To amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to provide for joint resolutions on the budget, reserve funds for emergency spending, strengthened enforcement of budgetary decisions, increased accountability for Federal spending, accrual budgeting for Federal insurance programs, mitigation of the bias in the budget process toward higher spending, modifications in paygo requirements when there is an on-budget surplus, and for other purposes.
Title I: Budget With Force of Law - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (CBA) to revise required contents of the annual budget resolution. Requires such resolution to set forth, for the current fiscal year and for at least each of the four ensuing fiscal years: (1) subtotals of new budget authority and outlays for nondefense and defense discretionary spending, direct spending (excluding interest), and interest; and (2) subtotals of new budget authority and outlays for emergencies, for fiscal years to which the amendments made by title II of this Act apply. (Current law requires the resolution to set forth levels of new budget authority and outlays for each major functional category.)
Removes a provision which requires the resolution to exclude the outlays and revenue totals of the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program in surplus and deficit totals required under congressional budget process provisions.
Revises matters which may be included in the budget resolution. Authorizes the resolution to change the statutory limit on the public debt if the amendment is submitted by the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives or the Senate Finance Committee to the appropriate Budget Committee.
Requires the report accompanying the resolution to include: (1) new budget authority and outlays for each major functional category based on allocations of total levels; (2) a measure, as a percentage of gross domestic product, of total outlays, total Federal revenues, the surplus or deficit, and new outlays for nondefense discretionary, defense, and direct spending; and (3) a justification for not subjecting any program or activity for which an allocation is made to annual discretionary appropriations if the resolution includes any committee allocation (other than the Appropriations Committees) exceeding current law levels.
Amends Federal provisions concerning elements of the President's required budget submission to Congress. Requires such submission to include, for the affected fiscal year and at least each of the nine ensuing fiscal years: (1) totals of new budget authority and outlays; (2) total Federal revenues and the amount by which the aggregate level of revenues should be increased or decreased by reported bills and resolutions; (3) the budget surplus or deficit; (4) subtotals of new budget authority and outlays for nondefense and defense discretionary spending, direct spending, and interest; (5) the public debt; and (6) subtotals of new budget authority and outlays for emergencies for fiscal years to which title II of this Act applies.
Amends the CBA to prohibit a joint resolution on the budget and its accompanying report from: (1) appropriating or providing, impounding, or rescinding any new budget authority; increasing any outlay; or increasing or decreasing any revenue (other than through reconciliation instructions; (2) establishing or changing directly (other than through reconciliation instructions) any program, project, or activity; (3) establishing or changing any limit or control over spending, outlays, receipts, or the surplus or deficit except those that are enforced through congressional rulemaking; or (4) amending any law except as provided under CBA provisions relating to permissible revisions of joint budget resolutions or enacting any provision of law that contains any matter not permitted to be included in such resolutions.
Provides a point of order against consideration of any budget resolution or related amendment or conference report that contains matter not specified in content requirements.
(Sec. 104) Removes a provision that provides for an adjustment of the allocation of discretionary spending in the House if the budget resolution is not adopted by April 15. Removes an exception which allows general appropriations bills in the House, after May 15, to be considered before the budget resolution has been agreed to. Eliminates a provision which exempts, after April 15, certain reported legislation which does not increase the deficit from a requirement that the budget resolution be adopted before consideration of budget-related legislation.
Requires a three-fifths majority in the Senate to waive or suspend provisions requiring the budget resolution to be adopted before budget-related legislation is considered.
Provides for expedited procedures upon presidential veto of the budget resolution. Authorizes the House or Senate majority leader to introduce a concurrent or joint budget resolution upon such veto. Discharges the Budget Committees from further consideration of the resolution if such resolution is not reported within five days of referral. Deems any agreed-to concurrent resolution to be the joint budget resolution for the applicable fiscal years.
(Sec. 105) Changes CBA references to the concurrent resolution to the joint resolution.
Title II: Reserve Fund for Emergencies - Repeals provisions of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) regarding: (1) discretionary spending limits and emergency appropriations; and (2) direct spending and emergency legislation.
(Sec. 205) Amends Federal provisions regarding the presidential budget to require such budget to include a reserve fund for emergencies. Requires the budget submission, in the case of budget authority requested for an emergency, to include a justification of the reasons that the emergency is an emergency consistent with the definition set forth under this Act.
