II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3491 

To establish a commission to develop legislation designed to reform tax 

policy and entitlement benefit programs and to ensure a sound fiscal 

future for the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 12, 2006 

Mr. VOINOVICH introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on the Budget 

A BILL 

To establish a commission to develop legislation designed 

to reform tax policy and entitlement benefit programs 

and to ensure a sound fiscal future for the United States, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Securing America’s 

5 Future Economy Commission Act’’ or ‘‘SAFE Commis6 sion Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT. 

2 There is established a commission to be known as the 

3 ‘‘Securing America’s Future Economy Commission’’ 

4 (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

5 SEC. 3. DUTIES OF COMMISSION. 

6 (a) MANDATORY LEGISLATION DEVELOPMENT.— 

7 (1) ISSUES TO ADDRESS.—The Commission 

8 shall examine the long-term fiscal challenges facing 

9 the United States and develop legislation designed to 

10 address the following issues: 

11 (A) The unsustainable imbalance between 

12 long-term Federal spending commitments and 

13 projected revenues. 

14 (B) Increasing net national savings to pro15 vide for domestic investment and economic 

16 growth. 

17 (C) Improving the budget process to place 

18 greater emphasis on long-term fiscal issues. 

19 (2) POLICY SOLUTIONS.—Legislation developed 

20 to address the issues described in paragraph (1) may 

21 include the following: 

22 (A) Reforms that limit the growth of enti23 tlement spending to ensure that the programs 

24 are fiscally sustainable. 

25 (B) Reforms that strengthen the safety net 

26 functions of entitlement programs. 


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1 (C) Reforms that make United States tax 

2 laws more efficient and more conducive to en3 couraging economic growth. 

4 (D) Incentives to increase private savings. 

5 (E) Automatic stabilizers or triggers to en6 force spending and revenue targets. 

7 (F) Any other reforms designed to address 

8 the issues described in paragraph (1). 

9 (b) OPTIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF COST ESTIMATE

10 ALTERNATIVES.—The Commission shall by an affirmative 

11 vote of 5 members develop not more than 2 methods for 

12 estimating the cost of legislation as an alternative to the 

13 method currently used by the Congressional Budget Of14 fice. Any such alternative method must be designed to ad15 dress any shortcomings in the method currently used with 

16 regard to estimating the positive economic effects of legis17 lation. 

18 SEC. 4. INITIAL TOWN-HALL STYLE PUBLIC HEARINGS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall hold at 

20 least 1 town-hall style public hearing within each Federal 

21 reserve district, and shall, to the extent feasible, ensure 

22 that there is broad public participation in the hearings. 

23 (b) HEARING FORMAT.—During each hearing, the 

24 Commission shall present to the public, and generate com25 ments and suggestions regarding, the issues described in 


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1 section 3, policies designed to address those issues, and 

2 tradeoffs between such policies. 

3 SEC. 5. REPORT. 

4 The Commission shall, not later than 1 year after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, submit a report to Congress 

6 and the President containing the following: 

7 (1) A detailed description of the long-term fis8 cal problems faced by the United States. 

9 (2) A list of policy options for addressing those 

10 problems. 

11 (3) A summary of comments and suggestions 

12 generated from the town-hall style public hearings. 

13 (4) A detailed statement of any findings of the 

14 Commission as to public preferences regarding the 

15 issues, policies, and tradeoffs presented in the town16 hall style public hearings. 

17 (5) Criteria for the legislative proposal to be de18 veloped by the Commission. 

19 (6) A detailed description of the other activities 

20 of the Commission. 

21 SEC. 6. LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 

23 date the report is submitted under section 5 and by a vote 

of 2 24 ⁄3 of the members, the Commission shall submit a legisVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:47 Jun 13, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3491.IS S3491

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1 lative proposal to Congress and the President designed to 

2 address the issues described section 3. 

3 (b) PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS.—The proposal must, 

4 to the extent feasible, be designed— 

5 (1) to achieve generational equity and long-term 

6 economic stability; 

7 (2) to address the comments and suggestions of 

8 the public; and 

9 (3) to meet the criteria set forth in the Com10 mission report. 

11 (c) INCLUSION OF COST ESTIMATE.—The Commis12 sion shall submit with the proposal— 

13 (1) a long-term CBO cost estimate prepared 

14 under section 14 for the proposal; and 

15 (2) if an alternative cost estimate method is de16 veloped by the Commission, a 50-year cost estimate 

17 using such method. 

18 SEC. 7. MEMBERSHIP AND MEETINGS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be com20 posed of 15 voting members appointed pursuant to para21 graph (1) and 2 nonvoting members described in para22 graph (2). 

