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106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 563

To encourage Members of Congress and the executive branch to be honest

with the public about true on-budget circumstances, to exclude the Social

Security trust funds from the annual Federal budget baseline, to prohibit

Social Security trust funds surpluses to be used as offsets for tax

cuts or spending increases, and to exclude the Social Security trust

funds from official budget surplus/deficit pronouncements.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 3, 1999

Mr. SMITH of Washington introduced the following bill; which was referred to

the Committee on the Budget, and in addition to the Committee on Ways

and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To encourage Members of Congress and the executive branch

to be honest with the public about true on-budget circumstances, to exclude the Social Security trust funds

from the annual Federal budget baseline, to prohibit

Social Security trust funds surpluses to be used as offsets for tax cuts or spending increases, and to exclude

the Social Security trust funds from official budget surplus/deficit pronouncements.

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

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Honesty in Budgeting

3 Act’’.

4 SEC. 2. SENSE OF HOUSE TO ENCOURAGE HONESTY FOR

5 MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND EXECUTIVE

6 BRANCH OFFICIALS.

7 It is the sense of the House of Representatives that

8 Members of Congress, executive branch officials, and their

9 respective representatives should use on-budget numbers

10 when making public statements regarding the Federal

11 budget.

12 SEC. 3. OFF-BUDGET STATUS OF OASDI TRUST FUNDS.

13 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the re14 ceipts and disbursements of the Federal Old-Age and Sur15 vivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability

16 Insurance Trust Fund shall not be counted as new budget

17 authority, outlays, receipts, or deficit or surplus for pur18 poses of—

19 (1) the budget of the United States Govern20 ment as submitted by the President,

21 (2) the congressional budget, or

22 (3) the Balanced Budget and Emergency Defi23 cit Control Act of 1985.
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1 SEC. 4. REMOVING SOCIAL SECURITY FROM BUDGET SUR2 PLUS/DEFICIT PRONOUNCEMENTS.

3 (a) REMOVING SOCIAL SECURITY FROM BUDGET

4 SURPLUS/DEFICIT PRONOUNCEMENTS.—Title III of the

5 Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended by adding

6 at the end the following section:

7 ‘‘REMOVING SOCIAL SECURITY FROM BUDGET SURPLUS/

8 DEFICIT PRONOUNCEMENTS

9 ‘‘SEC. 316. (a) SURPLUS OR DEFICIT TOTALS.—Any

10 official statement issues by the Office of Management and

11 Budget or by the Congressional Budget Office of surplus

12 or deficit totals of the budget of the United States Govern13 ment as submitted by the President or of the surplus or

14 deficit totals of the congressional budget, and any descrip15 tion of, or reference to, such totals in any official publica16 tion or material issued by either of such Offices, shall ex17 clude the receipts and disbursements totals of the old-age

18 survivors, and disability insurance program under title 2

19 of the Social Security Act. The Office of Management and

20 Budget and the Congressional Budget Office shall issue

21 separate reports on the outlays and revenues of the Social

22 Security trust funds.

23 (b) PRESENTATION OF BUDGETARY AGGREGATES.—

24 For purposes of chapter 11 of title 31, United States

25 Code, or the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, tables and

26 other displays of budgetary aggregates for the United
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1 States Government of the Director of the Office of Man2 agement and Budget or the Director of the Congressional

3 Budget Office shall not include receipts or disbursements

4 referred to in subsection (a).

5 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con6 tents set forth in section 1(b) of the Congressional Budget

7 and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is amended by

8 adding after the item relating to section 315 the following

9 new item:

‘‘Sec. 316. Removing Social Security from budget surplus/deficit pronouncements.’’.

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