(Sec. 206) Amends the CBA to provide for adjustments in allocations for the amount of new budget authority or outlays and outlays flowing from budget authority after reporting of a joint budget resolution that provides budget authority for an emergency. Prohibits such adjustments from exceeding the amount reserved for emergencies established by this Act. Permits any such adjustment made by the Budget Committee chairmen to be placed before the committee for its consideration by a majority vote of committee members. Requires the amount set forth in the reserve fund for emergencies for budget authority for a fiscal year to equal the average of the enacted levels of budget authority for emergencies in the five fiscal years preceding the current year. Sets forth a formula for calculating the amount in the fund for outlays. Bases such amount on the average outlays flowing from new budget authority in the fiscal year that the budget authority was provided as well as on average outlays for the four years following such fiscal year.
Sets forth procedures for the consideration of legislation that provides budget authority or increases outlays for an emergency in an amount exceeding the amount provided for in the budget resolution.
Requires committees, when reporting legislation that provides budget authority for any emergency, to identify all provisions that provide such authority and the resulting outlays in the accompanying report or joint explanatory statement of managers.
(Sec. 207) Includes up-to-date tabulations of amounts remaining in the reserve fund for emergencies in summary budget scorekeeping reports provided by the Budget Committees.
(Sec. 208) Makes it out of order to consider an amendment to a budget resolution which changes the amount of budget authority and outlays set forth for the emergency reserve fund.
Permits limitations on the contents of the budget resolution and the point of order against changing the budget authority and outlays for the emergency reserve fund to be waived or suspended only by a three-fifths majority in the Senate.
(Sec. 209) Makes the amendments of this title effective only after the enactment of legislation changing or extending for any fiscal year the discretionary spending limits set forth in the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act or legislation reducing the amount of any sequestration under such Act by the amount of any reserve for any emergencies.
Title III: Enforcement of Budgetary Decisions - Subtitle A: Application of Points of Order to Unreported Legislation - Applies a certain point of order against the consideration of unreported legislation in the House before the adoption of the budget resolution.
Subtitle B: Compliance with Budget Resolution - Amends rule XIII of the Rules of the House to require committee reports to include a budget compliance statement prepared by the chairman of the Budget Committee.
Subtitle C: Justification for Budget Act Waivers - Amends rule XIII of the Rules of the House to provide a point of order against consideration of any resolution from the Committee on Rules to consider any reported legislation which waives specified provisions of the CBA unless the report contains certain information on the provision proposed for waiver.
Subtitle D: CBO Scoring of Conference Reports - Amends the CBA to provide for Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis and scoring of conference reports. Requires such analysis to include, for reported legislation and conference reports, a determination of whether the measure provides direct spending.
Title IV: Accountability for Federal Spending - Subtitle A: Limitations on Direct Spending - Provides a point of order in the House and the Senate against consideration of legislation that: (1) provides direct spending for a new program unless such spending is limited to a period of ten or fewer fiscal years; or (2) authorizes the appropriation of new budget authority for a new program unless such authorization is specifically provided for a period of ten or fewer fiscal years. Removes provisions regarding points of order and legislation providing new entitlement authority.
(Sec. 412) Amends rule XVIII of the Rules of the House to provide that, in the Committee of the Whole, an amendment to subject a new program providing direct spending to discretionary appropriations if offered by the chairman of the Budget or Appropriations Committees may be precluded from consideration only by the specific terms of a special House order. Excludes from the definition of "direct spending," for purposes of this paragraph, outlays flowing from new budget authority for a social security trust fund.
Declares that the purpose of the following amendments is to hold the discretionary spending limits and allocations made to the Appropriations Committee harmless for legislation that offsets a new discretionary program with a designated reduction in direct spending.
Amends the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act to require, if a provision of direct spending legislation is enacted that decreases direct spending for any fiscal year and is designated as an offset and specifically identifies an authorization of discretionary appropriations for a new program, the reductions in new budget authority and outlays resulting from such provision to be designated as an offset in specified CBO pay-as-you-go estimates. Excludes such offsets from such estimates.
Requires, if an Act other than an appropriation Act includes provisions reducing direct spending and identifies those provisions as offsets, the adjustments to be an increase in the discretionary spending limits for budget authority and outlays in each fiscal year equal to such authority and outlay reductions, respectively, achieved by the specified offsets. Prohibits the adjustments for the budget year in which the offsetting provisions take effect from exceeding the amount of discretionary new budget authority provided for the new program in an Act making discretionary appropriations and the resulting outlays.
