In the Senate of the United States,

April 7, 2000.

Resolved, That the resolution from the House of Representatives (H. Con. Res. 290) entitled ‘‘Concurrent resolution establishing the congressional budget for the United

States Government for fiscal year 2001, revising the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal

year 2000, and setting forth appropriate budgetary levels for

each of fiscal years 2002 through 2005.’’, do pass with the

following

AMENDMENT:

Strike out all after the resolving clause and insert:

1 SECTION 1. CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET

2 FOR FISCAL YEAR 2001.

3 (a) DECLARATION.—Congress determines and declares

4 that this resolution is the concurrent resolution on the budg5 et for fiscal year 2001 including the appropriate budgetary

6 levels for fiscal years 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005 as author7 ized by section 301 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974

8 and the revised budgetary levels for fiscal year 2000 as au-
2

HCON 290 EAS

1 thorized by section 304 of the Congressional Budget Act of

2 1974.

3 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

4 this concurrent resolution is as follows:

Sec. 1. Concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2001.

TITLE I—LEVELS AND AMOUNTS

Sec. 101. Recommended levels and amounts.

Sec. 102. Social Security.

Sec. 103. Major functional categories.

Sec. 104. Reconciliation of revenue reductions in the Senate.

Sec. 105. Appropriate levels for Function 920.

Sec. 106. Further appropriate levels for Function 920.

TITLE II—BUDGETARY RESTRAINTS AND RULEMAKING

Sec. 201. Congressional lock box for Social Security surpluses.

Sec. 202. Reserve fund for prescription drugs.

Sec. 203. Reserve fund for stabilization of payments to counties in support of

education.

Sec. 204. Reserve fund for agriculture.

Sec. 205. Tax reduction reserve fund in the Senate.

Sec. 206. Mechanism for additional debt reduction.

Sec. 207. Emergency designation point of order in the Senate.

Sec. 208. Reserve fund pending increase of fiscal year 2001 discretionary spending limits.

Sec. 209. Congressional firewall for defense and nondefense spending.

Sec. 210. Mechanisms for strengthening budgetary integrity.

Sec. 211. Prohibition on use of Federal Reserve surpluses.

Sec. 212. Reaffirming the prohibition on the use of revenue offsets for discretionary spending.

Sec. 213. Application and effect of changes in allocations and aggregates.

Sec. 214. Reserve fund to foster the health of children with disabilities and the

employment and independence of their families.

Sec. 215. Exercise of rulemaking powers.

Sec. 216. Reserve fund for military retiree health care.

Sec. 217. Reserve fund for early learning and parent support programs.

TITLE III—SENSE OF THE SENATE PROVISIONS

Sec. 301. Sense of the Senate on controlling and eliminating the growing international problem of tuberculosis.

Sec. 302. Sense of the Senate on increased funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant.

Sec. 303. Sense of the Senate on tax relief for college tuition paid and for interest

paid on student loans.

Sec. 304. Sense of the Senate on increased funding for the National Institutes of

Health.

Sec. 305. Sense of the Senate supporting funding levels in Educational Opportunities Act.

Sec. 306. Sense of the Senate on additional budgetary resources.
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HCON 290 EAS

Sec. 307. Sense of the Senate on regarding the inadequacy of the payments for

skilled nursing care.

Sec. 308. Sense of the Senate on the CARA programs.

Sec. 309. Sense of the Senate on veterans’ medical care.

Sec. 310. Sense of the Senate on Impact Aid.

Sec. 311. Sense of the Senate on funding for increased acreage under the Conservation Reserve Program and the Wetlands Reserve Program.

Sec. 312. Sense of the Senate on tax simplification.

Sec. 313. Sense of the Senate on antitrust enforcement by the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission regarding agriculture mergers and anticompetitive activity.

Sec. 314. Sense of the Senate regarding fair markets for American farmers.

Sec. 315. Sense of the Senate on women and Social Security reform.

Sec. 316. Protection of battered women and children.

Sec. 317. Use of False Claims Act in combatting medicare fraud.

Sec. 318. Sense of the Senate regarding the National Guard.

Sec. 319. Sense of the Senate regarding military readiness.

Sec. 320. Sense of the Senate on compensation for the Chinese Embassy bombing

in Belgrade.

Sec. 321. Sense of the Senate supporting funding of digital opportunity initiatives.

Sec. 322. Sense of the Senate regarding immunization funding.

Sec. 323. Sense of the Senate regarding tax credits for small businesses providing

health insurance to low-income employees.

Sec. 324. Sense of the Senate on funding for criminal justice.

Sec. 325. Sense of the Senate regarding the Pell Grant.

Sec. 326. Sense of the Senate regarding comprehensive public education reform.

Sec. 327. Sense of the Senate on providing adequate funding for United States

international leadership.

Sec. 328. Sense of the Senate concerning the HIV/AIDS crisis.

Sec. 329. Sense of the Senate regarding tribal colleges.

Sec. 330. Sense of the Senate to provide relief from the marriage penalty.

Sec. 331. Sense of the Senate on the continued use of Federal fuel taxes for the

construction and rehabilitation of our Nation’s highways,

bridges, and transit systems.

Sec. 332. Sense of the Senate on the internal combustion engine.

Sec. 333. Sense of the Senate regarding the establishment of a national background check system for long-term care workers.

Sec. 334. Sense of the Senate concerning the price of prescription drugs in the

United States.

Sec. 335. Sense of the Senate against Federal funding of smoke shops.

Sec. 336. Sense of the Senate regarding the need to reduce gun violence in America.

Sec. 337. Sense of the Senate supporting additional funding for fiscal year 2001

for medical care for our Nation’s veterans.

Sec. 338. Sense of the Senate regarding medical care for veterans.

Sec. 339. Sense of the Senate concerning investment of Social Security trust

funds.

Sec. 340. Sense of the Senate concerning digital opportunity.

Sec. 341. Sense of the Senate on medicare prescription drugs.

Sec. 342. Sense of the senate concerning funding for new education programs.

Sec. 343. Sense of the Senate regarding enforcement of Federal firearms laws.

Sec. 344. Sense of the Senate regarding the census.

Sec. 345. Sense of the Senate that any increase in the minimum wage should be

accompanied by tax relief for small businesses.
4

HCON 290 EAS

Sec. 346. Sense of the Senate concerning the minimum wage.

Sec. 347. Sense of Congress regarding funding for the participation of members

of the uniformed services in the Thrift Savings Plan.

Sec. 348. Sense of the Senate concerning protecting the Social Security trust

funds.

Sec. 349. Sense of the Senate concerning regulation of tobacco products.

Sec. 350. Sense of the Senate regarding after school programs.

Sec. 351. Sense of Senate regarding cash balance pension plan conversions.

Sec. 352. Sense of the Senate concerning uninsured and low-income individuals

in medically underserved communities.

Sec. 353. Sense of the Senate concerning fiscal year 2001 funding for the United

States Coast Guard.

1 TITLE I—LEVELS AND AMOUNTS

2 SEC. 101. RECOMMENDED LEVELS AND AMOUNTS.

3 The following budgetary levels are the revised levels for

4 fiscal year 2000 and the appropriate levels for the fiscal

5 years 2001 through 2005:

6 (1) FEDERAL REVENUES.—For purposes of the enforce7 ment of this resolution—

8 (A) The recommended levels of Federal revenues

9 are as follows:

10 Fiscal year 2000: $1,464,604,000,000.

11 Fiscal year 2001: $1,501,903,341,000.

12 Fiscal year 2002: $1,547,229,399,000.

13 Fiscal year 2003: $1,599,474,925,000.

14 Fiscal year 2004: $1,655,748,225,000.

15 Fiscal year 2005: $1,721,310,999,999.

16 (B) The amounts by which the aggregate levels of

17 Federal revenues should be changed are as follows:

18 Fiscal year 2000: ¥$877,000,000.

19 Fiscal year 2001: ¥$12,911,658,996.

20 Fiscal year 2002: ¥$24,157,600,996.
5

HCON 290 EAS

1 Fiscal year 2003: ¥$30,048,074,996.

2 Fiscal year 2004: ¥$36,894,774,996

3 Fiscal year 2005: ¥$42,790,999,997.

4 (2) NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY.—For purposes of the

5 enforcement of this resolution, the appropriate levels of total

6 new budget authority are as follows:

7 Fiscal year 2000: $1,467,259,500,000.

8 Fiscal year 2001: $1,478,583,890,003.

9 Fiscal year 2002: $1,503,416,000,003.

10 Fiscal year 2003: $1,614,843,200,003.

11 Fiscal year 2004: $1,670,986,800,003.

12 Fiscal year 2005: $1,731,182,000,003.

13 (3) BUDGET OUTLAYS.—For purposes of the enforce14 ment of this resolution and the revised fiscal year 2000 reso15 lution, the appropriate levels of total budget outlays are as

16 follows:

17 Fiscal year 2000: $1,441,461,500,000.

18 Fiscal year 2001: $1,451,702,341,003.

19 Fiscal year 2002: $1,470,727,399,003.

20 Fiscal year 2003: $1,590,481,125,003.

21 Fiscal year 2004: $1,644,813,025,003.

22 Fiscal year 2005: $1,706,375,000,003.

23 (4) DEFICITS.—For purposes of the enforcement of this

24 resolution, the amounts of the deficits are as follows:

25 Fiscal year 2000: $23,147,500,000.
6

HCON 290 EAS

1 Fiscal year 2001: $53,473,000,001.

2 Fiscal year 2002: $76,577,000,001.

3 Fiscal year 2003: $9,076,200,001.

4 Fiscal year 2004: $10,975,800,001.

5 Fiscal year 2005: $14,958,000,001.

6 (5) PUBLIC DEBT.—The appropriate levels of the pub7 lic debt are as follows:

8 Fiscal year 2000: $5,625,962,000,000.

9 Fiscal year 2001: $5,667,144,000,001.

10 Fiscal year 2002: $5,681,983,000,001.

11 Fiscal year 2003: $5,768,762,000,001.

12 Fiscal year 2004: $5,849,465,000,001.

13 Fiscal year 2005: $5,923,674,000,001.

14 (6) DEBT HELD BY THE PUBLIC.—The appropriate

15 levels of the debt held by the public are as follows:

16 Fiscal year 2000: $3,455,362,000,000.

17 Fiscal year 2001: $3,248,659,000,001.

18 Fiscal year 2002: $2,995,663,000,001.

19 Fiscal year 2003: $2,802,939,000,001.

20 Fiscal year 2004: $2,594,260,000,001.

21 Fiscal year 2005: $2,364,124,000,001.

22 SEC. 102. SOCIAL SECURITY.

23 (a) SOCIAL SECURITY REVENUES.—For purposes of

24 Senate enforcement under section 311 of the Congressional

25 Budget Act of 1974, the amounts of revenues of the Federal
7

HCON 290 EAS

1 Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Fed2 eral Disability Insurance Trust Fund are as follows:

3 Fiscal year 2000: $479,648,000,000.

4 Fiscal year 2001: $501,533,000,000.

5 Fiscal year 2002: $524,854,000,000.

6 Fiscal year 2003: $547,179,000,000.

7 Fiscal year 2004: $569,907,000,000.

8 Fiscal year 2005: $597,326,000,000.

9 (b) SOCIAL SECURITY OUTLAYS.—For purposes of

10 Senate enforcement under section 311 of the Congressional

11 Budget Act of 1974, the amounts of outlays of the Federal

12 Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Fed13 eral Disability Insurance Trust Fund are as follows:

14 Fiscal year 2000: $322,545,000,000.

15 Fiscal year 2001: $331,869,000,000.

16 Fiscal year 2002: $339,068,000,000.

17 Fiscal year 2003: $347,733,000,000.

18 Fiscal year 2004: $357,737,000,000.

19 Fiscal year 2005: $368,976,000,000.

20 (c) SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—

21 In the Senate, the amounts of new budget authority and

22 budget outlays of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insur23 ance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance

24 Trust Fund for administrative expenses are as follows:

25 Fiscal year 2000:
8

HCON 290 EAS

1 (A) New budget authority, $3,160,000,000.

2 (B) Outlays, $3,187,000,000.

3 Fiscal year 2001:

4 (A) New budget authority, $3,429,000,000.

5 (B) Outlays, $3,378,000,000.

6 Fiscal year 2002:

7 (A) New budget authority, $3,471,000,000.

8 (B) Outlays, $3,438,000,000.

9 Fiscal year 2003:

10 (A) New budget authority, $3,505,000,000.

11 (B) Outlays, $3,473,000,000.

12 Fiscal year 2004:

13 (A) New budget authority, $3,541,000,000.

14 (B) Outlays, $3,507,000,000.

15 Fiscal year 2005:

16 (A) New budget authority, $3,576,000,000.

17 (B) Outlays, $3,543,000,000.

18 SEC. 103. MAJOR FUNCTIONAL CATEGORIES.

19 Congress determines and declares that the appropriate

20 levels of new budget authority, budget outlays, new direct

21 loan obligations, and new primary loan guarantee commit22 ments for fiscal year 2000 (as revised) and fiscal years 2001

23 through 2005 for each major functional category are:

24 (1) National Defense (050):

25 Fiscal year 2000:
9

HCON 290 EAS

1 (A) New budget authority,

2 $291,585,500,000.

3 (B) Outlays, $288,114,500,000.

4 Fiscal year 2001:

5 (A) New budget authority,

6 $309,843,000,000.

7 (B) Outlays, $296,074,000,000.

8 Fiscal year 2002:

9 (A) New budget authority,

10 $309,091,000,000.

11 (B) Outlays, $302,278,000,000.

12 Fiscal year 2003:

13 (A) New budget authority,

14 $315,489,200,000.

15 (B) Outlays, $309,366,200,000.

16 Fiscal year 2004:

17 (A) New budget authority,

18 $323,193,800,000.

19 (B) Outlays, $317,463,800,000.

20 Fiscal year 2005:

21 (A) New budget authority,

22 $331,534,000,000.

23 (B) Outlays, $327,950,000,000.

24 (2) International Affairs (150):

25 Fiscal year 2000:
10

HCON 290 EAS

1 (A) New budget authority, $21,967,000,000.

2 (B) Outlays, $16,019,000,000.

3 Fiscal year 2001:

4 (A) New budget authority, $20,139,000,000.

5 (B) Outlays, $18,625,000,000.

6 Fiscal year 2002:

7 (A) New budget authority, $20,868,000,000.

8 (B) Outlays, $17,932,000,000.

9 Fiscal year 2003:

10 (A) New budget authority, $21,420,000,000.

11 (B) Outlays, $17,573,000,000.

12 Fiscal year 2004:

13 (A) New budget authority, $21,907,000,000.

14 (B) Outlays, $17,741,000,000.

15 Fiscal year 2005:

16 (A) New budget authority, $22,645,000,000.

17 (B) Outlays, $17,892,000,000.

18 (3) General Science, Space, and Technology (250):

19 Fiscal year 2000:

20 (A) New budget authority, $19,267,000,000.

21 (B) Outlays, $18,418,000,000.

22 Fiscal year 2001:

23 (A) New budget authority, $19,703,000,000.

24 (B) Outlays, $19,245,000,000.

25 Fiscal year 2002:
11

HCON 290 EAS

1 (A) New budget authority, $19,877,000,000.

2 (B) Outlays, $19,593,000,000.

3 Fiscal year 2003:

4 (A) New budget authority, $19,806,000,000.

5 (B) Outlays, $19,515,000,000.

6 Fiscal year 2004:

7 (A) New budget authority, $20,069,000,000.

8 (B) Outlays, $19,655,000,000.

9 Fiscal year 2005:

10 (A) New budget authority, $20,337,000,000.

11 (B) Outlays, $19,900,000,000.

12 (4) Energy (270):

13 Fiscal year 2000:

14 (A) New budget authority, $1,081,000,000.

15 (B) Outlays, ¥$607,000,000.

16 Fiscal year 2001:

17 (A) New budget authority, $1,475,000,000.

18 (B) Outlays, $172,000,000.

19 Fiscal year 2002:

20 (A) New budget authority, ¥$264,000,000.

21 (B) Outlays, ¥$1,366,000,000.

22 Fiscal year 2003:

23 (A) New budget authority, $1,202,000,000.

24 (B) Outlays, ¥$43,000,000.

25 Fiscal year 2004:
12

HCON 290 EAS

1 (A) New budget authority, $1,238,000,000.

2 (B) Outlays, ¥$124,000,000.

3 Fiscal year 2005:

4 (A) New budget authority, $1,210,000,000.

5 (B) Outlays, ¥$85,000,000.