23 (1) VOTING MEMBERS.—The 15 voting mem24 bers of the Commission shall be appointed as fol25 lows: 


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1 (A) The President shall appoint 3 mem2 bers, one of whom the President shall appoint 

3 as chairperson of the Commission. 

4 (B) The Majority Leader of the Senate 

5 shall appoint 3 members. 

6 (C) The Minority Leader of the Senate 

7 shall appoint 3 members. 

8 (D) The Speaker of the House of Rep9 resentatives shall appoint 3 members. 

10 (E) The Minority Leader of the House of 

11 Representatives shall appoint 3 members. 

12 (2) NONVOTING MEMBERS.—The Comptroller 

13 General of the United States and the Director of the 

14 Congressional Budget Office shall each be nonvoting 

15 members of the Commission and shall advise and as16 sist at the request of the Commission. 

17 (b) LIMITATION AS TO MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.— 

18 Each appointing authority described in subsection (a)(1) 

19 who is a Member of Congress may appoint not more than 

20 1 Member of Congress to the Commission. 

21 (c) DATE FOR ORIGINAL APPOINTMENT.—The ap22 pointing authorities described in subsection (a)(1) shall 

23 appoint the initial members of the Commission not later 

24 than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

25 (d) TERMS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The term of each member is 

2 for the life of the Commission. 

3 (2) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commission 

4 shall be filled not later than 30 days after the date 

5 on which the vacancy occurs and in the manner in 

6 which the original appointment was made. 

7 (e) PAY AND REIMBURSEMENT.— 

8 (1) NO COMPENSATION FOR MEMBERS OF COM9 MISSION.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), a 

10 member of the Commission may not receive pay, al11 lowances, or benefits by reason of their service on 

12 the Commission. 

13 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member shall 

14 receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 

15 subsistence under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 

16 5, United States Code. 

17 (f) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet upon 

18 the call of the chairperson or a majority of its voting mem19 bers. 

20 (g) QUORUM.—Six voting members of the Commis21 sion shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may 

22 hold hearings. 

23 SEC. 8. DIRECTOR AND STAFF OF COMMISSION. 

24 (a) DIRECTOR.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (c) 

2 and to the extent provided in advance in appropria3 tion Acts, the Commission shall appoint and fix the 

4 pay of a director. 

5 (2) DUTIES.—The director of the Commission 

6 shall be responsible for the administration and co7 ordination of the duties of the Commission and shall 

8 perform other such duties as the Commission may 

9 require. 

10 (b) STAFF.—In accordance with rules agreed upon 

11 by the Commission, subject to subsection (c), and to the 

12 extent provided in advance in appropriation Acts, the di13 rector may appoint and fix the pay of additional personnel. 

14 (c) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE

15 LAWS.—The director and staff of the Commission may be 

16 appointed without regard to the provisions of title 5, 

17 United States Code, governing appointments in the com18 petitive service, and may be paid without regard to the 

19 provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 

20 of that title relating to classification and General Schedule 

21 pay rates, except that pay fixed under subsection (a) may 

22 not exceed $150,000 per year and pay fixed under sub23 section (b) may not exceed a rate equal to the daily equiva24 lent of the annual rate of basic pay for level V of the ExecVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:47 Jun 13, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3491.IS S3491

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1 utive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United States 

2 Code. 

3 (d) DETAILEES.—Any Federal Government employee 

4 may be detailed to the Commission without reimbursement 

5 from the Commission, and such detailee shall retain the 

6 rights, status, and privileges of their regular employment 

7 without interruption. 

8 (e) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), in 

10 accordance with rules agreed upon by the Commis11 sion and to the extent provided in advance in appro12 priation Acts, the director may procure the services 

13 of experts and consultants under section 3109(b) of 

14 title 5, United States Code, but at rates not to ex15 ceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic 

16 pay for level V of the Executive Schedule under sec17 tion 5316 of title 5, United States Code. 

18 (2) EXCLUSION OF LOBBYISTS AND AGENTS OF

19 FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS.—In no case may any indi20 vidual who is a registered lobbyist or an agent of a 

21 foreign government serve as an expert or a consult22 ant under this subsection. 

23 (f) RESOURCES.—The Commission shall have reason24 able access to materials, resources, statistical data, and 

25 other information the Commission determines to be necVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:47 Jun 13, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3491.IS S3491

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1 essary to carry out its duties from the Commissioner of 

2 the Social Security Administration, the Administrator of 

3 the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Sec4 retary of the Treasury, and other agencies and representa5 tives of the executive and legislative branches of the Fed6 eral Government. The Chairperson shall make requests for 

7 such access in writing when necessary. 

8 SEC. 9. POWERS OF COMMISSION. 

9 (a) HEARINGS AND EVIDENCE.—The Commission 

10 may, for the purpose of carrying out this Act, hold such 

11 hearings in addition to the town-hall style public hearings, 

12 sit and act at such times and places, take such testimony, 

13 and receive such evidence as the Commission considers ap14 propriate. The Commission may administer oaths or affir15 mations to witnesses appearing before it. 

