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Calendar No. 89

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 557

To provide guidance for the designation of emergencies as a part of the

budget process.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 8, 1999

Mr. THOMPSON, from the Committee on Governmental Affairs, reported the

following original bill; which was read twice and placed on the calendar

MARCH 11, 1999

Referred pursuant to the order of August 4, 1977, to the Committee on the

Budget for a period not to exceed thirty calendar days to report or be

discharged

APRIL 12, 1999

Committee discharged pursuant to the order of August 4, 1977, and placed

on the calendar

A BILL

To provide guidance for the designation of emergencies as

a part of the budget process.

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

3 SECTION 1. EMERGENCY DESIGNATION GUIDANCE.

4 The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended—
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1 (1) by adding at the end of title III the fol2 lowing:

3 ‘‘SEC. 318. EMERGENCY LEGISLATION.

4 ‘‘(a) DESIGNATIONS.—

5 ‘‘(1) GUIDANCE.—In making a designation of a

6 provision of legislation as an emergency requirement

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

8 Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control

9 Act of 1985—

10 ‘‘(A) the President shall submit a message

11 to the Congress analyzing whether a proposed

12 emergency requirement meets all the criteria in

13 paragraph (2); and

14 ‘‘(B) the committee report, and any state15 ment of managers if any, accompanying that

16 legislation shall analyze whether a proposed

17 emergency requirement meets all the criteria in

18 paragraph (2).

19 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA.—

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The criteria to be con21 sidered in determining whether a proposed ex22 penditure or tax change is an emergency re23 quirement are whether it is—

24 ‘‘(i) necessary, essential, or vital (not

25 merely useful or beneficial);
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S 557 PC2

1 ‘‘(ii) sudden, quickly coming into

2 being, and not building up over time;

3 ‘‘(iii) an urgent, pressing, and compel4 ling need requiring immediate action;

5 ‘‘(iv) subject to subparagraph (B), un6 foreseen, unpredictable, and unanticipated;

7 and

8 ‘‘(v) not permanent, temporary in na9 ture.

10 ‘‘(B) UNFORESEEN.—An emergency that

11 is part of an aggregate level of anticipated

12 emergencies, particularly when normally esti13 mated in advance, is not unforeseen.

14 ‘‘(3) JUSTIFICATION FOR FAILURE TO MEET

15 CRITERIA.—If the proposed emergency requirement

16 does not meet all the criteria set forth in paragraph

17 (2), the President, the committee report, or the

18 statement of managers, as the case may be, shall

19 provide a written justification of why the require20 ment should be accorded emergency status.

21 ‘‘(b) POINT OF ORDER.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—When the Senate is consid23 ering a bill, resolution, amendment, motion, or con24 ference report, upon a point of order being made by

25 a Senator against any provision in that measure des-
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S 557 PC2

1 ignated as an emergency requirement pursuant to

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

3 Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985

4 and the Presiding Officer sustains that point of

5 order, that provision along with the language mak6 ing the designation shall be stricken from the meas7 ure and may not be offered as an amendment from

8 the floor.

9 ‘‘(2) GENERAL POINT OF ORDER.—A point of

10 order under this subsection may be raised by a Sen11 ator as provided in section 313(e).

12 ‘‘(3) CONFERENCE REPORTS.—If a point of

13 order is sustained under this subsection against a

14 conference report the report shall be disposed of as

15 provided in section 313(d).’’; and

16 (2) in the table of contents in section 1(a), by

17 adding after the item for section 317 the following:

‘‘318. Emergency legislation.’’.

Calendar No. 89

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 557

A BILL

To provide guidance for the designation of

emergencies as a part of the budget process.

APRIL 12, 1999

Committee discharged pursuant to the order of August 4,

1977, and placed on the calendar