6 (5) Natural Resources and Environment (300):

7 Fiscal year 2000:

8 (A) New budget authority, $24,487,000,000.

9 (B) Outlays, $24,245,000,000.

10 Fiscal year 2001:

11 (A) New budget authority, $24,936,000,000.

12 (B) Outlays, $24,905,000,000.

13 Fiscal year 2002:

14 (A) New budget authority, $25,023,000,000.

15 (B) Outlays, $25,045,000,000.

16 Fiscal year 2003:

17 (A) New budget authority, $25,019,000,000.

18 (B) Outlays, $25,203,000,000.

19 Fiscal year 2004:

20 (A) New budget authority, $25,066,000,000.

21 (B) Outlays, $25,065,000,000.

22 Fiscal year 2005:

23 (A) New budget authority, $25,059,000,000.

24 (B) Outlays, $24,876,000,000.

25 (6) Agriculture (350):
13

HCON 290 EAS

1 Fiscal year 2000:

2 (A) New budget authority, $35,257,000,000.

3 (B) Outlays, $33,916,000,000.

4 Fiscal year 2001:

5 (A) New budget authority, $20,894,000,000.

6 (B) Outlays, $18,779,000,000.

7 Fiscal year 2002:

8 (A) New budget authority, $18,950,000,000.

9 (B) Outlays, $17,235,000,000.

10 Fiscal year 2003:

11 (A) New budget authority, $17,965,000,000.

12 (B) Outlays, $16,366,000,000.

13 Fiscal year 2004:

14 (A) New budget authority, $17,354,000,000.

15 (B) Outlays, $15,910,000,000.

16 Fiscal year 2005:

17 (A) New budget authority, $16,092,000,000.

18 (B) Outlays, $14,593,000,000.

19 (7) Commerce and Housing Credit (370):

20 Fiscal year 2000:

21 (A) New budget authority, $7,594,000,000.

22 (B) Outlays, $3,141,000,000.

23 Fiscal year 2001:

24 (A) New budget authority, $6,117,000,000.

25 (B) Outlays, $1,977,000,000.
14

HCON 290 EAS

1 Fiscal year 2002:

2 (A) New budget authority, $8,608,000,000.

3 (B) Outlays, $4,864,000,000.

4 Fiscal year 2003:

5 (A) New budget authority, $9,356,000,000.

6 (B) Outlays, $4,677,000,000.

7 Fiscal year 2004:

8 (A) New budget authority, $13,413,000,000.

9 (B) Outlays, $8,391,000,000.

10 Fiscal year 2005:

11 (A) New budget authority, $13,368,000,000.

12 (B) Outlays, $9,331,000,000.

13 (8) Transportation (400):

14 Fiscal year 2000:

15 (A) New budget authority, $54,352,000,000.

16 (B) Outlays, $46,656,000,000.

17 Fiscal year 2001:

18 (A) New budget authority, $59,247,000,000.

19 (B) Outlays, $50,822,000,000.

20 Fiscal year 2002:

21 (A) New budget authority, $57,536,000,000.

22 (B) Outlays, $53,486,000,000.

23 Fiscal year 2003:

24 (A) New budget authority, $59,101,000,000.

25 (B) Outlays, $55,516,000,000.
15

HCON 290 EAS

1 Fiscal year 2004:

2 (A) New budget authority, $59,135,000,000.

3 (B) Outlays, $56,138,000,000.

4 Fiscal year 2005:

5 (A) New budget authority, $59,174,000,000.

6 (B) Outlays, $56,418,000,000.

7 (9) Community and Regional Development (450):

8 Fiscal year 2000:

9 (A) New budget authority, $11,336,000,000.

10 (B) Outlays, $10,725,000,000.

11 Fiscal year 2001:

12 (A) New budget authority, $9,271,000,000.

13 (B) Outlays, $10,438,000,000.

14 Fiscal year 2002:

15 (A) New budget authority, $8,822,000,000.

16 (B) Outlays, $9,878,000,000.

17 Fiscal year 2003:

18 (A) New budget authority, $8,665,000,000.

19 (B) Outlays, $8,823,000,000.

20 Fiscal year 2004:

21 (A) New budget authority, $8,657,000,000.

22 (B) Outlays, $8,290,000,000.

23 Fiscal year 2005:

24 (A) New budget authority, $8,744,000,000.

25 (B) Outlays, $7,904,000,000.
16

HCON 290 EAS

1 (10) Education, Training, Employment, and Social

2 Services (500):

3 Fiscal year 2000:

4 (A) New budget authority, $57,688,000,000.

5 (B) Outlays, $61,904,000,000.

6 Fiscal year 2001:

7 (A) New budget authority, $75,600,000,001.

8 (B) Outlays, $68,772,000,001.

9 Fiscal year 2002:

10 (A) New budget authority, $76,377,000,001.

11 (B) Outlays, $73,182,000,001.

12 Fiscal year 2003:

13 (A) New budget authority, $77,280,000,001.

14 (B) Outlays, $76,065,000,001.

15 Fiscal year 2004:

16 (A) New budget authority, $78,406,000,001.

17 (B) Outlays, $77,412,000,001.

18 Fiscal year 2005:

19 (A) New budget authority, $79,794,000,001.

20 (B) Outlays, $78,690,000,001.

21 (11) Health (550):

22 Fiscal year 2000:

23 (A) New budget authority,

24 $159,224,000,000.

25 (B) Outlays, $153,473,000,000.
17

HCON 290 EAS

1 Fiscal year 2001:

2 (A) New budget authority,

3 $170,815,000,000.

4 (B) Outlays, $167,436,000,000.

5 Fiscal year 2002:

6 (A) New budget authority,

7 $178,911,000,000.

8 (B) Outlays, $177,766,000,000.

9 Fiscal year 2003:

10 (A) New budget authority,

11 $190,951,000,000.

12 (B) Outlays, $190,300,000,000.

13 Fiscal year 2004:

14 (A) New budget authority,

15 $205,181,000,000.

16 (B) Outlays, $204,835,000,000.

17 Fiscal year 2005:

18 (A) New budget authority,

19 $221,484,000,000.

20 (B) Outlays, $220,329,000,000.

21 (12) Medicare (570):

22 Fiscal year 2000:

23 (A) New budget authority,

24 $199,601,000,000.

25 (B) Outlays, $199,507,000,000.
18

HCON 290 EAS

1 Fiscal year 2001:

2 (A) New budget authority,

3 $218,751,000,000.

4 (B) Outlays, $219,005,000,000.

5 Fiscal year 2002:

6 (A) New budget authority,

7 $228,635,000,000.

8 (B) Outlays, $228,604,000,000.

9 Fiscal year 2003:

10 (A) New budget authority,

11 $249,762,000,000.

12 (B) Outlays, $249,520,000,000.

13 Fiscal year 2004:

14 (A) New budget authority,

15 $265,318,000,000.

16 (B) Outlays, $265,546,000,000.

17 Fiscal year 2005:

18 (A) New budget authority,

19 $288,730,000,000.

20 (B) Outlays, $288,681,000,000.

21 (13) Income Security (600):

22 Fiscal year 2000:

23 (A) New budget authority,

24 $238,891,000,000.

25 (B) Outlays, $248,071,000,000.
19

HCON 290 EAS

1 Fiscal year 2001:

2 (A) New budget authority,

3 $253,236,000,000.

4 (B) Outlays, $255,424,000,000.

5 Fiscal year 2002:

6 (A) New budget authority,

7 $264,844,000,000.

8 (B) Outlays, $267,252,000,000.

9 Fiscal year 2003:

10 (A) New budget authority,

11 $274,789,000,000.

12 (B) Outlays, $278,452,000,000.

13 Fiscal year 2004:

14 (A) New budget authority,

15 $284,929,000,000.

16 (B) Outlays, $288,367,000,000.

17 Fiscal year 2005:

18 (A) New budget authority,

19 $297,669,000,000.

20 (B) Outlays, $301,202,000,000.

21 (14) Social Security (650):

22 Fiscal year 2000:

23 (A) New budget authority, $11,532,000,000.

24 (B) Outlays, $11,533,000,000.

25 Fiscal year 2001:
20

HCON 290 EAS

1 (A) New budget authority, $9,728,000,000.

2 (B) Outlays, $9,727,000,000.

3 Fiscal year 2002:

4 (A) New budget authority, $11,572,000,000.

5 (B) Outlays, $11,572,000,000.

6 Fiscal year 2003:

7 (A) New budget authority, $12,271,000,000.

8 (B) Outlays, $12,271,000,000.

9 Fiscal year 2004:

10 (A) New budget authority, $13,020,000,000.

11 (B) Outlays, $13,020,000,000.

12 Fiscal year 2005:

13 (A) New budget authority, $13,841,000,000.

14 (B) Outlays, $13,841,000,000.

15 (15) Veterans Benefits and Services (700):

16 Fiscal year 2000:

17 (A) New budget authority, $46,010,000,000.

18 (B) Outlays, $45,130,000,000.

19 Fiscal year 2001:

20 (A) New budget authority, $48,568,000,000.

21 (B) Outlays, $48,071,000,000.

22 Fiscal year 2002:

23 (A) New budget authority, $49,323,000,000.

24 (B) Outlays, $49,189,000,000.

25 Fiscal year 2003:
21

HCON 290 EAS

1 (A) New budget authority, $51,338,000,000.

2 (B) Outlays, $51,010,000,000.

3 Fiscal year 2004:

4 (A) New budget authority, $52,619,000,000.

5 (B) Outlays, $52,340,000,000.

6 Fiscal year 2005:

7 (A) New budget authority, $56,017,000,000.

8 (B) Outlays, $55,692,000,000.

9 (16) Administration of Justice (750):

10 Fiscal year 2000:

11 (A) New budget authority, $27,370,000,000.

12 (B) Outlays, $28,013,000,000.

13 Fiscal year 2001:

14 (A) New budget authority, $28,210,890,000.

15 (B) Outlays, $28,345,341,000.

16 Fiscal year 2002:

17 (A) New budget authority, $28,520,000,000.

18 (B) Outlays, $28,782,399,000.

19 Fiscal year 2003:

20 (A) New budget authority, $29,157,000,000.

21 (B) Outlays, $29,191,925,000.

22 Fiscal year 2004:

23 (A) New budget authority, $31,283,000,000.

24 (B) Outlays, $31,021,225,000.

25 Fiscal year 2005:
22

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1 (A) New budget authority, $32,124,000,000.

2 (B) Outlays, $31,863,000,000.

3 (17) General Government (800):

4 Fiscal year 2000:

5 (A) New budget authority, $13,670,000,000.

6 (B) Outlays, $14,727,000,000.

7 Fiscal year 2001:

8 (A) New budget authority, $14,427,000,000.

9 (B) Outlays, $14,291,000,000.

10 Fiscal year 2002:

11 (A) New budget authority, $13,605,000,000.

12 (B) Outlays, $13,883,000,000.

13 Fiscal year 2003:

14 (A) New budget authority, $13,578,000,000.

15 (B) Outlays, $13,768,000,000.

16 Fiscal year 2004:

17 (A) New budget authority, $13,570,000,000.

18 (B) Outlays, $13,882,000,000.

19 Fiscal year 2005:

20 (A) New budget authority, $13,595,000,000.

21 (B) Outlays, $13,604,000,000.

22 (18) Net Interest (900):

23 Fiscal year 2000:

24 (A) New budget authority,

25 $284,491,000,000.
23

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1 (B) Outlays, $284,493,000,000.

2 Fiscal year 2001:

3 (A) New budget authority,

4 $286,920,000,001.

5 (B) Outlays, $286,920,000,001.

6 Fiscal year 2002:

7 (A) New budget authority,

8 $285,291,000,001.

9 (B) Outlays, $285,290,000,001.

10 Fiscal year 2003:

11 (A) New budget authority,

12 $279,465,000,001.

13 (B) Outlays, $279,465,000,001.

14 Fiscal year 2004:

15 (A) New budget authority,

16 $275,502,000,001.

17 (B) Outlays, $275,502,000,001.

18 Fiscal year 2005:

19 (A) New budget authority,

20 $270,951,000,001.

21 (B) Outlays, $270,951,000,001.

22 (19) Allowances (920):

23 Fiscal year 2000:

24 (A) New budget authority,

25 ¥$3,829,000,000.
24

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1 (B) Outlays, ¥$11,702,000,000.

2 Fiscal year 2001:

3 (A) New budget authority,

4 ¥$62,031,000,000.

5 (B) Outlays, ¥$50,131,000,000.

6 Fiscal year 2002:

7 (A) New budget authority,

8 ¥$59,729,000,000.

9 (B) Outlays, ¥$71,311,000,000.

10 Fiscal year 2003:

11 (A) New budget authority, $0.

12 (B) Outlays, ¥$790,000,000.

13 Fiscal year 2004:

14 (A) New budget authority, $0.

15 (B) Outlays, ¥$6,770,000,000.

16 Fiscal year 2005:

17 (A) New budget authority, $0.

18 (B) Outlays, ¥$6,072,000,000.

19 (20) Undistributed Offsetting Receipts (950):

20 Fiscal year 2000:

21 (A) New budget authority,

22 ¥$34,315,000,000.

23 (B) Outlays, ¥$34,315,000,000.

24 Fiscal year 2001:
25

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1 (A) New budget authority,

2 ¥$38,366,000,000.

3 (B) Outlays, ¥$38,366,000,000.

4 Fiscal year 2002:

5 (A) New budget authority,

6 ¥$41,943,000,000.

7 (B) Outlays, ¥$41,943,000,000.

8 Fiscal year 2003:

9 (A) New budget authority,

10 ¥$41,270,000,000.

11 (B) Outlays, ¥$41,270,000,000.

12 Fiscal year 2004:

13 (A) New budget authority,

14 ¥$38,374,000,000.

15 (B) Outlays, ¥$38,374,000,000.

16 Fiscal year 2005:

17 (A) New budget authority,

18 ¥$40,686,000,000.

19 (B) Outlays, ¥$40,686,000,000.

20 SEC. 104. RECONCILIATION OF REVENUE REDUCTIONS IN

21 THE SENATE.

22 Not later than September 22, 2000, the Senate Com23 mittee on Finance shall report to the Senate a reconcili24 ation bill proposing changes in laws within its jurisdiction

25 necessary to reduce revenues by not more than
26

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1 $12,911,658,999 in fiscal year 2001 and $146,803,109,999

2 for the period of fiscal years 2001 through 2005.

3 SEC. 105. APPROPRIATE LEVELS FOR FUNCTION 920.

4 Notwithstanding any other provision of this resolution

5 the appropriate levels for function 920 are as follows:

6 Fiscal year 2001:

7 (A) New budget authority,

8 ¥$60,431,000,000.

9 (B) Outlays, ¥$48,461,000,000.

10 Fiscal year 2002:

11 (A) New budget authority,

12 ¥$60,229,000,000.

13 (B) Outlays, ¥$71,796,000,000.

14 Fiscal year 2003:

15 (A) New budget authority, ¥$500,000,000.

16 (B) Outlays, ¥$5,287,000,000.

17 Fiscal year 2004:

18 (A) New budget authority, ¥$500,000,000.

19 (B) Outlays, ¥$7,268,000,000.

20 Fiscal year 2005:

21 (A) New budget authority, ¥$500,000,000.

22 (B) Outlays, ¥$6,570,000,000.
27

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1 SEC. 106. FURTHER APPROPRIATE LEVELS FOR FUNCTION

2 920.

3 Notwithstanding any other provision of this resolution,

4 the appropriate levels for function 920 are as follows:

5 Fiscal year 2001:

6 (A) New budget authority,

7 ¥$60,214,890,000.

8 (B) Outlays, ¥$48,152,341,000.

9 Fiscal year 2002:

10 (A) New budget authority,

11 ¥$59,729,000,000.

12 (B) Outlays, ¥$71,395,399,000.

13 Fiscal year 2003:

14 (A) New budget authority, $0.

15 (B) Outlays, ¥$858,925,000.

16 Fiscal year 2004:

17 (A) New budget authority, $0.

18 (B) Outlays, ¥$6,779,225,000.

19 Fiscal year 2005:

20 (A) New budget authority, $0.

21 (B) Outlays, ¥$6,072,000,000.

