To express the sense of the Senate regarding the amount of United States debt that is foreign-owned.

SA 157. Mr. BAYH submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the concurrent resolution S. Con. Res. 18, setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2006 and including the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2005 and 2007 through 2010; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

On page 65, after line 25, insert the following:

SEC. __. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING FOREIGN-OWNED DEBT.

It is the sense of the Senate that the Comptroller General should conduct a study to examine the economic impact of United States publicly-held debt that is held by foreign governments, institutions, and individuals. The study should provide an analysis of the following:

(1) The amount of foreign-owned debt dating back to 1980, broken down by foreign governments, foreign institutions, and foreign private investors, and expressed in nominal terms and as a percentage of the total amount of publicly-held debt in each year.

(2) The economic impact that the increased foreign ownership of United States publicly-held debt has had on the ability of the United States to maintain a stable dollar policy.

(3) The impact that foreign ownership of United States publicly-held debt has had, or could have, on United States trade policy.

(4) What entities (i.e. individuals, corporations, or foreign governments) own United States publicly-held debt that exist in Caribbean banking centers.

(5) The implicit tax burden that results from foreign debt holdings, specifically the per capita amount that a United States taxpayer will pay in annual Federal income taxes to service the foreign debt during each of fiscal years 2006 through 2010.