16 (b) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any mem17 ber or agent of the Commission may, if authorized by the 

18 Commission, take any action which the Commission is au19 thorized to take under this section. 

20 (c) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United 

21 States mails in the same manner and under the same con22 ditions as other departments and agencies of the United 

23 States. 

24 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon 

25 the request of the Commission, the Administrator of GenVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:47 Jun 13, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3491.IS S3491

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1 eral Services shall provide to the Commission, on a reim2 bursable basis, the administrative support services nec3 essary for the Commission to carry out its responsibilities 

4 under this Act. 

5 (e) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—To the extent provided 

6 in advance in appropriation Acts, the Commission may 

7 enter into contracts to enable the Commission to discharge 

8 its duties under this Act. 

9 (f) GIFTS.—The Commission may accept, use, and 

10 dispose of gifts or donations of services or property. 

11 SEC. 10. TERMINATION. 

12 The Commission shall terminate 60 days after sub13 mitting its legislative proposal. 

14 SEC. 11. ALTERNATIVE LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL OF THE 

15 PRESIDENT. 

16 The President may, not later than 120 days after the 

17 Commission submits its legislative proposal, submit to 

18 Congress an alternative to the legislative proposal sub19 mitted by the Commission. 

20 SEC. 12. ALTERNATIVE LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL OF THE 

21 COMMITTEE ON THE BUDGET. 

22 The Committee on the Budget of either House may, 

23 in consultation with the relevant committees of their re24 spective House and not later than 120 days after the Com25 mission submits its legislative proposal, have published in 


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1 the Congressional Record an alternative to the legislative 

2 proposal submitted by the Commission. 

3 SEC. 13. CONSIDERATION OF LEGISLATION. 

4 (a) INTRODUCTION.—On the first legislative day 

5 after the Commission submits its legislative proposal, the 

6 Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Majority 

7 Leader of the Senate shall introduce (by request) the legis8 lation submitted by the Commission. 

9 (b) IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.— 

10 (1) PRIVILEGED CONSIDERATION.—In the 

11 House of Representatives, if a committee to which 

12 the legislation has been referred has not reported 

13 the legislation before the expiration of the 120-day 

14 period described in section 12, then— 

15 (A) that committee shall be discharged 

16 from consideration of the legislation; 

17 (B) the legislation shall be placed on the 

18 appropriate calendar; and 

19 (C) a motion to proceed to the consider20 ation of the legislation is highly privileged and 

21 is not debatable. 

22 (2) AMENDMENTS LIMITED.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

24 subparagraph (B), an amendment to the legisVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:47 Jun 13, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3491.IS S3491

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1 lation may not be offered in the House of Rep2 resentatives. 

3 (B) PERMITTED AMENDMENTS.—(i) Any 

4 Member may offer, as an amendment in the na5 ture of a substitute, the alternative legislative 

6 proposal submitted by the President. 

7 (ii) Any Member may offer, as an amend8 ment in the nature of a substitute, the legisla9 tive proposal submitted by the Commission. 

10 (iii) The chairman of the House Com11 mittee on the Budget may offer, as an amend12 ment in the nature of a substitute, the alter13 native legislative proposal published in the Con14 gressional Record by the House Committee on 

15 the Budget. 

16 (C) POINT OF ORDER.— 

17 (i) IN GENERAL.—An amendment of18 fered under subparagraph (B) is subject to 

19 a point of order if— 

20 (I) the amendment is not accom21 panied by a long-term CBO cost esti22 mate of the amendment or a long23 term revenue estimate of the amend24 ment by the Joint Committee of Tax25 ation (including the information deVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:47 Jun 13, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3491.IS S3491

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1 scribed in paragraph (1) and (2) of 

2 section 14(b)); or 

3 (II) the long-term CBO cost esti4 mate of the amendment is greater 

5 than the long-term CBO cost estimate 

6 of the legislative proposal submitted 

7 by the Commission. 

8 (ii) WAIVER OF POINT OF ORDER.—A 

9 point of order raised in accordance with 

10 clause (i) may only be waived or suspended 

11 in the House of Representatives by a reso12 lution devoted solely to the subject of 

13 waiving that point of order. 

14 (D) MULTIPLE AMENDMENTS.—If more 

15 than one amendment is offered under this para16 graph, then each amendment shall be consid17 ered separately, and the amendment receiving 

18 both a majority and the highest number of 

19 votes shall be the amendment adopted. 