22 TITLE II—BUDGETARY

23 RESTRAINTS AND RULEMAKING

24 SEC. 201. CONGRESSIONAL LOCK BOX FOR SOCIAL SECU25 RITY SURPLUSES.

26 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
28

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1 (1) under the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990,

2 the Social Security trust funds are off-budget for pur3 poses of the President’s budget submission and the

4 concurrent resolution on the budget;

5 (2) the Social Security trust funds have been

6 running surpluses for 18 years;

7 (3) these surpluses have been used to implicitly

8 finance the general operations of the Federal Govern9 ment;

10 (4) in fiscal year 2001, the Social Security sur11 plus will reach $166,000,000,000;

12 (5) in fiscal year 1999, the Federal budget was

13 balanced without using Social Security;

14 (6) the only way to ensure that Social Security

15 surpluses are not diverted for other purposes is to bal16 ance the budget exclusive of such surpluses; and

17 (7) Congress and the President should take such

18 steps as are necessary to ensure that future budgets

19 continue to be balanced excluding the surpluses gen20 erated by the Social Security trust funds.

21 (b) POINT OF ORDER.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—It shall not be in order in the

23 House of Representatives or the Senate to consider

24 any revision to this concurrent resolution, or any

25 other concurrent resolution on the budget, or any
29

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1 amendment thereto or conference report thereon, that

2 sets forth a deficit for any fiscal year.

3 (2) DEFICIT LEVELS.—For purposes of this sub4 section, a deficit shall be the level (if any) set forth

5 in the most recently agreed to concurrent resolution

6 on the budget for that fiscal year pursuant to section

7 301(a)(3) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

8 (c) BUDGET COMMITTEE DETERMINATIONS.—For pur9 poses of this section, the levels of new budget authority, out10 lays, direct spending, new entitlement authority, revenues,

11 deficits, and surpluses for a fiscal year shall be determined

12 on the basis of estimates made by the Committee on the

13 Budget of the House of Representatives or the Senate, as

14 applicable.

15 (d) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (b) shall not apply if—

16 (1) the most recent of the Department of Com17 merce’s advance, preliminary, or final reports of ac18 tual real economic growth indicate that the rate of

19 real economic growth for each of the most recently re20 ported quarter and the immediately preceding quarter

21 is less than 1 percent; or

22 (2) a declaration of war is in effect.

23 (e) SOCIAL SECURITY LOOK-BACK.—If in any fiscal

24 year the Social Security surplus is used to finance general

25 operations of the Federal Government, an amount equal to
30

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1 the amount used shall be deducted from the available

2 amount of discretionary spending for the following fiscal

3 year for purposes of any concurrent resolution on the budg4 et.

5 (f) WAIVER AND APPEAL.—Subsection (b) may be

6 waived or suspended in the Senate only by an affirmative

7 vote of three-fifths of the Members, duly chosen and sworn.

8 An affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members of the Sen9 ate, duly chosen and sworn, shall be required in the Senate

10 to sustain an appeal of the ruling of the Chair on a point

11 of order raised under this section.

12 SEC. 202. RESERVE FUND FOR PRESCRIPTION DRUGS.

13 (a) ALLOCATION.—In the Senate, spending aggregates

14 and other appropriate budgetary levels and limits may be

15 adjusted and allocations may be revised for legislation re16 ported by the Committee on Finance to provide a prescrip17 tion drug benefit for fiscal years 2001, 2002, and 2003, pro18 vided that this legislation will not reduce the on-budget sur19 plus by more than $20,000,000,000 total during these 3 fis20 cal years, and provided that the enactment of this legisla21 tion will not cause an on-budget deficit in any of these 3

22 fiscal years.

23 (b) EXCEPTION.—The adjustments provided in sub24 section (a) shall be made for a bill or joint resolution, or

25 an amendment that is offered (in the Senate), that provides
31

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1 coverage for prescription drugs, if the Senate Committee on

2 Finance has not reported such legislation on or before Sep3 tember 1, 2000.

4 (c) ADJUSTMENT.—If legislation is reported by the

5 Senate Committee on Finance that extends the solvency of

6 the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund without the

7 use of transfers of new subsidies from the general fund,

8 without decreasing beneficiaries’ access to health care, and

9 excluding the cost of extending and modifying the prescrip10 tion drug benefit crafted pursuant to section (a) or (b), then

11 the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget may change

12 committee allocations and spending aggregates by no more

13 than $20,000,000,000 total for fiscal years 2004 and 2005

14 to fund the prescription drug benefit if such legislation will

15 not cause an on-budget deficit in either of these 2 fiscal

16 years.

17 (d) BUDGETARY ENFORCEMENT.—The revision of allo18 cations and aggregates made under this section shall be con19 sidered for the purposes of the Congressional Budget Act

20 of 1974 as allocations and aggregates contained in this reso21 lution.

22 SEC. 203. RESERVE FUND FOR STABILIZATION OF PAY23 MENTS TO COUNTIES IN SUPPORT OF EDU24 CATION.

25 (a) ADJUSTMENT.—
32

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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Whenever the Committee on

2 Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate reports

3 a bill, or an amendment thereto is offered, or a con4 ference report thereon is submitted, that provides ad5 ditional resources for counties and complies with

6 paragraph (2), the chairman of the Committee on the

7 Budget may increase the allocation of budget author8 ity and outlays to that committee by the amount of

9 budget authority (and the outlays resulting therefrom)

10 provided by that legislation for such purpose in ac11 cordance with subsection (b).

12 (2) CONDITION.—Legislation complies with this

13 paragraph if it provides for the stabilization of re14 ceipt-based payments to counties that support school

15 and road systems and also provides that a portion of

16 those payments would be dedicated toward local in17 vestments in Federal lands within the counties.

18 (b) LIMITATIONS.—The adjustments to the allocations

19 required by subsection (a) shall not exceed $200,000,000 in

20 budget authority (and the outlays resulting therefrom) for

21 fiscal year 2001 and shall not exceed $1,100,000,000 in

22 budget authority (and the outlays resulting therefrom) for

23 the period of fiscal years 2001 through 2005.

24 SEC. 204. RESERVE FUND FOR AGRICULTURE.

25 (a) ADJUSTMENT.—
33

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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Committee on Agri2 culture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate reports

3 a bill on or before June 29, 2000, or an amendment

4 thereto is offered, or a conference report thereon is

5 submitted that provides assistance for producers of

6 program crops and specialty crops, and enhancements

7 for agriculture conservation programs that complies

8 with paragraph (2), the appropriate chairman of the

9 Committee on the Budget may increase the allocation

10 of budget authority and outlays to that committee by

11 the amount of budget authority (and the outlays re12 sulting therefrom) provided by that legislation for

13 such purpose in accordance with subsection (b).

14 (2) CONDITIONS.—Legislation complies with this

15 paragraph if it does not cause a net increase in budg16 et authority and outlays of greater than

17 $1,640,000,000 for fiscal year 2001.

18 (b) LIMITATIONS.—The adjustments to the allocations

19 required by subsection (a) shall not exceed $5,500,000,000

20 in budget authority and outlays for fiscal year 2000, and

21 $3,000,000,000 in budget authority (and the outlays result22 ing therefrom) for the period of fiscal years 2001 through

23 2005.
34

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1 SEC. 205. TAX REDUCTION RESERVE FUND IN THE SENATE.

2 In the Senate, the chairman of the Committee on the

3 Budget may reduce the spending and revenue aggregates

4 and may revise committee allocations for legislation that

5 reduces revenues if such legislation will not increase the def6 icit or decrease the surplus for—

7 (1) fiscal year 2001; or

8 (2) the period of fiscal years 2001 through 2005.

9 SEC. 206. MECHANISM FOR ADDITIONAL DEBT REDUCTION.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—If any of the legislation described

11 in subsection (b) does not become law on or before October

12 1, 2000, then the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget

13 of the Senate shall adjust the levels in this concurrent reso14 lution as provided in subsection (c).

15 (b) LEGISLATION.—The adjustment required by sub16 section (a) shall be made with respect to—

17 (1) the reconciliation legislation required by sec18 tion 104; or

19 (2) the Medicare legislation provided for in sec20 tion 202.

21 (c) ADJUSTMENTS TO BE MADE.—The adjustment re22 quired in subsection (a) shall be—

23 (1) with respect to the legislation required by

24 section 104, to decrease the balance displayed on the

25 Senate’s pay-as-you-go scorecard and increase the rev26 enue aggregate by the amount set forth in section 104
35

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1 (as adjusted, if adjusted, pursuant to section 205) and

2 to decrease the level of debt held by the public as set

3 forth in section 101(6) by that same amount; or

4 (2) with respect to the legislation provided for in

5 section 202, to decrease the balance displayed on the

6 Senate’s pay-as-you-go scorecard by the amount set

7 forth in section 202 and to decrease the level of debt

8 held by the public as set forth in section 101(6) by

9 that same amount and make the corresponding ad10 justments to the revenue and spending aggregates and

11 allocations (as adjusted by section 202).

12 SEC. 207. EMERGENCY DESIGNATION POINT OF ORDER IN

13 THE SENATE.

14 (a) DESIGNATIONS.—

15 (1) GUIDANCE.—In making a designation of a

16 provision of legislation as an emergency requirement

17 under section 251(b)(2)(A) or 252(e) of the Balanced

18 Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985,

19 the committee report and any statement of managers

20 accompanying that legislation shall analyze whether

21 a proposed emergency requirement meets all the cri22 teria in paragraph (2).

23 (2) CRITERIA.—

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The criteria to be con25 sidered in determining whether a proposed ex-
36

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1 penditure or tax change is an emergency require2 ment are—

3 (i) necessary, essential, or vital (not

4 merely useful or beneficial);

5 (ii) sudden, quickly coming into being,

6 and not building up over time;

7 (iii) an urgent, pressing, and compel8 ling need requiring immediate action;

9 (iv) subject to subparagraph (B), un10 foreseen, unpredictable, and unanticipated;

11 and

12 (v) not permanent, temporary in na13 ture.

14 (B) UNFORESEEN.—An emergency that is

15 part of an aggregate level of anticipated emer16 gencies, particularly when normally estimated in

17 advance, is not unforeseen.

18 (3) JUSTIFICATION FOR FAILURE TO MEET CRI19 TERIA.—If the proposed emergency requirement does

20 not meet all the criteria set forth in paragraph (2),

21 the committee report or the statement of managers, as

22 the case may be, shall provide a written justification

23 of why the requirement should be accorded emergency

24 status.
37

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1 (b) POINT OF ORDER.—When the Senate is consid2 ering a bill, resolution, amendment, motion, or conference

3 report, a point of order may be made by a Senator against

4 an emergency designation in that measure and if the Pre5 siding Officer sustains that point of order, that provision

6 making such a designation shall be stricken from the meas7 ure and may not be offered as an amendment from the floor.

8 (c) WAIVER AND APPEAL.—This section may be

9 waived or suspended in the Senate only by an affirmative

10 vote of three-fifths of the Members, duly chosen and sworn.

11 An affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members of the Sen12 ate, duly chosen and sworn, shall be required in the Senate

13 to sustain an appeal of the ruling of the Chair on a point

14 of order raised under this section.

15 (d) DEFINITION OF AN EMERGENCY REQUIREMENT.—

16 A provision shall be considered an emergency designation

17 if it designates any item an emergency requirement pursu18 ant to section 251(b)(2)(A) or 252(e) of the Balanced Budg19 et and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

20 (e) FORM OF THE POINT OF ORDER.—A point of order

21 under this section may be raised by a Senator as provided

22 in section 313(e) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

23 (f) CONFERENCE REPORTS.—If a point of order is sus24 tained under this section against a conference report the
38

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1 report shall be disposed of as provided in section 313(d)

2 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

3 (g) EXCEPTION FOR DEFENSE SPENDING.—Subsection

4 (b) shall not apply against an emergency designation for

5 a provision making discretionary appropriations in the de6 fense category.

7 SEC. 208. RESERVE FUND PENDING INCREASE OF FISCAL

8 YEAR 2001 DISCRETIONARY SPENDING LIM9 ITS.

10 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds the following:

11 (1) The functional totals with respect to discre12 tionary spending set forth in this concurrent resolu13 tion, if implemented, would result in legislation

14 which exceeds the limit on discretionary spending for

15 fiscal year 2001 set out in section 251(c) of the Bal16 anced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of

17 1985. Nonetheless, the allocation pursuant to section

18 302 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment

19 Control Act of 1974 to the Committee on Appropria20 tions is in compliance with current law spending lim21 its.

22 (2) Consequently unless and until the discre23 tionary spending limit for fiscal year 2001 is in24 creased, aggregate appropriations which exceed the
39

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1 current law limits would still be out of order in the

2 Senate and subject to a supermajority vote.

3 (3) The functional totals contained in this con4 current resolution envision a level of discretionary

5 spending for fiscal year 2001 as follows:

6 (A) For the discretionary category:

7 $602,179,000,000 in new budget authority and

8 $593,926,000,000 in outlays.

9 (B) For the highway category:

10 $26,920,000,000 in outlays.

11 (C) For the mass transit category:

12 $4,639,000,000 in outlays.

13 (4) To facilitate the Senate completing its legis14 lative responsibilities for the 106th Congress in a

15 timely fashion, it is imperative that the Senate con16 sider legislation which increases the discretionary

17 spending limit for fiscal year 2001 as soon as pos18 sible.

19 (b) ADJUSTMENT TO ALLOCATIONS.—Whenever a bill

20 or joint resolution becomes law that increases the discre21 tionary spending limit for fiscal year 2001 set out in sec22 tion 251(c) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit

23 Control Act of 1985, the appropriate chairman of the Com24 mittee on the Budget shall increase the allocation called for
40

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1 in section 302(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974

2 to the appropriate Committee on Appropriations.

3 (c) LIMITATION ON ADJUSTMENT.—An adjustment

4 made pursuant to subsection (b) shall not result in an allo5 cation under section 302(a) of the Congressional Budget Act

6 of 1974 that exceeds the total budget authority and outlays

7 set forth in subsection (a)(3).

8 SEC. 209. CONGRESSIONAL FIREWALL FOR DEFENSE AND

9 NONDEFENSE SPENDING.

10 (a) DEFINITION.—In this section, for fiscal year 2001

11 the term ‘‘discretionary spending limit’’ means—

12 (1) for the defense category, $310,819,000,000 in

13 new budget authority and $297,050,000,000 in out14 lays; and

15 (2) for the nondefense category, $291,360,000,000

16 in new budget authority and $329,183,000,000 in

17 outlays.

18 (b) POINT OF ORDER IN THE SENATE.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—After the adjustment to the

20 section 302(a) allocation to the Appropriations Com21 mittee is made pursuant to section 207 and except as

22 provided in paragraph (2), it shall not be in order in

23 the Senate to consider any bill, joint resolution,

24 amendment, motion, or conference report that exceeds
41

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1 any discretionary spending limit set forth in this sec2 tion.

3 (2) EXCEPTION.—This subsection shall not apply

4 if a declaration of war by Congress is in effect.

5 (c) WAIVER AND APPEAL.—This section may be

6 waived or suspended in the Senate only by an affirmative

7 vote of three-fifths of the Members, duly chosen and sworn.

8 An affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members of the Sen9 ate, duly chosen and sworn, shall be required in the Senate

10 to sustain an appeal of the ruling of the Chair on a point

11 of order raised under this section.

12 SEC. 210. MECHANISMS FOR STRENGTHENING BUDGETARY

13 INTEGRITY.

14 (a) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the

15 term ‘‘budget year’’ means with respect to a session of Con16 gress, the fiscal year of the Government that starts on Octo17 ber 1 of the calendar year in which that session begins.

18 (b) POINT OF ORDER WITH RESPECT TO ADVANCED

19 APPROPRIATIONS.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—It shall not be in order in the

21 Senate to consider any bill, resolution, amendment,

22 motion or conference report that—

23 (A) provides an appropriation of new budg24 et authority for any fiscal year after the budget
42

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1 year that is in excess of the amounts provided in

2 paragraph (2); and

3 (B) provides an appropriation of new budg4 et authority for any fiscal year subsequent to the

5 year after the budget year.

6 (2) LIMITATION ON AMOUNTS.—The total

7 amount, provided in appropriations legislation for

8 the budget year, of appropriations for the subsequent

9 fiscal year shall not exceed $23,000,000,000.

10 (c) POINT OF ORDER WITH RESPECT TO DELAYED

11 OBLIGATIONS.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para13 graph (2), it shall not be in order in the Senate to

14 consider any bill, resolution, amendment, motion, or

15 conference report that contains an appropriation of

16 new budget authority for any fiscal year which does

17 not become available upon enactment of such legisla18 tion or on the first day of that fiscal year (whichever

19 is later).

20 (2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply

21 with respect to appropriations in the defense category;

22 nor shall it apply to appropriations reoccurring or

23 customary or for the following programs: Provided,

24 That such appropriation is not delayed beyond the
43

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1 specified date and does not exceed the specified

2 amount:

3 (A) DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR.—Op4 eration of Indian Programs School Operation

5 Costs (Bureau of Indian Affairs Funded Schools

6 and Other Education Programs): July 1 not to

7 exceed $401,000,000.

