Keep Our Promises Act

The Keep Our Promises Act (S 213) ensures Social Security and Medicare beneficiaries receive full, timely payments even if the federal debt limit is reached. It directly affects millions of retirees and disabled individuals who rely on these programs. The bill allows the Treasury Secretary to temporarily bypass the debt limit to pay these benefits without counting those payments against the debt ceiling. Specifically, it exempts the face value of these payments from the debt limit calculation during the period between when payments begin and when Congress passes a new debt limit increase. This creates a temporary mechanism to prevent disruptions in benefit payments.