COMMITTEE ACTION: REPORTED BY RECORD VOTE of 9 - 2, on Thursday, June 24, 2004 (Legislative Day of Wednesday, June 23, 2004).
FLOOR ACTION:
MANAGERS: HASTINGS (WA)/SLAUGHTER
108th Congress
2nd Session

H. RES. 692
[Report No. 108-566]

H.R. 4663 - Spending Control Act of 2004

1. Structured rule.

2. Provides one hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on the Budget.

3. Waives all points of order against the bill and against its consideration.

5. Makes in order only those amendments printed in the Rules Committee report accompanying the resolution.

6. Provides that the amendments printed in the report shall be considered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for a division of the question in the House or in the Committee of the Whole.

7. Waives all points of order against the amendments printed in the report, except that upon adoption of an amendment in the nature of a substitute, only the last amendment printed in the report shall be in order.

8. Provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions.

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RESOLUTION

Resolved, That at any time after the adoption of this resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule XVIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of the bill (H.R. 4663) to amend part C of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to extend the discretionary spending limits and pay-as-you-go through fiscal year 2009. The first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. General debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on the Budget. After general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. The bill shall be considered as read. All points of order against the bill are waived. No amendment to the bill shall be in order except those printed in the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution. Each such amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the House or in the Committee of the Whole. All points of order against such amendments are waived except that upon adoption of an amendment in the nature of a substitute, only the last amendment printed in the report of the Committee on Rules shall be in order. At the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment the Committee shall rise and report the bill to the House with such amendments as may have been adopted. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without instructions.


SUMMARY OF AMENDMENTS MADE IN ORDER

1. Brady (TX)/Turner (TX) #9:
Establishes a Federal Sunset Commission to review all federal agencies and programs for their efficiency, effectiveness, redundancy and need. (10 minutes)

2. Chocola #3:
Replaces the 20 budget functions with a one-page budget that divides spending into the following five categories: mandatory spending, defense discretionary spending, non-defense discretionary, emergency spending and interest. Establishes a new emergency category that would be comprised of both a rainy day reserve fund for non-military emergencies and funding for military operations authorized by either a declaration of war or the use of military force. The rainy day fund would be equal to a rolling average of the five preceding years' emergency spending. (10 minutes)

3. Hastings (WA)/Castle #4:
Eliminates the requirement of providing budget authority and outlays for the functional categories in the budget resolution. Grants the House and Senate Budget Committees the discretion to include such functional categories, if any, they deem appropriate in the budget resolution. The required contents of the budget resolution would include: (1) total of new budget authority and outlays; (2) revenues; (3) surplus or deficit; and (4) public debt. (10 minutes)

4. Hensarling #11:
Imposes an entitlement cap whereby the total level of direct spending is limited to inflation and the growth in a given program's beneficiary population. Inflation will be the higher of either the Consumer Price Index or whatever inflator (if any) is currently applicable to each program. This entitlement cap will be enforced by an across-the-board sequester of nonexempt accounts in the amount of any excess above the cap. Certain protected programs could only face a maximum two percent reduction. The entitlement cap will not apply to Social Security. Provides that the new Medicare prescription drug benefit will be excluded from the cap until the program is fully phased-in. A sequester to enforce the cap will not reduce the funding of certain exempt programs. In addition to Social Security, substitute retirement programs such as Tier I railroad and CSRS for federal retirees, and other earned entitlements such as Medicare Part A, the newly redrawn list will consist of those programs that fulfill Constitutional requirements, meet government commitments, and regulate economic institutions. In the event of a sequester, the funding of certain protected programs could only be reduced by a maximum of two percent. These so-called "2% programs" include Medicare Parts B-D, veterans, military and federal retiree benefits, as well as certain low-income programs. Requires the President's budget to include an analysis of the long-term unfunded obligations of current entitlements, a report on any increases enacted in the prior session of Congress, and the impact of any proposals included in the President's budget submission. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) will provide such estimates with each reported bill. (10 minutes)

5. Hensarling #12:
Provides for an automatic continuing resolution in the event that an agreement is not reached on spending levels by the legal deadline. The federal government will operate at the prior fiscal year's level. (10 minutes)

6. Kirk #17:
Requires the Congressional Budget Office to prepare an annual analysis that compares budgeted entitlement spending to actual entitlement spending, with an account-by-account breakdown to show spending trends and variances. (10 minutes)

7. Ryan (WI)/Gutknecht #5:
Converts the current non-binding budget resolution into a joint budget resolution that if signed by the President would have the force of law. In addition, if the President vetoes the budget resolution, Congress is allowed to proceed on its own under a concurrent budget resolution. (10 minutes)

8. Ryan (WI)/Neugebauer #6:
Establishes Budget Protection Accounts which would allow Congress to target spending during the appropriation and direct spending processes and redirect that spending for deficit reduction at the end of the fiscal year. (10 minutes)

9. Ryan (WI)/Stenholm/Castle #7:
Initiates enhanced rescission for the President to propose the elimination of wasteful spending identified in appropriation bills. The proposal must be transmitted to Congress accompanied by legislative language for the rescissions and any necessary reduction in the spending limits. Provides for expedited consideration through the legislative process. (10 minutes)

10. Young (FL) #19:
Increase the fiscal year 2005 discretionary 302(a) allocation to Appropriations Committee to ensure that the transportation guarantees contemplated in TEALU and Vision 100 are fully met. The FY 2005 Budget Resolution did not provide the budgetary resources to meet these guarantees and without these resources the Transportation/Treasury Appropriations bill will not be able to honor the funding levels guaranteed in TEALU and Vision 100. (10 minutes)

