EXCLUSIVE — Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) is introducing a new bill to give states and cities the unusual option of sending unused federal dollars back to Washington, not for more programs, but to help pay down the national debt.

Lummis teamed up with Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) to introduce the Pay Down the Debt Act, which would allow states and local governments to return unused grant dollars to the federal government where the funds will be “deposited in the general fund of the Treasury for the sole purpose of deficit reduction,” according to a copy of the bill provided to the Washington Examiner.