Provides for: (1) adjustments to discretionary spending limits, allocations, and budgetary allocations resulting from programs for which offsets were designated and resulting outlays; and (2) reductions of committee allocations of new budget authority and outlays with respect to reported legislation containing provisions that decrease direct spending and are designated as offsets.
Subtitle B: Enhanced Congressional Oversight Responsibilities - Amends rule X of the Rules of the House to require House committees, in developing oversight plans, to provide a specific timetable for review of laws, programs, or agencies within their jurisdiction. Requires such timetable to demonstrate that each law, program, or agency within a committee's jurisdiction will be reauthorized at least once every ten years.
Removes a provision of such rule pertaining to procedures for consideration of legislation providing new entitlement authority which exceeds the appropriate allocation of budget authority.
Requires the House Appropriations Committee to report at least once each Congress (currently, from time to time) on recommendations for terminating or modifying provisions of law which provide permanent budget authority.
(Sec. 422) Amends the CBA to require the joint explanatory statement accompanying a conference report on a joint budget resolution that includes an allocation to a committee (other than the Appropriations Committee) of levels exceeding current law levels to set forth a justification for not subjecting any program to annual discretionary appropriations. Makes conforming amendments to provisions regarding the presidential budget submission and to House rules regarding committee consideration of legislation.
(Sec. 424) Requires the Budget Committees, during the 107th Congress, to report results of a study on budget reform proposals.
(Sec. 426) Amends rule XIII of the Rules of the House to require Appropriations Committee reports on general appropriations bills to include a list of all appropriations contained in the bill for expenditures not currently authorized by law along with the last year for which the expenditures were authorized, the level of expenditures authorized that year, the actual level of expenditures that year, and the level of expenditures contained in the bill (except classified intelligence or national security programs). (Currently, the rule requires a list of all appropriations contained in the bill for expenditures not currently authorized by law, with the same exceptions.)
Subtitle C: Strengthened Accountability - Requires certain reports on legislation providing new budget authority or increases or decreases in revenues or tax expenditures to include CBO projections of how such legislation will affect levels of budget authority, outlays, revenue, or tax expenditures for the affected fiscal year and the ensuing nine (currently, four) fiscal years. Provides for ten-year (currently, four) CBO cost estimates of reported legislation as well.
Amends rule XIII of the Rules of the House to require committee reports to contain cost estimates for each of 11 fiscal years.
(Sec. 432) Repeals rule XXIII (relating to the establishment of the statutory limit on the public debt) of the Rules of the House.
Title V: Budgeting for Unfunded Liabilities and Other Long-Term Obligations - Subtitle A: Budgetary Treatment of Federal Insurance Programs - Amends the CBA to establish a new title known as the Federal Insurance Budgeting Act of 2000.
Requires the President's budget, beginning with FY 2007, to be based on the risk-assumed cost of Federal insurance programs. Defines "risk-assumed cost" as the net present value of the estimated cash flows to and from the Government resulting from an insurance commitment or modification.
Requires the program accounts for such programs to pay: (1) the risk-assumed cost borne by the taxpayer to the financing account; and (2) actual insurance program administrative costs. Requires the financing accounts to: (1) receive premiums and other income; (2) pay all claims for insurance and receive all recoveries; and (3) transfer to the program account at least annually amounts necessary to pay administrative costs. Provides that a negative risk-assumed cost shall be transferred from the financing to the program account and from the program account to the general fund. Requires all payments by or receipts of the financing accounts to be treated in the budget as a means of financing.
Permits insurance commitments to be made for FY 2007 and thereafter only to the extent that new budget authority to cover the risk-assumed cost is provided in advance in an appropriations Act. Prohibits modification of an outstanding commitment in a manner that increases the risk-assumed cost unless budget authority for the additional cost has been provided in advance. Makes such requirements inapplicable to insurance programs that constitute entitlements.
Provides for re-estimations of risk-assumed cost in each subsequent year.
Requires agencies with responsibility for Federal insurance programs to develop models to estimate risk-assumed cost by year through the budget horizon and to submit such models, all relevant data, justifications for critical assumptions, and annual projected risk-assumed costs to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) with budget requests each year starting with the request for FY 2003.
Directs OMB and CBO, after a comment period for interested persons, to revise the models, data, and major assumptions they would use to estimate the risk-assumed cost of Federal insurance programs. Makes such requirement inapplicable to an agency that is subject to statutory requirements to maintain a risk-based assessment system with a minimum level of reserves against loss and to assess insured entities for risk-based premiums.