8 (B) DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.—

9 (i) Training and Employment Service:

10 July 1 not to exceed $1,650,000,000.

11 (ii) State Unemployment Insurance:

12 July 1 not to exceed $902,000,000.

13 (C) DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.—

14 (i) Education Reform: July 1 not to

15 exceed $512,000,000.

16 (ii) Education for the Disadvantaged:

17 July 1 not to exceed $2,462,000,000.

18 (iii) School Improvement Program:

19 July 1 not to exceed $975,000,000.

20 (iv) Special Education: July 1 not to

21 exceed $2,048,000,000.

22 (v) Vocational Education: July 1 not

23 to exceed $858,000,000.

24 (D) DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.—

25 Grants to the National Railroad Passenger Cor-
44

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1 poration: September 30 not to exceed

2 $343,000,000.

3 (E) DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS’ AF4 FAIRS.—Medical Care (equipment-land-struc5 tures): August 1 not to exceed $900,000,000.

6 (F) ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGEN7 CY.—Hazardous Substance Superfund: Sep8 tember 1 not to exceed $100,000,000.

9 (d) WAIVER AND APPEAL.—Subsections (b) and (c)

10 may be waived or suspended in the Senate only by an af11 firmative vote of three-fifths of the Members, duly chosen

12 and sworn. An affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Mem13 bers of the Senate, duly chosen and sworn, shall be required

14 in the Senate to sustain an appeal of the ruling of the Chair

15 on a point of order raised under this section.

16 (e) FORM OF THE POINT OF ORDER.—A point of order

17 under this section may be raised by a Senator as provided

18 in section 313(e) of the Congressional Budget and Impound19 ment Control Act of 1974.

20 (f) CONFERENCE REPORTS.—If a point of order is sus21 tained under this section against a conference report, the

22 report shall be disposed of as provided in section 313(d)

23 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act

24 of 1974.
45

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1 (g) PRECATORY AMENDMENTS.—For purposes of inter2 preting section 305(b)(2) of the Congressional Budget Act

3 of 1974, an amendment is not germane if it contains only

4 precatory language.

5 (h) SUNSET.—Except for subsection (g), this section

6 shall expire effective October 1, 2002.

7 SEC. 211. PROHIBITION ON USE OF FEDERAL RESERVE SUR8 PLUSES.

9 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to ensure

10 that transfers from nonbudgetary governmental entities

11 such as the Federal Reserve banks shall not be used to offset

12 increased on-budget spending when such transfers produce

13 no real budgetary or economic effects.

14 (b) BUDGETARY RULE.—For purposes of points of

15 order under this resolution and the Congressional Budget

16 and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, provisions con17 tained in any bill, resolution, amendment, motion, or con18 ference report that affects any surplus funds of the Federal

19 Reserve banks shall not be scored with respect to the level

20 of budget authority, outlays, or revenues contained in such

21 legislation.
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1 SEC. 212. REAFFIRMING THE PROHIBITION ON THE USE OF

2 REVENUE OFFSETS FOR DISCRETIONARY

3 SPENDING.

4 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to reaf5 firm Congress’ belief that the discretionary spending limits

6 should be adhered to and not circumvented by increasing

7 taxes.

8 (b) RESTATEMENT OF BUDGETARY RULE.—For pur9 poses of points of order under this resolution and the Con10 gressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974,

11 provisions contained in an appropriations bill (or an

12 amendment thereto or a conference report thereon) resulting

13 in increased revenues shall continue not to be scored with

14 respect to the level of budget authority or outlays contained

15 in such legislation.

16 SEC. 213. APPLICATION AND EFFECT OF CHANGES IN ALLO17 CATIONS AND AGGREGATES.

18 (a) APPLICATION.—Any adjustments of allocations

19 and aggregates made pursuant to this concurrent resolution

20 for any measure shall—

21 (1) apply while that measure is under consider22 ation;

23 (2) take effect upon the enactment of that meas24 ure; and

25 (3) be published in the Congressional Record as

26 soon as practicable.
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1 (b) EFFECT OF CHANGED ALLOCATIONS AND AGGRE2 GATES.—Revised allocations and aggregates resulting from

3 these adjustments shall be considered for the purposes of the

4 Congressional Budget Act of 1974 as allocations and aggre5 gates contained in this concurrent resolution.

6 SEC. 214. RESERVE FUND TO FOSTER THE HEALTH OF CHIL7 DREN WITH DISABILITIES AND THE EMPLOY8 MENT AND INDEPENDENCE OF THEIR FAMI9 LIES.

10 (a) ADJUSTMENT.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Whenever the Committee on

12 Finance of the Senate reports a bill, or an amend13 ment thereto is offered, or a conference report thereon

14 is submitted, that facilitates children with disabilities

15 receiving needed health care at home and complies

16 with paragraph (2), the chairman of the Committee

17 on the Budget may increase the spending aggregate

18 and allocation of budget authority and outlays to that

19 committee by the amount of budget authority (and the

20 outlays resulting therefrom) provided by that legisla21 tion for such purpose in accordance with subsection

22 (b).

23 (2) CONDITION.—Legislation complies with this

24 paragraph if it finances health programs designed to

25 allow children with disabilities to access the health
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1 services they need to remain at home with their fami2 lies while allowing their families to become or remain

3 employed.

4 (b) LIMITATIONS.—The adjustments to the spending

5 aggregates and allocations required by subsection (a) shall

6 not exceed $50,000,000 in budget authority (and the outlays

7 resulting therefrom) for fiscal year 2001 and shall not ex8 ceed $300,000,000 in budget authority (and the outlays re9 sulting therefrom) for the period of fiscal years 2001

10 through 2005.

11 SEC. 215. EXERCISE OF RULEMAKING POWERS.

12 Congress adopts the provisions of this title—

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

14 Senate and the House of Representatives, respectively,

15 and as such they shall be considered as part of the

16 rules of each House, or of that House to which they

17 specifically apply, and such rules shall supersede

18 other rules only to the extent that they are incon19 sistent therewith; and

20 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional

21 right of either House to change those rules (so far as

22 they relate to that House) at any time, in the same

23 manner, and to the same extent as in the case of any

24 other rule of that House.
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1 SEC. 216. RESERVE FUND FOR MILITARY RETIREE HEALTH

2 CARE.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—In the Senate, aggregates, alloca4 tions, functional totals, and other budgetary levels and lim5 its may be revised for Department of Defense authorization

6 legislation reported by the Committee on Armed Services

7 of the Senate to fund improvements to health care programs

8 for military retirees and their dependents in order to fulfill

9 the promises made to them: Provided, That the enactment

10 of that legislation will not cause an on-budget deficit for—

11 (1) fiscal year 2001; or

12 (2) the period of fiscal years 2001 through 2005.

13 (b) REVISED LEVELS.—Upon the consideration of leg14 islation pursuant to subsection (a), the Chairman of the

15 Committee on the Budget of the Senate may file with the

16 Senate appropriately revised allocations under section

17 302(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and revised

18 functional levels and aggregates to carry out this section.

19 These revised allocations, functional levels, and aggregates

20 shall be considered for the purposes of the Congressional

21 Budget Act of 1974 as allocations, functional levels, and

22 aggregates contained in this resolution.

23 SEC. 217. RESERVE FUND FOR EARLY LEARNING AND PAR24 ENT SUPPORT PROGRAMS.

25 (a) ADJUSTMENT.—When the Committee on Education

26 and Workforce of the House of Representatives or the Com-
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1 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the

2 Senate reports a bill, an amendment is offered in the House

3 of Representatives or the Senate, or a conference report is

4 filed that improves opportunities at the local level for early

5 learning, brain development, and school readiness for young

6 children from birth to age 6 and offers support programs

7 for such families, particularly those with special needs such

8 as mental health issues and behavioral disorders, the rel9 evant chairman of the Committee on the Budget may in10 crease the allocation aggregates, functions, totals, and other

11 budgetary totals in the resolution by the amount of budget

12 authority (and the outlays resulting therefrom) provided by

13 the legislation for such purpose in accordance with sub14 section (b) if the legislation does not cause an on-budget

15 deficit.

16 (b) LIMITATIONS.—The adjustments to the aggregates

17 and totals pursuant to subsection (a) shall not exceed

18 $8,500,000,000 on-budget authority (and the outlays result19 ing therefrom) for the period fiscal year 2001 through 2005.

20 TITLE III—SENSE OF THE

21 SENATE PROVISIONS

22 SEC. 301. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON CONTROLLING AND

23 ELIMINATING THE GROWING INTERNATIONAL

24 PROBLEM OF TUBERCULOSIS.

25 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds the following:
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1 (1) According to the World Health

2 Organization—

3 (A) nearly 2,000,000 people worldwide die

4 each year of tuberculosis-related illnesses;

5 (B) one-third of the world’s total population

6 is infected with tuberculosis; and

7 (C) tuberculosis is the world’s leading killer

8 of women between 15- and 44-years old and is

9 a leading cause of children becoming orphans.

10 (2) Because of the ease of transmission of tuber11 culosis, its international persistence and growth pose

12 a direct public health threat to those nations that had

13 previously largely controlled the disease. This is com14 plicated in the United States by the growth of the

15 homeless population, the rate of incarceration, inter16 national travel, immigration, and HIV/AIDS.

17 (3) With nearly 40 percent of the tuberculosis

18 cases in the United States attributable to foreign-born

19 persons, tuberculosis will never be eliminated in the

20 United States until it is controlled abroad.

21 (4) The means exist to control tuberculosis

22 through screening, diagnosis, treatment, patient com23 pliance, monitoring, and ongoing review of outcomes.

24 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen25 ate that the levels in this resolution assumes that additional
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1 resources should be provided to fund international tuber2 culosis control efforts at $60,000,000 in fiscal year 2001,

3 consistent with authorizing legislation approved by the

4 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.

5 SEC. 302. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON INCREASED FUNDING

6 FOR THE CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT

7 BLOCK GRANT.

8 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds that—

9 (1) in 1998, 33.2 percent of women in the labor

10 force have children under 14;

11 (2) in 1998, 65.2 percent of women with children

12 younger than age 6, and 78.4 percent of women with

13 children ages 6 through 17 were in the labor force,

14 and 41.6 percent of women with children younger

15 than 3 were employed full-time;

16 (3) 1,920,000 couples both working and with

17 children under 18 had family incomes of under

18 $30,000 (10.3 percent);

19 (4)(A) in 1998, 11,700,000 children out of

20 21,300,000 (55.1 percent) under the age of 5 have em21 ployed mothers;

22 (B) 18.4 percent of children under 6 are cared

23 for by their fathers at home;
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1 (C) another 5.5 percent (562,000) are looked

2 after by their mother either at home or away from

3 home; and

4 (D) in other words, less than a quarter (23.9

5 percent) of these children are taken care of by 1 par6 ent;

7 (5) a 1997 General Accounting Office study

8 found that the increased work participation require9 ment of the welfare reform law will cause the need for

10 child care to exceed the known supply;

11 (6) a 1995 study by the Urban Institute of child

12 care prices in 6 cities found that the average cost of

13 daycare for a 2-year-old in a child care center ranged

14 from $3,100 to $8,100;

15 (7) for an entry-level worker, the family’s child

16 care costs at the average price of care for an infant

17 in a child care center would be at least 50 percent of

18 family income in 5 of the 6 cities examined;

19 (8) a large number of low- and middle-income

20 families sacrifice a second full-time income so that a

21 parent may be at home with the child;

22 (9) the average income of 2-parent families with

23 a single income (a family with children, wife does not

24 work) is $13,566 less than the average income of 2-

25 parent families with 2 incomes;
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1 (10) a recent National Institute for Child Health

2 and Development study found that the greatest factor

3 in the development of a young child is ‘‘what is hap4 pening at home and in families’’; and

5 (11) increased tax relief directed at making child

6 care more affordable, and increased funding for the

7 Child Care and Development Block Grant, would take

8 significant steps toward bringing quality child care

9 within the reach of many parents, and would increase

10 the options available to parents in deciding how best

11 to care for their children.

12 (b) SENSE OF SENATE.—It is the sense of the Senate

13 that the levels in this resolution and legislation enacted pur14 suant to this resolution assume—

15 (1) that tax relief should be directed to parents

16 who are struggling to afford quality child care, in17 cluding those who wish to stay home to care for a

18 child, and should be included in any tax cut package;

19 and

20 (2) a total of $4,567,000,000 in funding for the

21 Child Care and Development Block Grant in fiscal

22 year 2001.
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1 SEC. 303. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON TAX RELIEF FOR COL2 LEGE TUITION PAID AND FOR INTEREST PAID

3 ON STUDENT LOANS.

4 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds that—

5 (1) in our increasingly competitive global econ6 omy, the attainment of a higher education is critical

7 to the economic success of an individual, as evidenced

8 by the fact that, in 1975, college graduates earned an

9 average of 57 percent more than those who just fin10 ished high school, compared to 76 percent more today;

11 (2) the cost of attaining a higher education has

12 outpaced both inflation and median family incomes;

13 (3) specifically, over the past 20 years, the cost

14 of college tuition has quadrupled (growing faster than

15 any consumer item, including health care and nearly

16 twice as fast as inflation) and 8 times as fast as me17 dian household incomes;

18 (4) despite recent increases passed by Congress,

19 the value of the maximum Pell Grant has declined 23

20 percent since 1975 in inflation-adjusted terms, forcing

21 more students to rely on student loans to finance the

22 cost of a higher education;

23 (5) from 1992 to 1998, the demand for student

24 loans soared 82 percent and the average student loan

25 increased 367 percent;
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1 (6) according to the Department of Education,

2 there is approximately $150,000,000,000 in out3 standing student loan debt, and students borrowed

4 more during the 1990’s than during the 1960’s,

5 1970’s, and 1980’s combined; and

6 (7) in Congress, proposals have been made to ad7 dress the rising cost of tuition and mounting student

8 debt, including a bipartisan proposal to provide a de9 duction for tuition paid and a credit for interest paid

10 on student loans.

11 (b) SENSE OF SENATE.—It is the sense of the Senate

12 that the levels in this resolution and legislation enacted pur13 suant to this resolution assume that any tax cut package

14 reported by the Finance Committee and passed by Congress

15 during the fiscal year 2001 budget reconciliation process

16 include tax relief for college tuition paid and for interest

17 paid on student loans.

18 SEC. 304. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON INCREASED FUNDING

19 FOR THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH.

20 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds that—

21 (1) the National Institutes of Health is the Na22 tion’s foremost research center;

23 (2) the Nation’s commitment to and investment

24 in biomedical research has resulted in better health

25 and an improved quality of life for all Americans;
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1 (3) continued biomedical research funding must

2 be ensured so that medical doctors and scientists have

3 the security to commit to conducting long-term re4 search studies;

5 (4) funding for the National Institutes of Health

6 should continue to increase in order to prevent the

7 cessation of biomedical research studies and the loss

8 of medical doctors and research scientists to private

9 research organizations; and

10 (5) the National Institutes of Health conducts re11 search protocols without proprietary interests, thereby

12 ensuring that the best health care is researched and

13 made available to the Nation.

14 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen15 ate that the levels in this resolution assume increased fund16 ing in function 550 (Health) for the National Institutes of

17 Health of $2,700,000,000, reflecting the commitment made

18 in the fiscal year 1998 Senate Budget Resolution to double

19 the National Institute of Health budget by 2003.

20 SEC. 305. SENSE OF THE SENATE SUPPORTING FUNDING

21 LEVELS IN EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

22 ACT.

23 It is the sense of the Senate that the levels in this reso24 lution assume that of the amounts provided for elementary

25 and secondary education within the Budget Function 500
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1 of this resolution for fiscal years 2001 through 2005, such

2 funds shall be appropriated in proportion to and in accord3 ance with the levels authorized in the Educational Opportu4 nities Act, S. 2.

5 SEC. 306. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON ADDITIONAL BUDG6 ETARY RESOURCES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds the following:

8 (1) In its review of government operations, the

9 General Accounting Office noted that it was unable to

10 determine the extent of improper government pay11 ments, due to the poor quality of agency accounting

12 practices. In particular, the General Accounting Of13 fice cited the Government’s inability to—

14 (A) ‘‘properly account for and report bil15 lions of dollars of property, equipment, mate16 rials, and supplies and certain stewardship as17 sets’’; and

18 (B) ‘‘properly prepare the Federal Govern19 ment’s financial statements, including balancing

20 the statements, accounting for billions of dollars

21 of transactions between governmental entities,

22 and properly and consistently compiling the in23 formation in the financial statements.’’.