11. Young (FL) #21:
Strikes section 2 of the bill (Extension of Discretionary Spending Limits). (10 minutes)

12. Young (FL) #22:
Changes the start date of the fiscal year to November 1. (10 minutes)

13. Young (FL) #23:
Requires sunsetting of all Federal programs (except earned entitlements) effective October 1, 2006, unless reauthorized prior to that date. (10 minutes)

14. Young (FL) #26:
Strikes the provisions relating to limitations on advance appropriations. (10 minutes)

15. Spratt #2:
Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute. Restores the original Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) rules as they were originally established under the 1990 Budget Enforcement Act and extended in 1997. Requires that the net cost of all mandatory spending increases and all tax cuts enacted within a session be fully offset. Renews discretionary spending limits. (30 minutes)

16. Hensarling #15:
Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute. Establishes joint budget resolution signed by the President with the force of law, requiring President and Congress to commit to same budget before spending money. Replaces 20 functions with one-page budget, setting spending for five categories: mandatory, non-defense, defense, interest, and emergencies. Permits biennial budgeting if President and Congress agree in advance. Non-military emergencies must be handled with "rainy day" fund; spending from fund must be for sudden, urgent, unforeseen, and temporary emergencies. Provides government shutdown protection with automatic continuing resolution. Requires two-thirds supermajority vote in both houses for over-budget spending. Such points of order are protected from being waived in the House by a process used to guard against unfunded mandates. Eliminates automatic tax increases. Establishes "Family Budget Protection Accounts" to allow Congress to redirect savings found during appropriations process to tax relief or deficit reduction at the end of fiscal year. Limits growth in entitlement spending to inflation adjustment for each program and population growth; discretionary caps allow growth for inflation, with firewall separating defense, non-defense, and emergency spending. Limits protected by points of order and enforced by sequesters. Expands programs eligible for sequester; exempts Social Security and Medicare Part A; protects Medicare Parts B, C, and D, Medicaid, veterans, military, federal retiree benefits, and certain low-income programs from reductions greater than 2%; President can exempt defense or homeland security accounts for national security. Sunsets every voluntary entitlement program and all discretionary programs in FY08 and FY09 to allow cost-benefit analysis of continued funding (exempts earned benefits). Creates point of order to freeze program funding where authorization has lapsed. Provides expedited Congressional consideration of proposed presidential rescissions. Commission recommends cutting waste, fraud, and abuse; proposals receive expedited Congressional consideration (including in defense and entitlement spending). Requires use of nominal dollars to compare current spending with proposed spending. Requires agencies to fund government share of accruing costs of pension, retiree pay, and retiree health benefits earned by federal civilian and military employees (no change to retiree benefits). Defines public debt accurately by excluding debt government owes to itself. Risk-assumed budgeting provides for consideration of long-term liabilities of business-related federal insurance programs. (30 minutes)

17. Kirk #18:
Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute. The current emergency appropriations procedure will be replaced by a "rainy day fund" reserve account for emergencies, which is built up over time and drawn down as needed. Budget projections for the coming year will be compared to actual spending for the previous year, not inflation-adjusted "baselines." Federal spending above a set cap will trigger a spending sequester that imposes automatic, across-the-board spending reductions. Social Security and Medicare accounts will be protected from spending cuts. Discretionary spending must stay within an annual cap, set by Congress every year. Enhanced Rescissions of Budget Authority Identified by the President as Wasteful Spending. The President would be given authority to eliminate wasteful spending, by proposing a rescission package of spending. Congress will consider the President's proposed rescission package though expedited debate and an up-or-down vote. The President will appoint a bipartisan Commission to make recommendations on proposals to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in the Federal budget. The Commission will prepare a report to Congress that includes a list of wasteful or duplicative programs that should be reviewed by Congress. Through accrual accounting, Federal funding of pensions and retirement benefits for federal employees and uniformed services personnel will be properly accounted for in the annual budget. Using accrual accounting principles, the budget will note the present value costs of health benefits for federal employees and uniformed services personnel. Federal debt to the public would break out a separate accounting of intra-governmental debt. The limit on Federal debt to the public would be adjusted to apply solely to publicly issued Treasury securities. PAYGO rules related to spending are extended until 2007. (30 minutes)

18. Young (FL) #20:
Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute. The amendment would: 1) require sequestration of mandatory spending in the event that OMB baseline estimates of mandatory spending exceed previous estimates due to enacted legislation; 2) require baseline estimates to exclude emergency spending; 3) provide an exception for outlay components of certain expiring receipts legislation when making estimates of mandatory spending legislation; 4) change the start date of the fiscal year to November 1; 5) require sunsetting of all Federal programs (except earned entitlements) effective October 1, 2006, unless reauthorized prior to that date; 6) requires an adjustment to Appropriations Committee 302(a) allocations to ensure that the transportation guarantees contemplated in TEALU and Vision 100 are fully met; and 7) make technical and conforming changes to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. (30 minutes)

19. Young (FL) #28:
Strikes any provision that establishes, extends, or enforces discretionary spending limits. (10 minutes)

TEXT OF THE AMENDMENTS(.pdf)

1. Brady (TX)/Turner (TX) #9

2. Chocola #3

3. Hastings (WA)/Castle #4

4. Hensarling #11

5. Hensarling #12

6. Kirk #17

7. Ryan (WI)/Gutknecht #5

8. Ryan (WI)/Neugebauer #6

9. Ryan (WI)/Stenholm/Castle #7

10. Young (FL) #19

11. Young (FL) #21

12. Young (FL) #22

13. Young (FL) #23

14. Young (FL) #26

15. Spratt #2

16. Hensarling #15

17. Kirk #18:

18. Young (FL) #20

19. Young (FL) #28

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