III 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. CON. RES. 35 

Providing for a joint hearing of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 

and the Committee on the Budget of the House of Representatives 

to receive a presentation from the Comptroller General of the United 

States regarding the audited financial statement of the executive branch. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 28, 2020 

Ms. SINEMA (for herself, Ms. ERNST, Ms. ROSEN, and Mr. KING) submitted 

the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee 

on the Budget 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Providing for a joint hearing of the Committee on the Budget 

of the Senate and the Committee on the Budget of 

the House of Representatives to receive a presentation 

from the Comptroller General of the United States regarding the audited financial statement of the executive 

branch. 

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 

2 concurring), 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Fiscal State of 

5 the Nation Resolution’’. 


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•SCON 35 IS 

1 SEC. 2. ANNUAL JOINT HEARING OF BUDGET COMMITTEES 

2 TO RECEIVE A PRESENTATION BY THE COMP3 TROLLER GENERAL. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 45 days (excluding 

5 Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays) after the date on which 

6 the Secretary of the Treasury submits to Congress the au7 dited financial statement required under paragraph (1) of 

8 section 331(e) of title 31, United States Code, on a date 

9 agreed upon by the chairmen of the Budget Committees 

10 and the Comptroller General of the United States, the 

11 chairmen shall conduct a joint hearing to receive a presen12 tation from the Comptroller General— 

13 (1) reviewing the findings of the audit required 

14 under paragraph (2) of such section; and 

15 (2) providing, with respect to the information 

16 included by the Secretary in the report accom17 panying such audited financial statement, an anal18 ysis of the financial position and condition of the 

19 Federal Government, including financial measures 

20 (such as the net operating cost, income, budget defi21 cits, or budget surpluses) and sustainability meas22 ures (such as the long-term fiscal projection or social 

23 insurance projection) described in such report. 

24 (b) PRESENTATION OF STATEMENT IN ACCORDANCE

25 WITH GAO STRATEGIES AND MEANS.—The Comptroller 

26 General of the United States shall ensure that the presenVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Jan 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SC35.IS SC35

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•SCON 35 IS 

1 tation at each joint hearing conducted under subsection 

2 (a) is made in accordance with the Strategies and Means 

3 of the Government Accountability Office, to ensure that 

4 the presentation will provide professional, objective, fact5 based, nonpartisan, nonideological, fair, and balanced in6 formation to the Members attending the hearing. 

7 (c) RULES APPLICABLE TO HEARING.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each joint hearing con9 ducted by the chairmen of the Budget Committees 

10 under subsection (a) shall be conducted in accord11 ance with Standing Rules of the Senate and the 

12 Rules of the House of Representatives which apply 

13 to such a hearing, including the provisions requiring 

14 hearings conducted by committees to be open to the 

15 public, including to radio, television, and still pho16 tography coverage. 

17 (2) PERMITTING PARTICIPATION BY SENATORS

18 AND MEMBERS NOT SERVING ON BUDGET COMMIT19 TEES.—Notwithstanding any provision of the Stand20 ing Rules of the Senate or the Rules of the House 

21 of Representatives, any Senator and any Member of 

22 the House of Representatives (including a Delegate 

23 or Resident Commissioner to the Congress) may 

24 participate in a joint hearing under subsection (a) in 

25 the same manner and to the same extent as a SenVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Jan 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SC35.IS SC35

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•SCON 35 IS 

1 ator or Member of the House of Representatives who 

2 is a member of either of the Budget Committees. 

3 (d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘Budget 

4 Committees’’ means the Committee on the Budget of the 

5 Senate and the Committee on the Budget of the House 

6 of Representatives. 

7 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The requirement under sub8 section (a) shall apply with respect to any audited finan9 cial statement under section 331(e)(1) of title 31, United 

10 States Code, submitted on or after the date of adoption 

11 of this resolution. 

Æ 


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