24 (2) Private economic forecasters are currently

25 more optimistic than the Congressional Budget Office
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1 (CBO). Blue Chip expects 2000 real GDP growth of

2 4.1 percent, whereas the Congressional Budget Office

3 expects 3.3 percent growth. From 1999 through 2005,

4 Blue Chip expects real GDP to grow more than 0.3

5 percentage points faster per year than the Congres6 sional Budget Office does. Using budgetary rules of

7 thumb, this latter difference translates into more than

8 $150,000,000,000 over the 5-year budget window.

9 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen10 ate that the levels contained in this resolution assume

11 that—

12 (1) there are billions of dollars in wasted expend13 itures in the Federal Government that should be

14 eliminated; and

15 (2) higher projected budget surpluses arising

16 from reductions in government waste and stronger

17 revenue inflows could be used in the future for addi18 tional tax relief or debt reduction.

19 SEC. 307. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON REGARDING THE INAD20 EQUACY OF THE PAYMENTS FOR SKILLED

21 NURSING CARE.

22 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds that—

23 (1) Congress confronted and addressed the fund24 ing crisis for medicare beneficiaries requiring skilled
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1 nursing care through the Balanced Budget Refine2 ment Act of 1999;

3 (2) Congress recognized the need to address the

4 inadequacy of the prospective payment system for cer5 tain levels of care, as well as the need to end arbi6 trary limits on rehabilitative therapies. Congress re7 stored $2,700,000,000 to reduce access threats to

8 skilled care for medicare beneficiaries; and

9 (3) Currently, more than 1,600 skilled nursing

10 facilities caring for more than 175,000 frail and el11 derly Americans have filed for bankruptcy protection.

12 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen13 ate that the levels in this resolution assume that—

14 (1) the Administration should identify areas

15 where they have the authority to make changes to im16 prove quality, including analyzing and fixing the

17 labor component of the skilled nursing facility market

18 basket update factor; and

19 (2) while Congress deliberates funding structural

20 medicare reform and the addition of a prescription

21 drug benefit, it must maintain the continued viability

22 of the current skilled nursing benefit. Therefore, the

23 committees of jurisdiction should ensure that medi24 care beneficiaries requiring skilled nursing care have

25 access to that care and that those providers have the
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1 resources to meet the expectation for high quality

2 care.

3 SEC. 308. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON THE CARA PROGRAMS.

4 It is the sense of the Senate that the levels in this reso5 lution assume that, if the Congress and the President so

6 choose, the following programs can be fully funded as discre7 tionary programs in fiscal year 2001, including—

8 (1) the Land and Water Conservation Fund pro9 grams;

10 (2) the Federal aid to Wildlife Fund;

11 (3) the Urban Parks and Recreation Recovery

12 Grants;

13 (4) the National Historic Preservation Fund;

14 (5) the Payment in Lieu of Taxes; and

15 (6) the North American Wetlands Conservation

16 Act.

17 SEC. 309. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON VETERANS’ MEDICAL

18 CARE.

19 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds that—

20 (1) this budget addresses concerns about veterans’

21 medical care;

22 (2) we successfully increased the appropriation

23 for veterans’ medical care by $1,700,000,000 last

24 year, although the President had proposed no increase

25 in funding in his budget; and
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1 (3) this year’s budget proposes to increase the

2 veterans’ medical care appropriation by

3 $1,400,000,000, the level of funding in the President’s

4 budget.

5 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen6 ate that the levels in this resolution assume an increase of

7 $1,400,000,000 in veterans’ medical care appropriations in

8 fiscal year 2001.

9 SEC. 310. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON IMPACT AID.

10 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds that—

11 (1) the Impact Aid, as created by Congress in

12 1950, fulfills a Federal obligation to local educational

13 agencies impacted by a Federal presence;

14 (2) the Impact Aid provides funds to these local

15 educational agencies to help them meet the basic edu16 cational needs of all their children, particularly the

17 needs of transient military dependent students, Native

18 American children, and students from low-income

19 housing projects; and

20 (3) the Impact Aid is funded at a level less than

21 what is required to fully fund ‘‘all’’ federally con22 nected local educational agencies.

23 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen24 ate that the levels in this resolution assume that the Impact

25 Aid Program strive to reach the goal that all local edu-
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1 cational agencies eligible for Impact Aid receive at a min2 imum, 40 percent of their maximum payment under sec3 tions 8002 and 8003.

4 SEC. 311. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON FUNDING FOR IN5 CREASED ACREAGE UNDER THE CONSERVA6 TION RESERVE PROGRAM AND THE WET7 LANDS RESERVE PROGRAM.

8 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds the following:

9 (1) The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)

10 and the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) have been

11 successful, voluntary, incentive-based endeavors that

12 over the last decade and a half have turned millions

13 of acres of marginal cropland into reserves that pro14 tect wildlife in the United States, provide meaningful

15 income to farmers and ranchers (especially in periods

16 of collapsed commodity prices), and combat soil and

17 water erosion. CRP and WRP also provide increased

18 opportunities for hunting, fishing, and other rec19 reational activities.

20 (2) CRP provides landowners with technical and

21 financial assistance, including annual rental pay22 ments, in exchange for removing environmentally sen23 sitive farmland from production and implementing

24 conservation practices. Currently, CRP includes

25 around 31,300,000 acres in the United States.
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1 (3) Similarly, WRP offers technical and finan2 cial assistance to landowners who select to restore

3 wetlands. Currently, WRP includes 785,000 acres na4 tionwide.

5 (4) Furthermore, bipartisan legislation has been

6 introduced in the 106th Congress to increase the acre7 age permitted under both CRP and WRP. The Ad8 ministration also supports raising the acreage limita9 tions in both programs.

10 (5) Unfortunately, both CRP and WRP may

11 soon become victims of their own success and their re12 spective statutory acreage limitations unless Congress

13 acts. Given the popularity and demand for these con14 servation programs, the statutory acreage limitations

15 will likely exhaust resources available to producers

16 who want to participate in CRP or WRP. As cur17 rently authorized, CRP has an enrollment cap of

18 36,400,000 acres and WRP is limited at 975,000

19 acres. As of October 1, 1999, enrollment in CRP stood

20 at approximately 31,300,000 acres and enrollment in

21 WRP at just over 785,000 acres.

22 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen23 ate that the levels in this resolution assume that Congress

24 and the Administration should take steps to raise the acre25 age limits of the CRP and WRP in order to make these
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1 programs available to aid the preservation and conserva2 tion of sensitive natural soil and water resources without

3 negatively effecting rural communities. Further, such ac4 tions should help improve farm income for agricultural pro5 ducers and restore prosperity and growth to rural sectors

6 of the United States.

7 SEC. 312. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON TAX SIMPLIFICATION.

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

9 (1) the tax code has become increasingly com10 plex, undermining confidence in the system, and often

11 undermining the principles of simplicity, efficiency,

12 and equity;

13 (2) some have estimated that the resources re14 quired to keep records and file returns already cost

15 American families an additional 10 percent to 20

16 percent over what they actually pay in income taxes;

17 and

18 (3) if it is to enact a greatly simplified tax code,

19 Congress should have a thorough understanding of the

20 problem as well as specific proposals to consider.

21 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen22 ate that the levels in this resolution assume that the Joint

23 Committee on Taxation shall develop a report and alter24 native proposals on tax simplification by the end of the

25 year, and the Department of the Treasury is requested to
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1 develop a report and alternative proposals on tax sim2 plification by the end of the year.

3 SEC. 313. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON ANTITRUST ENFORCE4 MENT BY THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND

5 FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION REGARDING

6 AGRICULTURE MERGERS AND ANTICOMPETI7 TIVE ACTIVITY.

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

9 (1) the Antitrust Division of the Department of

10 Justice is charged with the civil and criminal enforce11 ment of the antitrust laws, including the review of

12 corporate mergers likely to reduce competition in par13 ticular markets, with a goal of protecting the competi14 tive process;

15 (2) the Bureau of Competition of the Federal

16 Trade Commission is also charged with enforcement

17 of the antitrust laws, including the review of cor18 porate mergers likely to reduce competition;

19 (3) the Antitrust Division and the Bureau of

20 Competition are also responsible for the prosecution of

21 companies and individuals who engage in anti-com22 petitive behavior and unfair trade practices;

23 (4) the number of merger filings under the Hart24 Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976,

25 which the Department of Justice, in conjunction with
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1 the Federal Trade Commission, is required to review,

2 has increased significantly in fiscal years 1998 and

3 1999;

4 (5) large agri-businesses have constituted part of

5 this trend in mergers and acquisitions;

6 (6) farmers and small agricultural producers are

7 experiencing one of the worst periods of economic

8 downturn in years;

9 (7) farmers currently get less than a quarter of

10 every retail food dollar, down from nearly half of

11 every retail food dollar in 1952;

12 (8) the top 4 beef packers presently control 80

13 percent of the market, the top 4 pork producers con14 trol 57 percent of the market, and the largest sheep

15 processors and poultry processors control 73 percent

16 and 55 percent of the market, respectively;

17 (9) the 4 largest grain processing companies

18 presently account for approximately 62 percent of the

19 Nation’s flour milling, and the 4 largest firms control

20 approximately 75 percent of the wet corn milling and

21 soybean crushing industry;

22 (10) farmers and small, independent producers

23 are concerned about the substantial increase in con24 centration in the agriculture industry and signifi-
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1 cantly diminished opportunities in the marketplace;

2 and

3 (11) farmers and small, independent producers

4 are also concerned about possible anticompetitive be5 havior and unfair business practices in the agri6 culture industry.

7 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen8 ate that the levels in this resolution assume that—

9 (1) the Antitrust Division and the Bureau of

10 Competition will have adequate resources to enable

11 them to meet their statutory requirements, including

12 those related to reviewing increasingly numerous and

13 complex mergers and investigating and prosecuting

14 anticompetitive business activity; and

15 (2) these departments will—

16 (A) dedicate considerable resources to mat17 ters and transactions dealing with agri-business

18 antitrust and competition; and

19 (B) ensure that all vertical and horizontal

20 mergers implicating agriculture and all com21 plaints regarding possible anticompetitive busi22 ness practices in the agriculture industry will re23 ceive extraordinary scrutiny.
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1 SEC. 314. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING FAIR MAR2 KETS FOR AMERICAN FARMERS.

3 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds that—

4 (1) United States agricultural producers are the

5 most efficient and competitive in the world;

6 (2) United States agricultural producers are at

7 a competitive disadvantage in the world market be8 cause the European Union outspends the United

9 States (on a dollar/acre basis) by a ratio of 10:1 on

10 domestic support and by a ratio of 60:1 on export

11 subsidies;

12 (3) the support the European Union gives their

13 producers results in more prosperous rural commu14 nities in Europe than in the United States;

15 (4) the European Union blocked consensus at the

16 World Trade Organization ministerial meeting in Se17 attle because Europe does not want to surrender its

18 current advantage in world markets;

19 (5) despite the competitiveness of American

20 farmers, the European advantage has led to a declin21 ing United States share of the world market for agri22 cultural products;

23 (6) the United States Department of Agriculture

24 reports that United States export growth has lagged

25 behind that of our major competitors, resulting in a
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1 loss of United States market share, from 24 percent

2 in 1981 to its current level of 18 percent;

3 (7) the United States Department of Agriculture

4 also reports that United States market share of global

5 agricultural trade has eroded steadily over the past 2

6 decades, which could culminate in the United States

7 losing out to the European Union as the world’s top

8 agricultural exporter sometime in 2000;

9 (8) prices of agricultural commodities in the

10 United States are at 50-year lows in real terms, cre11 ating a serious economic crisis in rural America; and

12 (9) fundamental fairness requires that the play13 ing field be leveled so that United States farmers are

14 no longer at a competitive disadvantage.

15 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen16 ate that the levels in this resolution assume that—

17 (1) the United States should take steps to in18 crease support for American farmers in order to level

19 the playing field for United States agricultural pro20 ducers and increase the leverage of the United States

21 in World Trade Organization negotiations on agri22 culture as long as such support is not trade dis23 torting, and does not otherwise exceed or impair exist24 ing Uruguay Round obligations; and
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1 (2) such actions should improve United States

2 farm income and restore the prosperity of rural com3 munities.

4 SEC. 315. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON WOMEN AND SOCIAL

5 SECURITY REFORM.

6 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds that—

7 (1) without Social Security benefits, the elderly

8 poverty rate among women would have been 52.2 per9 cent, and among widows would have been 60.6 per10 cent;

11 (2) women tend to live longer and tend to have

12 lower lifetime earnings than men do;

13 (3) during their working years, women earn an

14 average of 70 cents for every dollar men earn; and

15 (4) women spend an average of 11.5 years out of

16 their careers to care for their families, and are more

17 likely to work part-time than full-time.

18 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen19 ate that the levels in this resolution assume that—

20 (1) women face unique obstacles in ensuring re21 tirement security and survivor and disability sta22 bility;

23 (2) Social Security plays an essential role in

24 guaranteeing inflation-protected financial stability

25 for women throughout their old age;
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1 (3) the Congress and the Administration should

2 act, as part of Social Security reform, to ensure that

3 widows and other poor elderly women receive more

4 adequate benefits that reduce their poverty rates and

5 that women, under whatever approach is taken to re6 form Social Security, should receive no lesser a share

7 of overall federally funded retirement benefits than

8 they receive today; and

9 (4) the sacrifice that women make to care for

10 their family should be recognized during reform of So11 cial Security and that women should not be penalized

12 by taking an average of 11.5 years out of their careers

13 to care for their family.

14 SEC. 316. PROTECTION OF BATTERED WOMEN AND CHIL15 DREN.

16 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate makes the following find17 ings:

18 (1) Each year an estimated 1,000,000 women

19 suffer nonfatal violence by an intimate partner.

20 (2) Nearly 1 out of 3 adult women can expect to

21 experience at least 1 physical assault by a partner

22 during adulthood.

23 (3) Domestic violence is statistically consistent

24 across racial and ethnic lines. It does not discrimi25 nate based on race or economic status.
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1 (4) The chance of being victimized by an inti2 mate partner is 10 times greater for a woman than

3 a man.

4 (5) Past and current victims of domestic violence

5 are over-represented in the welfare population. It is

6 estimated that at least 60 percent of current welfare

7 beneficiaries have experienced some form of domestic

8 violence.

9 (6) Abused women who do seek employment face

10 barriers as a result of domestic violence. Welfare stud11 ies show that 15 to 50 percent of abused women re12 port interference from their partner with education,

13 training, or employment.

14 (7) The programs established by the Violence

15 Against Women Act of 1994 have empowered commu16 nities to address the threat caused by domestic vio17 lence.

18 (8) Since 1995, Congress has appropriated close

19 to $1,800,000,000 to fund programs established by the

20 Violence Against Women Act of 1994, including the

21 STOP program, shelters for battered women and chil22 dren, the domestic violence hotline, and Centers for

23 Disease Control and Prevention injury control pro24 grams.
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1 (9) The programs established by the Violence

2 Against Women Act of 1994 have been and continue

3 to comprise a successful national strategy for address4 ing the needs of battered women and the public health

5 threat caused by this violence.

6 (10) The Supreme Court could act during this

7 session to overturn a major protection and course of

8 action provided for in the Violence Against Women

9 Act of 1994. In United States v. Morrison/Brzonkala,

10 the Supreme Court will address the issue of the con11 stitutionality of the Federal civil rights remedy under

12 the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, and may

13 overturn congressional intent to elevate violence

14 against women to a category protected under Federal

15 civil rights law.

16 (11) The actions taken by the courts and the fail17 ure to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act of

18 1994 has generated a great deal of concern in commu19 nities nationwide.

20 (12) Funding for the programs established by the

21 Violence Against Women Act of 1994 is the only life22 line for battered women and Congress has a moral ob23 ligation to continue funding and to strengthen key

24 components of the Violence Against Women Act of

25 1994.
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1 (13) Congress and the Administration should

2 work to ensure the continued funding of programs es3 tablished by the Violence Against Women Act of 1994.

4 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen5 ate that the levels in this resolution assume that, in light

6 of the pending litigation challenging the constitutionality

7 of the Federal civil rights remedy in the Violence Against

8 Women Act of 1994 and the lack of action on legislation

9 reauthorizing and strengthening the provisions of that

10 Act—

11 (1) Congress, through reauthorization of the pro12 grams established by the Violence Against Women Act

13 of 1994, should work to eliminate economic barriers

14 that trap women and children in violent homes and

15 relationships; and

16 (2) full funding for the programs established by

17 the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 will be pro18 vided from the Violent Crime Reduction Fund.

