I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 323

To require the Congress and the President to use the spending levels for

the current fiscal year (without adjustment for inflation) in the preparation of the budget for each new fiscal year in order to clearly identify

spending increases from one fiscal year to the next fiscal year.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 5, 1993

Mr. RAMSTAD introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the

Committees on Government Operations and Rules

A BILL

To require the Congress and the President to use the spending levels for the current fiscal year (without adjustment

for inflation) in the preparation of the budget for each

new fiscal year in order to clearly identify spending increases from one fiscal year to the next fiscal year.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Common Sense Budget

5 Act of 1993’’.
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1 SEC. 2. THE PRESIDENT’S BUDGET.

2 Paragraph (5) of section 1105(a) of title 31, United

3 States Code, is amended to read as follows:

4 ‘‘(5) except as provided in subsection (b) of this

5 section—

6 ‘‘(A) estimated expenditures and proposed

7 appropriations for each function and

8 subfunction in the current fiscal year;

9 ‘‘(B) estimated expenditures and proposed

10 appropriations the President decides are nec11 essary to support the Government for each

12 function and subfunction in the fiscal year for

13 which the budget is submitted; and

14 ‘‘(C) a comparison of levels of estimated

15 expenditures and proposed appropriations for

16 each function and subfunction in the current

17 fiscal year and the fiscal year for which the

18 budget is submitted, along with the proposed

19 increase or decrease of spending in percentage

20 terms for each function and subfunction;’’.

21 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET.

22 Section 301(e) of the Congressional Budget Act of

23 1974 is amended by—

24 (1) inserting after the second sentence the fol25 lowing: ‘‘The starting point for any deliberations in

26 the Committee on the Budget of each House on the
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1 concurrent resolution on the budget for the next fis2 cal year shall be the estimated level of outlays for

3 the current year in each function and subfunction.

4 Any increases or decreases in the Congressional

5 budget for the next fiscal year shall be from such es6 timated levels.’’;

7 (2) striking paragraphs (2) and (3) and insert8 ing the following:

9 ‘‘(2) a comparison of levels for the current fis10 cal year with proposed spending for the subsequent

11 fiscal years along with the proposed increase or de12 crease of spending in percentage terms for each

13 function and subfunction;

14 ‘‘(3) information, data, and comparisons indi15 cating the manner in which and the basis on which,

16 the committee determined each of the matters set

17 forth in the concurrent resolution, including infor18 mation on outlays for the current fiscal year and the

19 decisions reached to set funding for the subsequent

20 fiscal years;’’;

21 (3) inserting ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in para22 graph (7);

23 (4) striking paragraph (8); and

24 (5) redesignating paragraph (9) as paragraph

25 (8).
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1 SEC. 4. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE REPORT TO

2 COMMITTEES.

3 The first sentence of section 202(f)(1) of the Con4 gressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended to read as fol5 lows: ‘‘On or before February 15 of each year, the Direc6 tor shall submit to the Committees on the Budget of the

7 House of Representatives and the Senate a report, for the

8 fiscal year commencing on October 1 of that year, with

9 respect to fiscal policy, including (A) estimated budget

10 outlays in all functions and subfunctions for appropriated

11 accounts for the current fiscal year and estimated budget

12 outlays under current law for all entitlement programs for

13 the next fiscal year, (B) alternative levels of total reve14 nues, total new budget authority, and total outlays (in15 cluding related surpluses and deficits), and (C) the levels

16 of tax expenditures under existing law, taking into account

17 projected economic factors and any changes in such levels

18 based on proposals in the budget submitted by the Presi19 dent for such fiscal year.’’.

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