States findings of the Legislature, provides support for treasury trust bonds, and urges Congress to enact enabling legislation authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to issue treasury trust bonds.

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Sixty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2026 IN THE SENATE SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 113 BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE A JOINT MEMORIAL1 TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED2 STATES IN HIS CAPACITY AS THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE, THE SPEAKER OF THE3 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF CONGRESS, THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY,4 THE CHAIRPERSONS OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE5 SENATE COMMITTEE ON BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS, AND THE CON-6 GRESSIONAL DELEGATION REPRESENTING THE STATE OF IDAHO IN THE CONGRESS7 OF THE UNITED STATES.8 We, your Memorialists, the Senate and the House of Representatives9 of the State of Idaho assembled in the Second Regular Session of the10 Sixty-eighth Idaho Legislature, do hereby respectfully represent that:11 WHEREAS, the constitutional power of Congress "to coin Money [and] reg-12 ulate the Value thereof," section 8, article I of the Constitution of the13 United States, imposes a solemn duty to preserve the long-term integrity of14 the nation's currency; and15 WHEREAS, the United States now carries a federal debt exceeding $3816 trillion, with rising interest costs threatening fiscal sustainability and17 the prosperity of the American people; and18 WHEREAS, without the backing of a tangible asset such as gold, there is19 no limit to the amount of bonds that can be sold or debt that can be created;20 and21 WHEREAS, respected economist and former Federal Reserve Board nominee22 Dr. Judy Shelton has proposed that the United States Department of the Trea-23 sury issue limited tranches of treasury trust bonds, long-dated securities24 redeemable, at the holder's option, either in U.S. dollars or in a fixed25 weight of gold, thereby creating a transparent market test of dollar credi-26 bility, expanding investor demand for Treasury obligations, and providing27 an additional safeguard against inflation; and28 WHEREAS, federal law, via 31 U.S.C. 5118(d)(2), expressly permits the29 inclusion of gold clauses in obligations issued after 1977, and the United30 States holds approximately 261.5 million troy ounces of gold reserves, por-31 tions of which could prudently collateralize an inaugural issuance without32 jeopardizing national security or reserve adequacy; and33 WHEREAS, numerous states, including Idaho, have enacted sound-money34 statutes recognizing gold and silver coins as lawful tender, and Utah and35 Wyoming have authorized or held precious metal reserves as a hedge against36 federal monetary instability; and37 WHEREAS, July 4, 2026, the nation's semiquincentennial, offers a poten-38 tial timely and symbolic launch date for a pilot tranche of treasury trust39 bonds tied to a fixed weight of gold, reaffirming America's founding commit-40 ment to "stable money of intrinsic value" while preserving existing monetary41 institutions.42

2 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the Second Regular Ses-1 sion of the Sixty-eighth Idaho Legislature, the Senate and the House of Rep-2 resentatives concurring therein, that:3 (1) The Legislature strongly supports the concept of treasury trust4 bonds, limited in scope and fully collateralized by a defined portion of5 the nation's gold reserves, as a voluntary market instrument to strengthen6 fiscal discipline and enhance global confidence in the dollar.7 (2) The Legislature respectfully urges:8 (a) Congress to enact enabling legislation authorizing the Secretary9 of the Treasury to issue treasury trust bonds, pledging up to a prudent10 percentage of official gold reserves as collateral and establishing a11 transparent redemption trust mechanism;12 (b) The President of the United States to sign such legislation and to13 direct federal agencies to facilitate its prompt implementation; and14 (c) The U.S. Department of the Treasury to prepare operational proto-15 cols, including audits, delivery logistics, and reporting standards,16 and to initiate the inaugural auction of treasury trust bonds on July 4,17 2026.18 (3) The Legislature calls upon Idaho's Senators and Representatives in19 Congress to cosponsor and advocate for legislation enabling treasury trust20 bonds and to work toward bipartisan passage before the end of the 119th Con-21 gress.22 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate be, and she is23 hereby authorized and directed to forward a copy of this Memorial to the24 President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States in25 his capacity as the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of26 Representatives of Congress, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Chairper-27 sons of the House Committee on Financial Services and the Senate Committee28 on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and the congressional delegation29 representing the State of Idaho in the Congress of the United States.30