19 SEC. 317. USE OF FALSE CLAIMS ACT IN COMBATTING MEDI20 CARE FRAUD.

21 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds that—

22 (1) the solvency of the medicare trust funds is of

23 vital importance to the well-being of the Nation’s sen24 iors and other vulnerable people in need of quality

25 health care;
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1 (2) fraud against the medicare trust funds is a

2 major problem resulting in the depletion of the trust

3 funds; and

4 (3) chapter 37 of title 31, United States Code

5 (commonly referred to as the False Claims Act) and

6 the qui tam provisions of that chapter are vital tools

7 in combatting fraud against the medicare program.

8 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen9 ate that the levels in this resolution assume that chapter

10 37 of title 31, United States Code (commonly referred to

11 as the False Claims Act) and the qui tam provisions of that

12 chapter are essential tools in combatting medicare fraud

13 and should not be weakened in any way.

14 SEC. 318. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING THE NA15 TIONAL GUARD.

16 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds that—

17 (1) the Army National Guard relies heavily

18 upon thousands of full-time employees, Military Tech19 nicians and Active Guard/Reserves, to ensure unit

20 readiness throughout the Army National Guard;

21 (2) these employees perform vital day-to-day

22 functions, ranging from equipment maintenance to

23 leadership and staff roles, that allow the drill week24 ends and annual active duty training of the tradi25 tional Guardsmen to be dedicated to preparation for
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1 the National Guard’s warfighting and peacetime mis2 sions;

3 (3) when the ability to provide sufficient Active

4 Guard/Reserves and Technicians end strength is re5 duced, unit readiness, as well as quality of life for sol6 diers and families is degraded;

7 (4) the Army National Guard, with agreement

8 from the Department of Defense, requires a minimum

9 essential requirement of 23,500 Active Guard/Reserves

10 and 25,500 Technicians; and

11 (5) the fiscal year 2001 budget request for the

12 Army National Guard provides resources sufficient

13 for approximately 22,430 Active Guard/Reserves and

14 23,957 Technicians, end strength shortfalls of 1,052

15 and 1,543, respectively.

16 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.— It is the sense of the

17 Senate that the levels in the resolution assume that the De18 partment of Defense will give priority to funding the Active

19 Guard/Reserves and Military Technicians at levels author20 ized by Congress in the fiscal year 2000 Department of De21 fense authorization bill.

22 SEC. 319. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING MILITARY

23 READINESS.

24 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds that—
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1 (1) the Secretary of the Air Force stated that the

2 United States Air Force’s top unfunded readiness pri3 ority for fiscal year 2000 was its aircraft spares and

4 repair parts account and top Air Force officers have

5 said that getting more spares is a top priority to im6 prove readiness rates;

7 (2) the Chief of Naval Operations stated that the

8 aircraft spares and repair parts account for a top

9 readiness priority important to the long-term health

10 of the Navy;

11 (3) the General Accounting Office’s study of per12 sonnel retention problems in the armed services cited

13 shortages of spares and repair parts as a major rea14 son why people are leaving the services;

15 (4) the fiscal year 2001 budget request decreases

16 the Air Force’s spares and repair parts account by 13

17 percent from fiscal year 2000 expected levels; and

18 (5) the fiscal year 2001 budget request decreases

19 the Navy’s spares and repair parts account by 6 per20 cent from the fiscal year 2000 expected levels.

21 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen22 ate that the functional totals in the budget resolution as23 sume that Congress will protect the Department of Defense’s

24 readiness accounts, including spares and repair parts, and

25 operations and maintenance, and use the requested levels
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1 as the minimum baseline for fiscal year 2001 authorization

2 and appropriations.

3 SEC. 320. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON COMPENSATION FOR

4 THE CHINESE EMBASSY BOMBING IN BEL5 GRADE.

6 It is the sense of the Senate that the levels in this reso7 lution assume funds designated to compensate the People’s

8 Republic of China for the damage inadvertently done to

9 their embassy in Belgrade by NATO forces in May 1999,

10 should not be appropriated from the international affairs

11 budget.

12 SEC. 321. SENSE OF THE SENATE SUPPORTING FUNDING OF

13 DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY INITIATIVES.

14 (a) The Senate finds that—

15 (1) computers, the Internet, and information net16 works are not luxury items but basic tools largely re17 sponsible for driving the current economic expansions;

18 (2) information technology utility relies on soft19 ware applications and online content;

20 (3) access to computers and the Internet and the

21 ability to use this technology effectively is becoming

22 increasingly important for full participation in

23 America’s economic, political, and social life; and

24 (4) unequal access to technology and high-tech

25 skills by income, educational level, race, and geog-
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1 raphy could deepen and reinforce the divisions that

2 exist within American society.

3 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen4 ate that the levels in this resolution assume that the Com5 mittees on Appropriations and Finance should support ef6 forts that address the digital divide, including tax incen7 tives and funding to—

8 (1) broaden access to information technologies;

9 (2) provide workers and teachers with informa10 tion technology training;

11 (3) promote innovative online content and soft12 ware applications that will improve commerce, edu13 cation, and quality of life; and

14 (4) help provide information and communica15 tions technology to underserved communities.

16 SEC. 322. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING IMMUNIZA17 TION FUNDING.

18 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds that—

19 (1) vaccines protect children and adults against

20 serious and potentially fatal diseases;

21 (2) society saves up to $24 in medical and soci22 etal costs for every dollar spent on vaccines;

23 (3) every day, 11,000 babies are born—4,000,000

24 each year—and each child needs up to 19 doses of

25 vaccine by age 2;
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1 (4) approximately 1,000,000 2-year-olds have

2 not received all of the recommended vaccine doses;

3 (5) the immunization program under section

4 317(j)(1) under the Public Health Service Act, ad5 ministered by the Centers for Disease Control and

6 Prevention, provides grants to States and localities

7 for critical activities including immunization reg8 istries, outbreak control, provider education, outreach

9 efforts, and linkages with other public health and wel10 fare services;

11 (6) Federal grants to States and localities for

12 these activities have declined from $271,000,000 in

13 1995 to $139,000,000 in 2000;

14 (7) because of these funding reductions States are

15 struggling to maintain immunization rates and have

16 implemented severe cuts to immunization delivery ac17 tivities;

18 (8) even with significant gains in national im19 munization rates, underimmunized children still exist

20 and there are a number of subpopulations where cov21 erage rates remain low and are actually declining;

22 (9) rates in many of the Nation’s urban areas,

23 including Chicago and Houston, are unacceptably

24 low; and
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1 (10) these pockets of need create pools of suscep2 tible children and increase the risk of dangerous dis3 ease outbreaks.

4 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen5 ate that the levels in the resolution assume that Congress

6 should enact legislation that provides $214,000,000 in fund7 ing for immunization grants under section 317 of the Pub8 lic Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247b) for infrastructure

9 and delivery activities, including targeted support for im10 munization project areas with low or declining immuniza11 tion rates or who have subpopulations with special needs.

12 SEC. 323. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING TAX CREDITS

13 FOR SMALL BUSINESSES PROVIDING HEALTH

14 INSURANCE TO LOW-INCOME EMPLOYEES.

15 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds that—

16 (1) 25,000,000 workers in the United States were

17 uninsured in 1997 and more than two-thirds of the

18 uninsured workers earn less than $20,000 annually,

19 according to a Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation

20 report;

21 (2) the percentage of employees of small busi22 nesses who have employer-sponsored health insurance

23 coverage decreased from 52 percent in 1996 to 47 per24 cent in 1998; for the smallest employers, those with 3

25 to 9 workers, the percentage of employees covered by
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1 employer-sponsored health insurance fell from 36 per2 cent in 1996 to 31 percent in 1998;

3 (3) between 1996 and 1998, health premiums for

4 small businesses increased 5.2 percent; premiums in5 creased by 8 percent for the smallest employers, the

6 highest increase among all small businesses;

7 (4) monthly family coverage for workers at firms

8 with 3 to 9 employees cost $520 in 1998, compared

9 to $462 for family coverage for workers at large firms;

10 and

11 (5) only 39 percent of small businesses with a

12 significant percentage of low-income employees offer

13 employer-provided health insurance and such compa14 nies are half as likely to offer health benefits to such

15 employees as are companies that have only a small

16 percentage of low-income employees.

17 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen18 ate that the levels in this resolution assume that Congress

19 should enact legislation that allows small businesses to

20 claim a tax credit when they provide health insurance to

21 low-income employees.

22 SEC. 324. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON FUNDING FOR CRIMI23 NAL JUSTICE.

24 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds that—
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1 (1) our success in the fight against crime and

2 improvements in the administration of justice are the

3 result of a bipartisan effort; and

4 (2) since 1993 the Congress and the President

5 have increased justice funding by 92 percent, and a

6 strong commitment to law enforcement and the ad7 ministration of justice remains appropriate.

8 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen9 ate that the levels in this resolution assume that funds to

10 improve the justice system will be available as follows:

11 (1) $665,000,000 for the expanded support of di12 rect Federal enforcement, adjudicative, and correc13 tional-detention activities.

14 (2) $50,000,000 in additional funds to combat

15 terrorism, including cyber crime.

16 (3) $41,000,000 in additional funds for construc17 tion costs for the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the

18 Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.

19 (4) $200,000,000 in support of Customs and Im20 migration and Nationalization Service port of entry

21 officers for the development and implementation of the

22 ACE computer system designed to meet critical trade

23 and border security needs.

24 (5) Funding is available for the continuation of

25 such programs as: the Byrne Grant Program, Vio-
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1 lence Against Women, Juvenile Accountability Block

2 Grants, First Responder Training, Local Law En3 forcement Block Grants, Weed and Seed, Violent Of4 fender Incarceration and Truth in Sentencing, State

5 Criminal Alien Assistance Program, Drug Courts,

6 Residential Substance Abuse Treatment, Crime Iden7 tification Technologies, Bulletproof Vests,

8 Counterterrorism, Interagency Law Enforcement Co9 ordination.

10 SEC. 325. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING THE PELL

11 GRANT.

12 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds that—

13 (1) public investment in higher education yields

14 a return of several dollars for each dollar invested;

15 (2) higher education promotes economic oppor16 tunity for individuals; for example recipients of bach17 elor’s degrees earn an average of 75 percent per year

18 more than those with high school diplomas and expe19 rience half as much unemployment as high school

20 graduates;

21 (3) access to a college education has become a

22 hallmark of American society, and is vital to uphold23 ing our belief in equality of opportunity;
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1 (4) for a generation, the Federal Pell Grant has

2 served as an established and effective means of pro3 viding access to higher education;

4 (5) over the past decade, Pell Grant has failed to

5 keep up with inflation. Over the past 25 years, the

6 value of the average Pell Grant has decreased by 23

7 percent—it is now worth only 77 percent of what Pell

8 Grants were worth in 1975;

9 (6) grant aid as a portion of student aid has

10 fallen significantly over the past 5 years. Grant aid

11 used to comprise 55 percent of total aid awarded and

12 loans comprised just over 40 percent. Now that trend

13 has been reversed so that loans comprise nearly 60

14 percent of total aid awarded and grants only com15 prise 40 percent of total aid awarded;

16 (7) the percentage of freshmen attending public

17 and private 4-year institutions from families whose

18 income is below the national median has fallen since

19 1981.

20 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen21 ate that the levels in this resolution assume that within the

22 discretionary allocation provided to the Committee on Ap23 propriations, the funding for the maximum Pell Grant

24 award should be at or above the level requested by the Presi25 dent.
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1 SEC. 326. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING COMPREHEN2 SIVE PUBLIC EDUCATION REFORM.

3 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds the following:

4 (1) Recent scientific evidence demonstrates that

5 enhancing children’s physical, social, emotional, and

6 intellectual development before the age of 6 results in

7 tremendous benefits throughout life.

8 (2) Successful schools are led by well-trained,

9 highly qualified principals, but many principals do

10 not get the training in management skills that the

11 principals need to ensure their school provides an ex12 cellent education for every child.

13 (3) Good teachers are a crucial catalyst to qual14 ity education, but 1 in 4 new teachers do not meet

15 State certification requirements; each year more than

16 50,000 underprepared teachers enter the classroom;

17 and 12 percent of new teachers have had no teacher

18 training at all.

19 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen20 ate that the levels in this resolution assume that the Federal

21 Government should support State and local educational

22 agencies engaged in comprehensive reform of their public

23 education system and that any public education reform

24 should include at least the following principles:

25 (1) Every child should begin school ready to

26 learn.
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1 (2) Training and development for principals and

2 teachers should be a priority.

3 SEC. 327. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON PROVIDING ADEQUATE

4 FUNDING FOR UNITED STATES INTER5 NATIONAL LEADERSHIP.

6 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds that—

7 (1) United States international leadership is es8 sential to maintaining security and peace for all

9 Americans;

10 (2) such leadership depends on effective diplo11 macy as well as a strong military;

12 (3) effective diplomacy requires adequate re13 sources both for operations and security of United

14 States embassies and for international programs;

15 (4) in addition to building peace, prosperity,

16 and democracy around the world, programs in the

17 International Affairs (150) budget serve United States

18 interests by ensuring better jobs and a higher stand19 ard of living, promoting the health of our citizens and

20 preserving our natural environment, and protecting

21 the rights and safety of those who travel or do busi22 ness overseas;

23 (5) real spending for International Affairs has

24 declined more than 40 percent since the mid-1980’s,

25 at the same time that major new challenges and op-
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1 portunities have arisen from the disintegration of the

2 Soviet Union and the worldwide trends toward de3 mocracy and free markets;

4 (6) current ceilings on discretionary spending

5 will impose severe additional cuts in funding for

6 International Affairs;

7 (7) improved security for United States diplo8 matic missions and personnel will place further

9 strain on the International Affairs budget absent sig10 nificant additional resources;

11 (8) the United States cannot reduce efforts to

12 safeguard nuclear materials in the former Soviet

13 States or shortchange initiatives aimed at maintain14 ing stability on the Korean peninsula, where 37,000

15 United States forces are deployed. We cannot reduce

16 support for peace in the Middle East or in Northern

17 Ireland or in the Balkans. We cannot stop fighting

18 terror or simply surrender to the spread of HIV/

19 AIDS. We must continue to support all of these

20 things, which are difficult to achieve without adequate

21 and realistic funding levels; and

22 (9) the President’s request for funds for fiscal

23 year 2001 would adequately finance our Inter24 national Affairs programs without detracting from

25 our defense and domestic needs. It would help keep
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1 America prosperous and secure. It would enable us to

2 leverage the contributions of allies and friends on be3 half of democracy and peace. It would allow us to

4 protect the interests of Americans who travel, study,

5 or do business overseas. It would do all these things

6 and more for about 1 penny of every dollar the Fed7 eral Government spends.

8 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen9 ate that the levels in this resolution assume that additional

10 budgetary resources should be identified for function 150

11 to enable successful United States international leadership.

12 SEC. 328. SENSE OF THE SENATE CONCERNING THE HIV/

13 AIDS CRISIS.

14 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds the following:

15 (1) More than 16,000,000 people have been killed

16 by Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)

17 since the epidemic began.

18 (2) 14,000,000 Africans have died as a result of

19 the AIDS epidemic. Eighty-four percent of the world20 wide deaths from AIDS have occurred in sub-Saharan

21 Africa.

22 (3) Each day, AIDS kills 5,500 Africans, and

23 infects 11,000 more.
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1 (4) By the end of 2000, 10,400,000 children in

2 sub-Saharan Africa will have lost one or both parents,

3 to AIDS.

4 (5) Over 85 percent of the world’s HIV-positive

5 children live in Africa.

6 (6) Fewer than 5 percent of those living with

7 AIDS in Africa have access to even the most basic

8 care.

9 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen10 ate that—

11 (1) the functional totals underlying this resolu12 tion on the budget assume that Congress has recog13 nized the catastrophic effects of the HIV/AIDS epi14 demic, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, and seeks

15 to maximize the effectiveness of the United States’ ef16 forts to combat the disease through any necessary au17 thorization or appropriations;

18 (2) Congress should strengthen ongoing programs

19 which address education and prevention, testing, the

20 care of AIDS orphans, and improving home and com21 munity-based care options for those living with

22 AIDS; and

23 (3) Congress should seek additional or new tools

24 to combat the epidemic, including initiatives to en25 courage vaccine development and programs aimed at
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1 preventing mother-to-child transmission of the dis2 ease.

3 SEC. 329. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING TRIBAL COL4 LEGES.

5 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds the following:

6 (1) More than 26,500 students from 250 tribes

7 nationwide attend tribal colleges. The colleges serve

8 students of all ages, many of whom are moving from

9 welfare to work. The vast majority of tribal college

10 students are first-generation college students.