20 (3) TRANSMITTAL TO THE SENATE.—If legisla21 tion passes the House pursuant to subsection (b), 

22 the Clerk of the House of Representatives shall 

23 cause the legislation to be engrossed, certified, and 

24 transmitted to the Senate within one calendar day of 

25 the day on which the legislation is passed. The legisVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:47 Jun 13, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3491.IS S3491

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1 lation shall be referred to the Senate Committee on 

2 the Budget. 

3 (c) IN THE SENATE.— 

4 (1) AUTOMATIC DISCHARGE OF SENATE BUDG5 ET COMMITTEE.—If the Senate Committee on the 

6 Budget has not reported the legislation before the 

7 expiration of the 120-day period described in section 

8 12, then— 

9 (A) the committee shall be discharged from 

10 consideration of the legislation; and 

11 (B) a motion to proceed to the consider12 ation of the legislation is highly privileged and 

13 is not debatable. 

14 (2) CONSIDERATION.—Consideration of such 

15 legislation shall be pursuant to the procedures set 

16 forth in section 305 of the Congressional Budget Act 

17 of 1974. 

18 (3) AMENDMENTS LIMITED.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

20 subparagraph (B), an amendment to the legis21 lation may not be offered in the Senate. 

22 (B) PERMITTED AMENDMENTS.—(i) Any 

23 Member may offer, as an amendment in the na24 ture of a substitute, the alternative legislative 

25 proposal submitted by the President. 


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1 (ii) Any Member may offer, as an amend2 ment in the nature of a substitute, the legisla3 tive proposal submitted by the Commission. 

4 (iii) The chairman of the Senate Com5 mittee on the Budget may offer, as an amend6 ment in the nature of a substitute, the alter7 native legislative proposal published in the Con8 gressional Record by the Senate Committee on 

9 the Budget. 

10 (C) POINT OF ORDER.— 

11 (i) IN GENERAL.—An amendment of12 fered under subparagraph (B) is subject to 

13 a point of order if— 

14 (I) the amendment is not accom15 panied by a long-term CBO cost esti16 mate of the amendment or a long17 term revenue estimate of the amend18 ment by the Joint Committee of Tax19 ation (including the information de20 scribed in paragraph (1) and (2) of 

21 section 14(b)); or 

22 (II) the long-term CBO cost esti23 mate of the amendment is greater 

24 than the long-term CBO cost estimate 


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1 of the legislative proposal submitted 

2 by the Commission. 

3 (ii) WAIVER OF POINT OF ORDER.—A 

4 point of order raised in accordance with 

5 clause (i) may only be waived or suspended 

in the Senate by an affirmative vote of 3 6 ⁄5

7 of the Members duly chosen and sworn. 

8 (D) MULTIPLE AMENDMENTS.—If more 

9 than one amendment is offered under this para10 graph, then each amendment shall be consid11 ered separately, and the amendment receiving 

12 both a majority and the highest number of 

13 votes shall be the amendment adopted. 

14 (d) APPLICATION OF CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET

15 ACT.—To the extent that they are relevant and not incon16 sistent with this Act, the provisions of title III of the Con17 gressional Budget Act of 1974 shall apply in the House 

18 of Representatives and the Senate to legislation considered 

19 under this section. 

20 (e) RULES OF THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF

21 REPRESENTATIVES.—This section is enacted by Con22 gress— 

23 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of 

24 the Senate and the House of Representatives, re25 spectively, and is deemed to be part of the rules of 


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1 each House, respectively, but applicable only with re2 spect to the procedure to be followed in that House 

3 in the case of a bill introduced pursuant to this sec4 tion, and it supersedes other rules only to the extent 

5 that it is inconsistent with such rules; and 

6 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional 

7 right of either House to change the rules (so far as 

8 they relate to the procedure of that House) at any 

9 time, in the same manner, and to the same extent 

10 as in the case of any other rule of that House. 

11 SEC. 14. LONG-TERM CBO COST ESTIMATE. 

12 (a) PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION.—When the 

13 Commission, the President, or the chairman of the Com14 mittee on the Budget of either House submits a written 

15 request to the Director of the Congressional Budget Office 

16 for a long-term cost estimate by the Congressional Budget 

17 Office (referred to in this Act as a ‘‘long-term CBO cost 

18 estimate’’) of legislation proposed under this Act or an 

19 amendment referred to in section 13(b)(2)(B), the Direc20 tor shall prepare the estimate and have it published in the 

21 Congressional Record as expeditiously as possible. 

22 (b) CONTENT.—A long-term CBO cost estimate shall 

23 include— 

24 (1) an estimate of the cost of each provision of 

25 the legislation or amendment for the first fiscal year 


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1 it would take effect and for each of the 50 fiscal 

2 years thereafter; and 

3 (2) a statement of any estimated future costs 

4 not reflected by the estimate described in paragraph 

5 (1). 

Æ 


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