§664 Issuance of Obligations to Secretary of the Treasury

Summary

The Secretary can create notes or other debt and give them to the Secretary of the Treasury. The Secretary decides the shapes, amounts, how long they last, and other rules, but the Treasury Secretary must agree. The interest rate is set by the Treasury Secretary based on the average market return for similar U.S. securities in the month before the notes are issued. The Treasury must buy those notes and may use money from selling public securities to do so. The Treasury may later sell the notes. Money may be provided as needed to pay the notes’ principal and interest. Any guarantee the Secretary makes under this chapter cannot be ended except as the Secretary’s own rules allow under section 662(d). A guarantee is proof that it follows the chapter and that the certificate’s amount, interest, and terms were properly approved. A person who holds a guaranteed certificate can rely on it unless that holder committed fraud or made a serious false statement. The Attorney General must take action to protect the United States’ rights if the government pays or spends money because of these guarantees.