11 (2) While annual appropriations for tribal col12 leges have increased modestly in recent years, core op13 eration funding levels are still about half of the

14 $6,000 per Indian student level authorized by the

15 Tribally Controlled College or University Act.

16 (3) Although tribal colleges received a $3,000,000

17 increase in funding in fiscal year 2000, because of

18 rising student populations and other factors, these in19 stitutions may face an actual per-student decrease in

20 funding over fiscal year 1999.

21 (4) Per-student funding for tribal colleges is

22 roughly half the amount given to mainstream commu23 nity colleges.

24 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen25 ate that the levels in this resolution assume that—
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1 (1) the Senate recognizes the funding difficulties

2 faced by tribal colleges and assumes that priority con3 sideration will be provided to them through funding

4 for the Tribally Controlled College and University

5 Act, the 1994 Land Grant Institutions, and title III

6 of the Higher Education Act; and

7 (2) such priority consideration reflects Congress’

8 intent to continue work toward current statutory Fed9 eral funding goals for the tribal colleges.

10 SEC. 330. SENSE OF THE SENATE TO PROVIDE RELIEF FROM

11 THE MARRIAGE PENALTY.

12 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds that—

13 (1) marriage is the foundation of the American

14 society and a key institution for preserving our val15 ues;

16 (2) the tax code should not penalize those who

17 choose to marry;

18 (3) a report to the Treasury Department’s Office

19 of Tax Analysis estimates that in 1999, 48 percent of

20 married couples will pay a marriage penalty under

21 the present tax system;

22 (4) the Congressional Budget Office found that

23 the average penalty amounts to $1,400 a year.
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1 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen2 ate that the level in this budget resolution assume that the

3 Congress shall—

4 (1) pass marriage penalty tax relief legislation

5 that begins a phasedown of this penalty in 2001;

6 (2) consider such legislation prior to April 15,

7 2000.

8 SEC. 331. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON THE CONTINUED USE

9 OF FEDERAL FUEL TAXES FOR THE CON10 STRUCTION AND REHABILITATION OF OUR

11 NATION’S HIGHWAYS, BRIDGES, AND TRANSIT

12 SYSTEMS.

13 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds that—

14 (1) current law, as stipulated in the Transpor15 tation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA–21), re16 quires all Federal gasoline taxes be deposited into the

17 Highway Trust Fund;

18 (2) current law, as stipulated in TEA–21, guar19 antees that all such deposits to the Highway Trust

20 Fund are spent in full on the construction and reha21 bilitation of our Nation’s highways, bridges, and

22 transit systems;

23 (3) the funding guarantees contained in TEA–21

24 are essential to the ability of the Nation’s Governors,

25 highway commissioners, and transit providers to ad-
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1 dress the growing backlog of critical transportation

2 investments in order to stem the deterioration of our

3 road and transit systems, improve the safety of our

4 highways, and reduce the growth of congestion that is

5 choking off economic growth in communities across

6 the Nation;

7 (4) any effort to reduce the Federal gasoline tax

8 or de-link the relationship between highway user fees

9 and highway spending pose a great danger to the in10 tegrity of the Highway Trust Fund and the ability of

11 the States to invest adequately in our transportation

12 infrastructure; and

13 (5) proposals to reduce the Federal gasoline tax

14 threaten to endanger the spending levels guaranteed

15 in TEA–21 while providing no guarantee that con16 sumers will experience any reduction in price at the

17 gas pump.

18 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen19 ate that the functional totals in this budget resolution do

20 not assume the reduction of any Federal gasoline taxes on

21 either a temporary or permanent basis.

22 SEC. 332. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON THE INTERNAL COM23 BUSTION ENGINE.

24 It is the sense of the Senate that the levels in this reso25 lution assume that the Senate will not, on behalf of Vice
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1 President Al Gore, increase gasoline and diesel fuel taxes

2 by $1.50 per gallon effective July 1, 2000, and by an addi3 tional $1.50 per gallon effective fiscal year 2005, as part

4 of ‘‘a coordinated global program to accomplish the stra5 tegic goal of completely eliminating the internal combustion

6 engine over, say, a twenty-five year period’’ since ‘‘their

7 cumulative impact on the global environment is posing a

8 mortal threat to the security of every nation that is more

9 deadly than that of any military enemy we are ever again

10 likely to confront’’.

11 SEC. 333. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING THE ESTAB12 LISHMENT OF A NATIONAL BACKGROUND

13 CHECK SYSTEM FOR LONG-TERM CARE WORK14 ERS.

15 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate makes the following find16 ings:

17 (1) The impending retirement of the baby boom

18 generation will greatly increase the demand and need

19 for quality long-term care and it is incumbent on

20 Congress and the President to ensure that medicare

21 and medicaid patients are protected from abuse, ne22 glect, and mistreatment.

23 (2) Although the majority of long-term care fa24 cilities do an excellent job in caring for elderly and

25 disabled patients, incidents of abuse and neglect and
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1 mistreatment do occur at an unacceptable rate and

2 are not limited to nursing homes alone.

3 (3) Current Federal and State safeguards are in4 adequate because there is little or no information

5 sharing between States about known abusers and no

6 common State procedures for tracking abusers from

7 State to State and facility to facility.

8 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen9 ate that the assumptions underlying the functional totals

10 in this concurrent resolution on the budget assume that a

11 national registry of abusive long-term care workers should

12 be established by building upon existing infrastructures at

13 the Federal and State levels that would enable long-term

14 care providers who participate in the medicare and med15 icaid programs to conduct background checks on prospective

16 employees.

17 SEC. 334. SENSE OF THE SENATE CONCERNING THE PRICE

18 OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS IN THE UNITED

19 STATES.

20 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate makes the following find21 ings:

22 (1) Today, two-thirds of senior citizens in the

23 United States have access to prescription drugs

24 through health insurance coverage.
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1 (2) However, it is difficult for many Americans,

2 including senior citizens, to afford the prescription

3 drugs that they need to stay healthy.

4 (3) Many senior citizens in the United States

5 leave the country and go to Canada or Mexico to buy

6 prescription drugs that are developed, manufactured,

7 and approved in the United States in order to buy

8 such drugs at lower prices than such drugs are sold

9 for in the United States.

10 (4) According to the General Accounting Office,

a consumer in the United States pays on average 1 11 ⁄3

12 more for a prescription drug than a consumer pays

13 for the same drug in another country.

14 (5) The United States has made a strong com15 mitment to supporting the research and development

16 of new drugs through taxpayer-supported funding of

17 the National Institutes of Health, through the research

18 and development tax credit, and through other means.

19 (6) The development of new drugs is important

20 because the use of such drugs enables people to live

21 longer and lead healthier, more productive lives.

22 (7) Citizens of other countries should pay a por23 tion of the research and development costs for new

24 drugs, or their fair share of such costs, rather than

25 just reap the benefits of such drugs.
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1 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen2 ate that the budgetary levels in this resolution assume that

3 the cost disparity between identical prescription drugs sold

4 in the United States, Canada, and Mexico should be reduced

5 or eliminated.

6 SEC. 335. SENSE OF THE SENATE AGAINST FEDERAL FUND7 ING OF SMOKE SHOPS.

8 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate makes the following find9 ings:

10 (1) Smoking begun by children during their teen

11 years and even earlier turns the lives of far too many

12 Americans into nightmares decades later, plagued by

13 disease and premature death.

14 (2) The Federal Government should leave a leg15 acy of more healthy Americans and fewer victims of

16 tobacco-related illness.

17 (3) Efforts by the Federal Government should

18 seek to protect young people from the dangers of smok19 ing.

20 (4) Discount tobacco stores, sometimes known as

21 smoke shops, operate to sell high volumes of cigarettes

22 and other tobacco products, often at significantly re23 duced prices, with each tobacco outlet often selling

24 millions of discount cigarettes each year.
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1 (5) Studies by the Surgeon General and the Cen2 ters for Disease Control and Prevention demonstrate

3 that children are particularly susceptible to price dif4 ferentials in cigarettes, such as those available

5 through smoke shop discounts.

6 (6) The Department of Housing and Urban De7 velopment is using Federal funds for grants to con8 struct not less than 6 smoke shops or facilities that

9 contain a smoke shop.

10 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen11 ate that the budget levels in this resolution assume that no

12 Federal funds may be used by the Department of Housing

13 and Urban Development to provide any grant or other as14 sistance to construct, operate, or otherwise benefit a smoke

15 shop or other tobacco outlet.

16 SEC. 336. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING THE NEED TO

17 REDUCE GUN VIOLENCE IN AMERICA.

18 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds the following:

19 (1) On average, 12 children die from gun fire ev20 eryday in America.

21 (2) On May 20, 1999, the Senate passed the Vio22 lent and Repeat Offender Accountability and Reha23 bilitation Act, by a vote of 73 to 25, in part, to stem

24 gun-related violence in the United States.
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1 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen2 ate that the levels in function 750 of this resolution assume

3 that Congress should—

4 (1) pass the conference report to accompany

5 H.R. 1501, the Violent and Repeat Juvenile Offender

6 Accountability and Rehabilitation Act, including

7 Senate-passed provisions, with the purpose of limiting

8 access to firearms by juveniles, convicted felons, and

9 other persons prohibited by law from purchasing or

10 possessing firearms; and

11 (2) consider H.R. 1501 not later than April 20,

12 2000.

13 SEC. 337. SENSE OF THE SENATE SUPPORTING ADDITIONAL

14 FUNDING FOR FISCAL YEAR 2001 FOR MED15 ICAL CARE FOR OUR NATION’S VETERANS.

16 (a) It is the sense of the Senate that the provisions

17 in this resolution assume that if the Congressional Budget

18 Office determines there is an on-budget surplus for fiscal

19 year 2001, $500,000,000 of that surplus will be restored to

20 the programs cut in this amendment.

21 (b) It is the sense of the Senate that the assumptions

22 underlying this budget resolution assume that none of these

23 offsets will come from defense or veterans, and to the extent

24 possible should come from administrative functions.
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1 SEC. 338. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING MEDICAL

2 CARE FOR VETERANS.

3 It is the sense of the Senate that—

4 (1) the provisions of this resolution assume that

5 if the Congressional Budget Office determines there is

6 an on-budget surplus for fiscal year 2001,

7 $500,000,000 of that surplus will be restored to the

8 programs cut by this amendment; and

9 (2) the assumptions underlying this resolution

10 assume that none of the offsets made by this amend11 ment will come from defense or veterans and should,

12 to the extent possible, come from administrative func13 tions.

14 SEC. 339. SENSE OF THE SENATE CONCERNING INVEST15 MENT OF SOCIAL SECURITY TRUST FUNDS.

16 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds that—

17 (1) Government investment of the Social Secu18 rity trust funds in the stock market is a gamble Con19 gress should be unwilling to make on behalf of the

20 millions who receive and depend on Social Security

21 to meet their retirement needs;

22 (2) in 1999, the Senate voted 99–0 to oppose

23 Government investment of the Social Security trust

24 funds in private financial markets;

25 (3) in addition to the unanimous opposition of

26 the United States Senate, Federal Reserve Chairman
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1 Alan Greenspan and Securities and Exchange Com2 missioner Arthur Levitt also oppose the idea; and

3 (4) despite this opposition, and despite the dan4 gers inherent in having the Government invest Social

5 Security trust funds in private financial markets,

6 President Clinton has once again suggested, on page

7 37 of the Administration’s proposed fiscal year 2001

8 Federal budget, that the Government invest part of

9 the Social Security trust funds in corporate equities.

10 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen11 ate that the assumptions underlying the functional totals

12 in this resolution assume that the Federal Government

13 should not directly invest contributions made to the Federal

14 Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Fed15 eral Disability Insurance Trust Fund established under sec16 tion 201 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401), or any

17 interest derived from those contributions, in private finan18 cial markets.

19 SEC. 340. SENSE OF THE SENATE CONCERNING DIGITAL OP20 PORTUNITY.

21 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate makes the following find22 ings:

23 (1) A digital divide exists in America. Low-in24 come, urban and rural families are less likely to have

25 access to the Internet and computers. African Amer-
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ican and Hispanic families are only 2 1 ⁄5 as likely to

2 have Internet access as white families. Access by Na3 tive Americans to the Internet and to computers is

4 statistically negligible.

5 (2) Regardless of income level, Americans living

6 in rural areas lag behind in Internet access. Individ7 uals with lower incomes who live in rural areas are

8 half as likely to have Internet access as individuals

9 who live in urban areas.

10 (3) The digital divide for the poorest Americans

11 has grown by 29 percent since 1997.

12 (4) Access to computers and the Internet and the

13 ability to use this technology effectively is becoming

14 increasingly important for full participation in

15 America’s economic, political and social life.

16 (5) Unequal access to technology and high-tech

17 skills by income, educational level, race and geog18 raphy could deepen and reinforce the divisions that

19 exist within American society.

20 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen21 ate that the functional totals underlying this resolution on

22 the budget assume that—

23 (1) to ensure that all children are computer lit24 erate by the time they finish the eighth grade, regard25 less of race, ethnicity, gender, income, geography or
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1 disability, to broaden access to information tech2 nologies, to provide workers, teachers and students

3 with information technology training, and to promote

4 innovative online content and software applications

5 that will improve commerce, education and quality of

6 life, initiatives that increase digital opportunity

7 should be provided for as follows:

8 (A) $200,000,000 in tax incentives should

9 be provided to encourage private sector donation

10 of high-quality computers, sponsorship of com11 munity technology centers, training, technical

12 services and computer repair;

13 (B) $450,000,000 should be provided for

14 teacher training;

15 (C) $150,000,000 for new teacher training;

16 (D) $400,000,000 should be provided for

17 school technology and school libraries;

18 (E) $20,000,000 should be provided to place

19 computers and trained personnel in Boys &

20 Girls Clubs;

21 (F) $25,000,000 should be provided to create

22 an E-Corps within Americorps;

23 (G) $100,000,000 should be provided to cre24 ate 1,000 Community Technology Centers in

25 low-income urban and rural communities;
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1 (H) $50,000,000 should be provided for pub2 lic/private partnerships to expand home access to

3 computers and the Internet for low-income fami4 lies;

5 (I) $45,000,000 should be provided to pro6 mote innovative applications of information and

7 communications technology for underserved com8 munities;

9 (J) $10,000,000 should be provided to pre10 pare Native Americans for careers in Informa11 tion Technology and other technical fields; and

12 (2) all Americans should have access to

13 broadband telecommunications capability as soon as

14 possible and as such, initiatives that increase

15 broadband deployment should be funded, including

16 $25,000,000 to accelerate private sector deployment of

17 broadband and networks in underserved urban and

18 rural communities.

19 SEC. 341. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON MEDICARE PRESCRIP20 TION DRUGS.

21 It is the sense of the Senate that the levels in this budg22 et resolution assume that among its reform options, Con23 gress should explore a medicare prescription drug proposal

24 that—

25 (1) is voluntary;
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1 (2) increases access for all medicare beneficiaries;

2 (3) is designed to provide meaningful protection

3 and bargaining power for medicare beneficiaries in

4 obtaining prescription drugs;

5 (4) is affordable for all medicare beneficiaries

6 and for the medicare program;

7 (5) is administered using private sector entities

8 and competitive purchasing techniques;

9 (6) is consistent with broader medicare reform;

10 (7) preserves and protects the financial integrity

11 of the medicare trust funds;

12 (8) does not increase medicare beneficiary pre13 miums; and

14 (9) provides a prescription drug benefit as soon

15 as possible.

16 SEC. 342. SENSE OF THE SENATE CONCERNING FUNDING

17 FOR NEW EDUCATION PROGRAMS.

18 It is the sense of the Senate that the budgetary levels

19 in this resolution assume that Congress’ first priority

20 should be to fully fund the programs described under part

21 B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20

22 U.S.C. 1411 et seq.) at the originally promised level of 40

23 percent before Federal funds are appropriated for new edu24 cation programs.
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1 SEC. 343. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING ENFORCE2 MENT OF FEDERAL FIREARMS LAWS.

3 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate makes the following find4 ings:

5 (1) The Clinton Administration has failed to

6 adequately enforce Federal firearms laws. Between

7 1992 and 1998, Triggerlock gun prosecutions—pros8 ecutions of defendants who use a firearm in the com9 mission of a felony—dropped nearly 50 percent, from

10 7,045 to approximately 3,800.

