FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: (202) 225-1721
June 16, 1998
No. FC-13
Congressman Bill Archer (R-TX), Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Committee will hold a hearing to review the debt management practices of the U.S. Department of the Treasury in an era of budget surpluses. The hearing will take place on Wednesday, June 24, 1998, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 10:00 a.m.
In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. Witnesses will include representatives of the Treasury Department, as well as other invited experts. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND:
To cover any difference between revenues and expenditures, and in order to rollover existing debt as it matures, the Treasury Department raises money by selling securities to the public. Most of the securities that constitute debt held by the public are marketable, meaning that they can be resold by whoever owns them. These marketable securities consist of bills, notes, and bonds with a variety of maturities ranging from 3 months to 30 years. The broad concept of debt management includes the Treasury Department's ability to change the characteristics of debt issues. Examples of these characteristics include the length of maturity, call features, conversion features, variable rate features, and indexation for changes in the price level.
As a result of the budget surplus, the Treasury Department recently suspended auctions of its 3-year notes and cut the number of its 5-year note auctions from 12 to 4 each year. In addition, the Treasury Department started issuing inflation-indexed bonds beginning in January 1997.
The Committee on Ways and Means has jurisdiction over the authority of the Federal government to borrow money. Title 31 of Chapter 31 of the U.S. Code authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to conduct any necessary public borrowing subject to a maximum limit on the amount of borrowing outstanding at any time (i.e., the public debt limit). The Committee's jurisdiction also includes conditions under which the Treasury Department manages the Federal debt, such as restrictions on the conditions under which certain debt instruments are sold.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Archer stated: "As a result of last year's historic budget agreement, and with the assistance of a robust economy, we are now entering a new era of budget surpluses. Last month, the Congressional Budget Office projected a budget surplus for the current fiscal year of $43 billion to $63 billion, with larger surpluses projected for later years. This is the first budget surplus in nearly three decades. As we enter this new era, it is appropriate for the Committee to review the debt management practices of the Treasury Department, with particular emphasis on recent changes instituted by the Treasury Department in response to the budget surplus."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The hearing will review the current debt management practices of the Treasury Department. Some of the issues expected to be addressed at the hearing are as follows: As the United States moves from an era of budget deficits to an era of budget surpluses, what changes, if any, would be required to manage the public debt; to what extent should the Treasury Department utilize indexed bonds in managing the public debt; what effect will the so-called "year 2000" problem have on debt management; and as the public debt continues to decrease, what effect will this have on the purchasers of debt in the market place and economy generally?
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Wednesday, July 8, 1998, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Committee office, room 1102 Longworth House Office Building, at least one hour before the hearing begins.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, typed in single space and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers where the witness or the designated representative may be reached. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press, and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
The
Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with
disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please
call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event
(four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to
special accommodation needs in general (including availability of
Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the
Committee as noted above.