Requires the President's budget submissions and budgets and CBO's reports on the economic and budget outlook for FY 2004 through 2006 to estimate, for display purposes only, the risk-assumed cost of existing or proposed Federal insurance programs.
Requires OMB, CBO, and the General Accounting Office to report to the Budget Committees on the advisability and appropriate implementation of this subtitle.
Authorizes appropriations for FY 2001 through 2006 to OMB and each agency responsible for administering a Federal program to carry out this subtitle.
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to borrow from, receive from, lend to, or pay the insurance financing accounts appropriate amounts.
Establishes a financing account for each Federal insurance program on September 30, 2006.
Appropriates to such accounts the amount of the risk-assumed cost of outstanding Federal insurance commitments as of the close of September 30, 2006.
Terminates this subtitle on the last day of FY 2008.
Subtitle B: Reports on Long-Term Budgetary Trends - Requires the President's budget submission to include: (1) an analysis based upon current law and one based upon the policy assumptions underlying the submission for every fifth year of the period of the 75 fiscal years beginning with the affected fiscal year of the estimated levels of total new budget authority, outlays, estimated revenues, surpluses, and deficits and, for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and all other direct spending, estimated levels of total new budget authority and outlays; and (2) a specification of underlying assumptions and a sensitivity analysis of factors that have a significant effect on the projections made in each analysis and a comparison of the effects of the two analyses on the economy. Establishes a conforming requirement for CBO's annual report to the Budget Committees on fiscal policy.
Title VI: Baselines and Byrd Rule - Subtitle A: The Baseline - Revises required elements of the President's budget submission to include percentage changes between the current year and the fiscal year for which the budget is submitted for: (1) estimated expenditures and appropriations which are necessary to support the Government, with an exception for detailed budget estimates; (2) laws in effect when the budget is submitted and proposals in the budget to increase revenues as well as for each of the nine ensuing fiscal years; and (3) certain proposed appropriations and expenditures for legislation that would establish or expand Government activities or functions, with an exception for detailed budget estimates.
Includes within the submission: (1) a comparison of levels of estimated expenditures and proposed appropriations for each function and subfunction in the current fiscal year and the fiscal year for which the budget is submitted, along with the proposed increase or decrease of spending in percentage terms for each function and subfunction; (2) a table on sources of growth in total direct spending under current law and as proposed in the submission for the budget year and the ensuing nine fiscal years; and (3) a comparison of the estimated level of obligation limitations, budget authority, and outlays for highways subject to discretionary spending limits set forth in the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act for the fiscal year for which the budget is submitted and the corresponding levels for such year under current law as adjusted.
(Sec. 612) Amends the CBA to require the report accompanying the budget resolution to include: (1) a comparison of levels for the current fiscal year with proposed spending and revenue levels for subsequent fiscal years along with the proposed increase or decrease of spending in percentage terms for each function; and (2) a comparison of the proposed levels of new budget authority and outlays for the highway category for the budget year with the corresponding levels under current law as adjusted consistent with the anticipated revenue alignment adjustments made pursuant to the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act.
(Sec. 613) Includes similar requirements in certain CBO reports.
(Sec. 614) Requires the OMB and CBO Directors, in making budgetary projections for years for which there are no discretionary spending limits, to assume discretionary spending levels at the levels for the last fiscal year for which such levels were in effect.
Subtitle B: The Byrd Rule - Makes certain procedures (Byrd rule) that provide for the removal of extraneous matter in reconciliation legislation inapplicable to conference reports.
Subtitle C: Spending Accountability Lock-box - Spending Accountability Lock-box Act of 1999 - Directs the chairmen of the Budget Committees to each maintain a Spending Accountability Lock-box Ledger, to be divided into entries corresponding to the subcommittees of the Appropriations Committees. Requires each entry to consist of three components: (1) the House Lock-box Balance; (2) the Senate Lock-box Balance; and (3) the Joint House-Senate Lock-box Balance.
Authorizes Members of the House or the Senate, when offering an amendment to an appropriation bill to reduce new budget authority in any account, to state the portion of such reduction to be: (1) credited to the House or Senate Lock-box Balance; (2) used to offset an increase in new budget authority in any other account; or (3) allowed to remain within the Appropriations Committees' subcommittee suballocation. Credits the amount of the reduction to either Lock-box Balance, as applicable, if the amendment is agreed to and no such statement is made.