11 (2) The decline in Federal firearms prosecutions

12 was not due to a lack of adequate resources. During

13 the period when Federal firearms prosecutions de14 creased nearly 50 percent, the overall budget of the

15 Department of Justice increased 54 percent.

16 (3) It is a Federal crime to possess a firearm on

17 school grounds under section 922(q) of title 18,

18 United States Code. The Clinton Department of Jus19 tice prosecuted only 8 cases under this provision of

20 law during 1998, even though more than 6,000 stu21 dents brought firearms to school that year. The Clin22 ton Administration prosecuted only 5 such cases dur23 ing 1997.

24 (4) It is a Federal crime to transfer a firearm

25 to a juvenile under section 922(x) of title 18, United

26 States Code. The Clinton Department of Justice pros-
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1 ecuted only 6 cases under this provision of law during

2 1998 and only 5 during 1997.

3 (5) It is a Federal crime to transfer or possess

4 a semiautomatic assault weapon under section 922(v)

5 of title 18, United States Code. The Clinton Depart6 ment of Justice prosecuted only 4 cases under this

7 provision of law during 1998 and only 4 during

8 1997.

9 (6) It is a Federal crime for any person ‘‘who

10 has been adjudicated as a mental defective or who has

11 been committed to a mental institution’’ to possess or

12 purchase a firearm under section 922(g) of title 18,

13 United States Code. Despite this Federal law, mental

14 health adjudications are not placed on the national

15 instant criminal background system established under

16 section 103(b) of the Brady Handgun Violence Pre17 vention Act (18 U.S.C. 922 note).

18 (7) It is a Federal crime for any person know19 ingly to make any false statement in the attempted

20 purchase of a firearm under section 922(a)(6) of title

21 18, United States Code. It is also a Federal crime for

22 convicted felons to possess or purchase a firearm

23 under section 922(g) of title 18, United States Code.

24 (8) More than 500,000 convicted felons and other

25 prohibited purchasers have been prevented from buy-
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1 ing firearms from licensed dealers since the Brady

2 Handgun Violence Prevention Act was enacted. When

3 these felons attempted to purchase a firearm, they vio4 lated section 922(a)(6) of title 18, United States Code,

5 by making a false statement under oath that they

6 were not disqualified from purchasing a firearm.

7 Nonetheless, of the more than 500,000 violations, only

8 approximately 200 of the felons have been referred to

9 the Department of Justice for prosecution.

10 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen11 ate that the assumptions underlying the functional totals

12 in this concurrent resolution on the budget assume that Fed13 eral funds will be used for an effective law enforcement

14 strategy requiring a commitment to enforcing existing Fed15 eral firearms laws by—

16 (1) designating not less than 1 Assistant United

17 States Attorney in each district to prosecute Federal

18 firearms violations and thereby expand Project Exile

19 nationally;

20 (2) upgrading the national instant criminal

21 background system established under section 103(b) of

22 the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (18

23 U.S.C. 922 note) by encouraging States to place men24 tal health adjudications on that system and by im-
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1 proving the overall speed and efficiency of that sys2 tem; and

3 (3) providing incentive grants to States to en4 courage States to impose mandatory minimum sen5 tences for firearm offenses based on section 924(c) of

6 title 18, United States Code, and to prosecute those of7 fenses in State court.

8 SEC. 344. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING THE CENSUS.

9 It is the sense of the Senate that the levels in this reso10 lution and legislation enacted pursuant to this resolution

11 assume that no American will be prosecuted, fined or in

12 anyway harassed by the Federal Government or its agents

13 for failure to respond to any census questions which refer

14 to an individual’s race, national origin, living conditions,

15 personal habits or mental and/or physical condition, but

16 that all Americans are encouraged to send in their census

17 forms.

18 SEC. 345. SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT ANY INCREASE IN

19 THE MINIMUM WAGE SHOULD BE ACCOM20 PANIED BY TAX RELIEF FOR SMALL BUSI21 NESSES.

22 It is the sense of the Senate that the functional totals

23 underlying this resolution on the budget assume that the

24 minimum wage should be increased as provided for in
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1 amendment number 2547, the Domenici and others amend2 ment to S. 625, the Bankruptcy Reform legislation.

3 SEC. 346. SENSE OF THE SENATE CONCERNING THE MIN4 IMUM WAGE.

5 It is the sense of the Senate that the levels in this reso6 lution assume that Congress should enact legislation to

7 amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C.

8 201 et seq.) to increase the Federal minimum wage by $1.00

9 over 1 year with a $0.50 increase effective May 2, 2000

10 and another $0.50 increase effective on May 2, 2001.

11 SEC. 347. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING FUNDING FOR

12 THE PARTICIPATION OF MEMBERS OF THE

13 UNIFORMED SERVICES IN THE THRIFT SAV14 INGS PLAN.

15 It is the sense of Congress that the levels of funding

16 for the defense category in this resolution—

17 (1) assume that members of the Armed Forces

18 are to be authorized to participate in the Thrift Sav19 ings Plan; and

20 (2) provide the $980,000,000 necessary to offset

21 the reduced tax revenue resulting from that participa22 tion through fiscal year 2009.
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1 SEC. 348. SENSE OF THE SENATE CONCERNING PRO2 TECTING THE SOCIAL SECURITY TRUST

3 FUNDS.

4 It is the sense of the Senate that the levels in this reso5 lution assume that the Congress shall pass legislation which

6 provides for sequestration to reduce Federal spending by the

7 amount necessary to ensure that, in any fiscal year, the

8 Social Security surpluses are used only for the payment

9 of Social Security benefits, retirement security, Social Secu10 rity reform, or to reduce the Federal debt held by the public.

11 SEC. 349. SENSE OF THE SENATE CONCERNING REGULA12 TION OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS.

13 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate makes the following find14 ings:

15 (1) Cigarette smoking and tobacco use is the sin16 gle most preventable cause of death and disability in

17 the United States.

18 (2) Cigarette smoking and tobacco use cause ap19 proximately 400,000 deaths each year in the United

20 States.

21 (3) Health care costs associated with treating to22 bacco-related diseases are $80,000,000,000 per year,

23 and almost half of such costs are paid for by tax24 payer-financed government health care programs.

25 (4) In spite of the well established dangers of cig26 arette smoking and tobacco use, there is no Federal
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1 agency that has authority to regulate the manufac2 ture, sale, distribution, and use of tobacco products.

3 (5) Major tobacco companies spend over

4 $5,600,000,000 each year ($15,000,000 each day) to

5 promote the use of tobacco products.

6 (6) Ninety percent of adult smokers first started

7 smoking before the age of 18.

8 (7) Each day 3,000 children become regular

smokers and 1 9 ⁄3 of such children will die of diseases

10 associated with the use of tobacco products.

11 (8) The Food and Drug Administration regulates

12 the manufacture, sale, distribution, and use of nico13 tine-containing products used as substitutes for ciga14 rette smoking and tobacco use and should be granted

15 the authority to regulate tobacco products.

16 (9) Congress should restrict youth access to to17 bacco products and ensure that tobacco products meet

18 minimum safety standards.

19 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen20 ate that the budgetary levels in this resolution assume

21 that—

22 (1) the Food and Drug Administration is the

23 most qualified Federal agency to regulate tobacco

24 products; and
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1 (2) Congress should enact legislation in the year

2 2000 that grants the Food and Drug Administration

3 the authority to regulate tobacco products.

4 SEC. 350. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING AFTER

5 SCHOOL PROGRAMS.

6 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate makes the following find7 ings:

8 (1) The demand for after school education is very

9 high, with more than 1,000,000 students waiting to

10 get into such programs.

11 (2) After school programs improve educational

12 achievement and have widespread support, with over

13 90 percent of the American people supporting such

14 programs.

15 (3) 450 of the Nation’s leading police chiefs,

16 sheriffs, and prosecutors, along with the presidents of

17 the Fraternal Order of Police, and the International

18 Union of Police Associations, support government

19 funding of after school programs.

20 (4) Many of our Nation’s governors endorse in21 creasing the number of after school programs through

22 a Federal and State partnership.

23 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen24 ate that this resolution assumes that the President’s level

25 of funding for after school programs in fiscal year 2001 will
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1 be provided, which will accommodate the current need for

2 after school programs.

3 SEC. 351. SENSE OF SENATE REGARDING CASH BALANCE

4 PENSION PLAN CONVERSIONS.

5 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds the following:

6 (1) Defined benefit pension plans are guaranteed

7 by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and

8 provide a lifetime benefit for a beneficiary and

9 spouse.

10 (2) Defined benefit pension plans provide mean11 ingful retirement benefits to rank and file workers,

12 since such plans are generally funded by employer

13 contributions.

14 (3) Employers should be encouraged to establish

15 and maintain defined benefit pension plans.

16 (4) An increasing number of major employers

17 have been converting their traditional defined benefit

18 plans to ‘‘cash balance’’ or other hybrid defined ben19 efit plans.

20 (5) Under current law, employers are not re21 quired to provide plan participants with meaningful

22 disclosure of the impact of converting a traditional

23 defined benefit plan to a ‘‘cash balance’’ or other hy24 brid formula.
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1 (6) For a number of years after a conversion, the

2 cash balance or other hybrid benefit formula may re3 sult in a period of ‘‘wear away’’ during which older

4 and longer service participants earn no additional

5 benefits.

6 (7) Federal law should continue to prohibit pen7 sion plan participants from being discriminated

8 against on the basis of age in the provision of pension

9 benefits.

10 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen11 ate that the levels in this resolution assume that pension

12 plan participants whose plans are changed to cause older

13 or longer service workers to earn less retirement income, in14 cluding conversions to ‘‘cash balance plans,’’ should receive

15 additional protection than what is currently provided, and

16 Congress should act this year to address this important

17 issue. In particular, at a minimum—

18 (1) all pension plan participants should receive

19 adequate, accurate, and timely notice of any change

20 to a plan that will cause participants to earn less re21 tirement income in the future; and

22 (2) pension plans that are changed to a cash bal23 ance or other hybrid formula should not be permitted

24 to ‘‘wear away’’ participants’ benefits in such a man25 ner that older and longer service participants earn no
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1 additional pension benefits for a period of time after

2 the change.

3 SEC. 352. SENSE OF THE SENATE CONCERNING UNINSURED

4 AND LOW-INCOME INDIVIDUALS IN MEDI5 CALLY UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES.

6 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds that—

7 (1) the uninsured population in the United

8 States continues to grow at over 100,000 individuals

9 per month, and is estimated to reach over 53,000,000

10 people by 2007;

11 (2) the growth in the uninsured population con12 tinues despite public and private efforts to increase

13 health insurance coverage;

14 (3) nearly 80 percent of the uninsured popu15 lation are members of working families who cannot

16 afford health insurance or cannot access employer17 provided health insurance plans;

18 (4) minority populations, rural residents, and

19 single-parent families represent a disproportionate

20 number of the uninsured population;

21 (5) the problem of health care access for the un22 insured population is compounded in many urban

23 and rural communities by a lack of providers who are

24 available to serve both insured and uninsured popu25 lations;
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1 (6) community, migrant, homeless, and public

2 housing health centers have proven uniquely qualified

3 to address the lack of adequate health care services for

4 uninsured populations, serving over 4,500,000 unin5 sured patients in 1999, including over 1,000,000 new

6 uninsured patients who have sought care from such

7 centers in the last 3 years;

8 (7) health centers care for nearly 7,000,000 mi9 norities, nearly 600,000 farmworkers, and more than

10 500,000 homeless individuals each year;

11 (8) health centers provide cost-effective com12 prehensive primary and preventive care to uninsured

13 individuals for less than $1.00 per day, or $350 an14 nually, and help to reduce the inappropriate use of

15 costly emergency rooms and inpatient hospital care;

16 (9) current resources only allow health centers to

17 serve 10 percent of the Nation’s 44,000,000 uninsured

18 individuals;

19 (10) past investments to increase health center

20 access have resulted in better health, an improved

21 quality of life for all Americans, and a reduction in

22 national health care expenditures; and

23 (11) Congress can act now to increase access to

24 health care services for uninsured and low-income

25 people together with or in advance of health care cov-
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1 erage proposals by expanding the availability of serv2 ices at community, migrant, homeless, and public

3 housing health centers.

4 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen5 ate that the functional totals underlying this resolution on

6 the budget assume that—

7 (1) appropriations for consolidated health centers

8 under section 330 of the Public Health Service Act

9 (42 U.S.C. 254b) should be increased by 100 percent

10 over the next 5 fiscal years in order to double the

11 number of individuals who receive health care services

12 at community, migrant, homeless, and public housing

13 health centers; and

14 (2) appropriations for consolidated health centers

15 should be increased by $150,000,000 in fiscal year

16 2001 over the amount appropriated for such centers

17 in fiscal year 2000.

18 SEC. 353. SENSE OF THE SENATE CONCERNING FISCAL

19 YEAR 2001 FUNDING FOR THE UNITED STATES

20 COAST GUARD.

21 (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate makes the following find22 ings:

23 (1) The United States Coast Guard in 1999

24 saved approximately 3,800 lives in providing the es25 sential service of maritime safety.
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1 (2) The United States Coast Guard in 1999 pre2 vented 111,689 pounds of cocaine and 28,872 pounds

3 of marijuana from entering the United States in pro4 viding the essential service of maritime security.

5 (3) The United States Coast Guard in 1999

6 boarded more than 14,000 fishing vessels to check for

7 compliance with safety and environmental laws in

8 providing the essential service of the protection of nat9 ural resources.

10 (4) The United States Coast Guard in 1999 en11 sured the safe passage of nearly 1,000,000 commercial

12 vessel transits through congested harbors with vessel

13 traffic services in providing the essential service of

14 maritime mobility.

15 (5) The United States Coast Guard in 1999 sent

16 international training teams to help more than 50

17 countries develop their maritime services in providing

18 the essential service national defense.

19 (6) Each year, the United States Coast Guard

20 ensures the safe passage of more than 200,000,000

21 tons of cargo cross the Great Lakes including iron ore,

22 coal, and limestone. Shipping on the Great Lakes

23 faces a unique challenge because the shipping season

24 begins and ends in ice anywhere from 3 to 15 feet

25 thick. The ice-breaking vessel MACKINAW has al-
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1 lowed commerce to continue under these conditions.

2 However, the productive life of the MACKINAW is

3 nearing an end. The Coast Guard has committed to

4 keeping the vessel in service until 2006 when a re5 placement vessel is projected to be in service, but to

6 meet that deadline, funds must be provided for the

7 Coast Guard in fiscal year 2001 to provide for the

8 procurement of a multipurpose-design heavy ice9 breaker.

10 (7) Without adequate funding, the United States

11 Coast Guard would have to radically reduce the level

12 of service it provides to the American public.

13 (b) ADJUSTMENT IN BUDGET LEVELS.—

14 (1) INCREASE IN FUNDING FOR TRANSPOR15 TATION.—Notwithstanding any other provision of this

16 resolution, the amounts specified in section 103(8) of

17 this resolution for budget authority and outlays for

18 Transportation (budget function 400) for fiscal year

19 2001 shall be increased as follows:

20 (A) The amount of budget authority for that

21 fiscal year, by $300,000,000.

22 (B) The amount of outlays for that fiscal

23 year, by $300,000,000.

24 (2) OFFSETTING DECREASE IN FUNDING FOR AL25 LOWANCES.—Notwithstanding any other provision of
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1 this resolution, the amounts specified in section

2 103(19) of this resolution for budget authority and

3 outlays for Allowances (budget function 920) for fiscal

4 year 2001 shall be decreased as follows:

5 (A) The amount of budget authority for that

6 fiscal year, by $300,000,000.

7 (B) The amount of outlays for that fiscal

8 year, by $300,000,000.

9 (c) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Sen10 ate that—

11 (1) the provisions of this resolution, as modified

12 by subsection (b), should provide additional budget

13 authority and outlay authority for the United States

14 Coast Guard for fiscal year 2001 such that the

15 amount of such authority in fiscal year 2001 exceeds

16 the amount of such authority for fiscal year 2000 by

17 $300,000,000; and

18 (2) any level of such authority in fiscal year

19 2001 below the level described in paragraph (1) would

20 require the Coast Guard to—

21 (A) close numerous stations and utilize re22 maining assets only for emergency situations;

23 (B) reduce the number of personnel of an

24 already streamlined workforce;
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1 (C) curtail its capacity to carry out emer2 gency search and rescue; and

3 (D) reduce operations in a manner that

4 would have a detrimental impact on the sustain5 ability of valuable fish stocks in the North Atlan6 tic and Pacific Northwest and its capacity to

7 stem the flow of illicit drugs and illegal immi8 gration into the United States.

Attest:

Secretary.
106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 290

AMENDMENT
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