in several stages.
2013	H.R. 325	P.L. 113-3 02/04/2013	Suspended the federal debt limit temporarily. Other matters within the measure address the annual budget resolution	P.L. 113-3 temporarily suspended the statutory federal debt limit through May 18, 2013, and allowed the federal government to continue to borrow beyond the $16,394 billion limit set under provisions within P.L. 112-25, the Budget Control Act of 2011. Additional provisions required House and Senate payroll administrators to hold all Member salary compensation if by April 15, 2013, that chamber had not agreed to a concurrent budget resolution for FY2014. The Treasury Department reset the debt limit at $16,699 billion once the debt limit suspension period lapsed.
	H.R. 2775	P.L. 113-46 10/17/2013	Suspended the federal debt limit temporarily. Provisions included in Division B of the FY2014 Continuing Resolution Act.	Division B of P.L. 113-46 temporarily suspended the federal debt limit through February 7, 2014. On October 17, 2013, as part of P.L. 113-46, a measure providing continuing appropriations for FY2014, the debt limit was suspended again until February 7, 2014.
2015	H.R. 1314	P.L. 114-74 11/02/2015-	Suspension of the debt limit included within measure addressing deficit reduction	P.L. 114-74 temporarily suspends the debt limit through March 15, 2017. Measure also amends certain budget enforcement provisions of the Budget Control Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-25).

Source: LIS available at http://www.congress.gov, Annual Congressional Quarterly Almanac volumes, CRS Report RL31967, The Debt Limit: History and Recent Increases, by [author name scrubbed] , and out-of-print CRS Report 97-297, Debt Limit Increases, 1978 to 1996: Fact Sheet and Uses of the Debt Limit for Other Legislation.

Notes: Vote tally, enacted debt limit amounts, and other data are available in Table 1. Measures in Table 3 are organized by year of enactment.

Selected CRS Reports and Resources

CRS Insight IN10389, Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015: Adjustments to the Budget Control Act of 2011, by [author name scrubbed]

CRS Report R41965, The Budget Control Act of 2011, by [author name scrubbed], [author name scrubbed], and [author name scrubbed]

CRS Report RL31967, The Debt Limit: History and Recent Increases, by [author name scrubbed]

CRS Report R43389, The Debt Limit Since 2011, by [author name scrubbed].

CRS Report RS21519, Legislative Procedures for Adjusting the Public Debt Limit: A Brief Overview, by [author name scrubbed]

Fiscal Policy Considerations Issues Before Congress (additional CRS products on the federal debt is available)
http://www.crs.gov/pages/SubIssue.aspx?CLIID=4514&parentID=73

Author Contact Information

[author name scrubbed], Information Research Specialist ([email address scrubbed], [phone number scrubbed])

Footnotes

1.	CRS Report RL31967, The Debt Limit: History and Recent Increases, by [author name scrubbed] contains information on reaching the federal debt limit on December 31, 2012, and measures taken by the Treasury Department that were used to meet federal payments temporarily between December 31, 2012, and the enactment of P.L. 113-3 on February 4, 2013. Additional information is also available in CRS Report R43389, The Debt Limit Since 2011, by [author name scrubbed].
2.	See also CRS Report R43389, The Debt Limit Since 2011, by [author name scrubbed] and CRS Report RL31967, The Debt Limit: History and Recent Increases, by [author name scrubbed].
3.	CRS Report R43389, The Debt Limit Since 2011, by [author name scrubbed], contains more detailed descriptions of congressionally enacted debt limit suspensions and Treasury Department actions in 2015. These actions include "debt issuance suspension" and the use of extraordinary measures allowing the federal government to meet its financial obligations through a later date in 2015.
4.	For more details on the debt limit and BCA of 2011 adjustments made by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, see CRS Insight IN10389, Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015: Adjustments to the Budget Control Act of 2011, by [author name scrubbed].
5.	More detailed information on methods employed by Congress to adjust the statutory debt limit appear in CRS Report RS21519, Legislative Procedures for Adjusting the Public Debt Limit: A Brief Overview, by [author name scrubbed]
6.	Complete House and Senate roll call vote information is available in LIS back to 1993. Bill number and public law links in Table 1 connect to bill summary and status information for all measures back to 1978. For the measures listed from 1993 to the present, Member roll call votes can be extracted from the LIS bill summary and status display by clicking on major actions and online links provided to the House and Senate roll call information.
7.	Table 3 provides brief background information on whether measures were considered as other than stand-alone bills, either containing a change to the debt limit as part of a measure dealing with other matters (including omnibus or consolidated measures or part of continuing resolutions) or pursuant to House rules or budget resolution and budget reconciliation activities.

Votes on Measures to Adjust the Statutory Debt Limit, 1978 to Present

Contents

Tables

Summary

Introduction

Debt Limit Votes: 1978 to Present

Selected CRS Reports and Resources

Footnotes