Requires the Budget Committee chairmen, upon the engrossment of any appropriation bill by the House and upon the engrossment of Senate amendments to that bill, to credit to the applicable entry balance of that House amounts of new budget authority and outlays equal to the net amounts of reductions in new budget authority and in outlays resulting from amendments agreed to by that House to that bill.
Specifies the amounts to be credited to the Joint House-Senate Lock-box Balance.
Requires a running tally to be available to Members of the House, during the consideration of any appropriations bill by the House, of the amendments adopted reflecting increases and decreases of budget authority in such bill as reported.
(Sec. 633) Provides for the downward adjustment, by the amounts credited to the applicable Joint House-Senate Lock-box Balance, of: (1) allocations for the House and Senate upon the engrossment of Senate amendments to any appropriation bill; and (2) suballocations, whenever a such a downward adjustment is made to an allocation.
(Sec. 634) Requires the CBO Director to include an up-to-date tabulation of the amounts contained in the Spending Accountability Lock-box Ledger and each entry in periodic reports.
(Sec. 635) Requires the downward adjustment of discretionary spending limits set forth in the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act by amounts set forth in the final regular appropriation bill for the fiscal year or joint resolution making continuing appropriations through the end of such fiscal year.
Title VII: Budgeting in An Era of Surpluses - Revises provisions regarding sequestrations to require a sequestration to offset an amount equal to any excess of decreases in receipts and increases in direct spending over increases in receipts and decreases in direct spending for legislation enacted prior to October 1, 2002, minus the estimated on-budget surplus (which shall not be less than zero).
Revises sequestration calculation provisions to require the sequestration amount to be the sum of all OMB estimates for the budget year of direct spending and receipts legislation for legislation enacted prior to FY 2003, the estimated amount of savings in direct spending programs applicable to the budget year resulting from the prior year's sequestration, and all OMB estimates for the current year not reflected in the final sequestration report minus the OMB estimate of the on-budget surplus as set forth in the final report increased by the amount of budgetary resources canceled in any program resulting from a sequestration for the budget year on the same day as published in such report.
Adds certain content requirements to preview pay-as-you-go sequestration reports with respect to calculations for the on-budget and estimated surpluses.
Defines the "on-budget surplus" as the amount by which receipts exceed outlays for all Government spending and receipt accounts that are designated as on-budget. Excludes from such term outlays and receipts of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors and Disability Insurance Trust Funds or other off-budget entities.
Makes certain provisions regarding a special reconciliation process applicable to the House as well as the Senate.
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
House resolved itself into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union pursuant to H. Res. 499 and Rule XXIII.
The Speaker designated the Honorable Steven C. LaTourette to act as Chairman of the Committee.
GENERAL DEBATE - The Committee of the Whole proceeded with ninety minutes of general debate on H.R. 853.
DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 499, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 40 minutes of debate on the Dreier amendment.
DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 499, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 40 minutes of debate on the Gekas amendment.
POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - At the conclusion of debate on the Gekas amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote announced that the noes had prevailed. Mr. Gekas demanded a recorded vote and pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 499, further proceedings on adoption of the amendment were postponed until later in the legislative day.
DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 499, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Jackson-Lee amendment.
POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - At the conclusion of debate on the Jackson-Lee amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote announced that the noes had prevailed. Ms. Jackson-Lee demanded a recorded vote and pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 499, further proceedings on adoption of the amendment were postponed until later in the legislative day.
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DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 499, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Tancredo amendment.
DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 499, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 20 minutes of debate on the Ryan (WI) amendment.
POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - At the conclusion of debate on the Ryan (WI) amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote announced that the ayes had prevailed. Mr. Spratt demanded a recorded vote and pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 499, further proceedings on adoption of the amendment were postponed until later in the legislative day.
DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 499, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Ryan (WI) amendment.
ORDER OF PROCEDURE - Mr. Spratt withdrew his request for a recorded vote on the amendment numbered 6 as printed in House Report 106-613 offered by Mr. Ryan (WI).
UNFINISHED BUSINESS - The Chair announced that the Committee of the Whole would now resume proceedings on adoption of amendments debated earlier and on which recorded votes were demanded.
The House rose from the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union to report H.R. 853.
The previous question was ordered pursuant to the rule.
The House adopted the amendment in the nature of a substitute as agreed to by the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union.
Failed of passage/not agreed to in House: On passage Failed by recorded vote: 166 - 250 (Roll no. 189).
Roll Call #189 (House)On passage Failed by recorded vote: 166 - 250 (Roll no. 189).
Roll Call #189 (House)Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.