Federal Act to Control Expenditures and Upgrade Priorities

Federal Act to Control Expenditures and Upgrade Priorities - Title I: Legislative Budget - Establishes a joint committee of the Congress which shall be known as the Joint Committee on the Budget. Provides that the joint committee shall be composed of nine members of the House of Representatives and nine members of the Senate. Sets forth the administrative powers of the joint committee.

States that upon the submission of the Budget by the President for each fiscal year, beginning with fiscal year 1974, the joint committee shall promptly review the budget for the purpose of formulating and submitting to the Senate and the House of Representatives, a legislative budget for that fiscal year. Provides that this budget must be submitted prior to the consideration of any bill or joint resolution appropriating or authorizing appropriations for any fiscal year.

Title II: Five-Year Budget Projections - Provides that the Budget submitted by the President shall set forth estimated expenditures and proposed appropriations necessary in his judgement for the support of the Government for the ensuing fiscal year and the four years following the ensuing fiscal year. Requires the President to transmit to Congress during the first fifteen days of each regular session an alternative budget taking into account contingency plans in the event of major disasters or economic or strategic dislocations.

Provides that the committee report accompanying each bill or resolution of a public character reported by any committee of the Senate or the House of Representatives (except the Committee on Appropriations of each House) shall contain: (1) an estimate, made by such committee, of the costs which would be incurred in carrying out such bill or joint resolution in the fiscal year in which it is to become effective and in each of the four fiscal years following such fiscal year, together with the basis for each such estimate; (2) a comparison of the estimate of costs made by any Federal agency; and (3) a list of existing and proposed Federal programs which provide or would provide financial assistance for the objectives of the program or programs authorized by the bill or joint resolution.

Title III: Three-Year Limitation on Authorizations For Appropriations; Congressional Review of Major Expenditure Programs - Requires each committee of Congress which has jurisdiction to report legislation authorizing appropriations for a major expenditure program to conduct a major review of such program during the last fiscal year for which appropriations are authorized for such program and to submit a report thereon to the appropriate House of Congress. Includes in such report a cost-benefit analysis of the program and the committee's evaluation of the overall success or failure of the program.

Title IV: Pilot Testing of New Major Expenditure Programs - Requires each bill or resolution which establishes a new major expenditure program to provide for a pilot test of such program which shall be conducted for at least two complete fiscal or calendar years. Provides that the results of such tests shall be submitted to the appropriate committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Provides that each such committee shall study the reports and submit a report thereon to the Senate or the House of Representatives, as the case may be.

u

Title V: Requirement of Annual Appropriations - States that all provisions of law permanently appropriating moneys out of the Treasury (including trust funds) shall have no force or effect and moneys may be paid out of the Treasury to defray expenditures incurred in any fiscal year only pursuant to appropriation Acts enacted for that fiscal year.

Title VI: Exercise of Rulemaking Power - Enacts specified sections of this Act as an exercise of the rulemaking powers of the Senate and the House of Representatives, respectively.