II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 207

A bill to review, reform, and terminate unnecessary and inequitable Federal

subsidies.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 28, 1997

Mr. MCCAIN (for himself, Mr. THOMPSON, Mr. KERRY, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mr.

KENNEDY, Mr. COATS, Mr. GLENN, Mr. LIEBERMAN, and Mr.

BROWNBACK) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs

A BILL

A bill to review, reform, and terminate unnecessary and

inequitable Federal subsidies.

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 ‘‘Corporate Subsidy Re5 form Commission Act of 1997’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds that—
2

•S 207 IS

1 (1) Federal subsidies, including tax advantages,

2 which may have been enacted with a valid purpose

3 for specific industries or industry segments can—

4 (A) fall subject to abuse, causing unantici5 pated and unjustified windfalls to some indus6 tries and industry segments; or

7 (B) become obsolete, anticompetitive, or no

8 longer in the public interest, making such sub9 sidies unnecessary or undesired;

10 (2) it is unfair to force the United States tax11 payer to support unnecessary subsidies, including

12 tax advantages, that do not provide a substantial

13 public benefit or serve the public interest;

14 (3) the Congress and the President have been

15 unable to evaluate methodically those Federal sub16 sidies that are unfair and unnecessary and require

17 reform or elimination; and

18 (4) a Commission to advise the President and

19 Congress is essential to a comprehensive review of

20 such unfair corporate subsidies and to the reform or

21 elimination of such subsidies.

22 SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

23 The purpose of this Act is to establish a fair and de24 liberative process that will result in the timely identifica25 tion, review, and reform or elimination of unnecessary and
3

•S 207 IS

1 inequitable subsidies, including tax advantages, provided

2 by the Federal Government to entities or industries en3 gaged in profitmaking enterprises.

4 SEC. 4. DEFINITION.

5 For purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘inequitable Fed6 eral subsidy’’ means a payment, benefit, service, or tax

7 advantage that—

8 (1) is provided by the Federal Government to

9 any corporation, partnership, joint venture, associa10 tion, or business trust, not to include—

11 (A) a nonprofit organization described

12 under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue

13 Code of 1986 that is exempt from taxation

14 under section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue

15 Code of 1986; or

16 (B) a State or local government or Indian

17 Tribe;

18 (2) is provided without a reasonable expecta19 tion, demonstrated with the use of reliable perform20 ance criteria, that actions or activities undertaken or

21 performed in return for such payment, benefit, serv22 ice, or tax advantage would result in a return or

23 benefit, quantifiable or nonquantifiable, to the public

24 at least as great as the payment, benefit, service, or

25 tax advantage;
4

•S 207 IS

1 (3) provides an unfair competitive advantage or

2 financial windfall; and

3 (4) shall not include a payment, benefit, service,

4 or tax advantage that—

5 (A)(i) is awarded for the purposes of re6 search and development in the broad public in7 terest on the basis of a peer reviewed or other

8 open, competitive, merit-based procedure;

9 (ii) is for a purpose consistent with the

10 mission of the agency;

11 (iii) supports competing technologies at

12 levels appropriate to their potential, as deter13 mined by an appropriate priority setting proc14 ess; and

15 (iv) is for research and development that

16 the private sector cannot reasonably be ex17 pected to undertake without Federal support at

18 a level or in a time frame consistent with the

19 payment, benefit, service, or tax advantage’s po20 tential to provide broad economic or other pub21 lic benefit;

22 (B) primarily benefits public health, safety,

23 the environment, or education;

24 (C) is necessary to comply with inter25 national trade or treaty obligations;
5

•S 207 IS

1 (D) is certified by the United States Trade

2 Representative as specifically intended and as

3 substantially needed to protect the foreign trade

4 interests of the United States; or

5 (E) is for the purpose of procurement of

6 property or services by the United States Gov7 ernment.

8 SEC. 5. THE COMMISSION.

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an inde10 pendent commission to be known as the ‘‘Corporate Sub11 sidy Reform Commission’’ (hereafter in this Act, referred

12 to as the ‘‘Commission’’).

13 (b) DUTIES.—The Commission shall—

14 (1) examine the programs and tax laws of the

15 Federal Government and identify programs and tax

16 laws that provide inequitable Federal subsidies;

17 (2) review inequitable Federal subsidies; and

18 (3) submit the report required under section

19 6(b) to the President and the Congress.

20 (c) LIMITATIONS.—

21 (1) CREATION OF NEW PROGRAMS OR TAXES.—

22 This Act is not intended to result in the creation of

23 new programs or taxes, and the Commission estab24 lished in this section shall limit its activities to re25 viewing existing programs or tax laws with the goal
6

•S 207 IS

1 of ensuring fairness and equity in the operation and

2 application thereof.

3 (2) ELIMINATION OF AGENCIES AND DEPART4 MENTS.—The Commission shall limit its rec5 ommendations to the termination or reform of pay6 ments, benefits, services, or tax advantages, rather

7 than the termination of Federal agencies or depart8 ments.

9 (d) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The Commission shall

10 be considered an advisory committee within the meaning

11 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).

12 (e) APPOINTMENT.—

13 (1) MEMBERS.—The Commissioners shall be

14 appointed for the life of the Commission and shall

15 be composed of nine members of whom—

16 (A) three shall be appointed by the Presi17 dent of the United States;

18 (B) two shall be appointed by the Speaker

19 of the House of Representatives;

20 (C) one shall be appointed by the minority

21 Leader of the House of Representatives;

22 (D) two shall be appointed by the majority

23 Leader of the Senate; and

24 (E) one shall be appointed by the minority

25 Leader of the Senate.
7

•S 207 IS

1 (2) CONSULTATION REQUIRED.—The President,

2 the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the mi3 nority leader of the House of Representatives, the

4 majority leader of the Senate, and the minority lead5 er of the Senate shall consult among themselves

6 prior to the appointment of the members of the

7 Commission in order to achieve, to the maximum ex8 tent possible, fair and equitable representation of

9 various points of view with respect to the matters to

10 be studied by the Commission under subsection (b).

11 (3) APPOINTMENTS.—During the period of

12 January 1, 1998 through January 31, 1998, the

13 President shall submit to the Senate the names of

14 three individuals for appointment to the Commis15 sion.

16 (4) FAILURE TO APPOINT.—If the President

17 does not submit to Congress the names of three indi18 viduals for appointment to the Commission on or be19 fore the date specified in paragraph (3), the process

20 established under this Act shall be terminated.

21 (5) CHAIRMAN.—At the time the President

22 nominates individuals for appointment to the Com23 mission the President shall designate one such indi24 vidual who shall serve as Chairman of the Commis25 sion.
8

•S 207 IS

1 (6) BACKGROUND.—The members shall rep2 resent a broad array of expertise covering, to the ex3 tent practical, all subject matter, programs, and tax

4 laws the Commission is likely to review.

5 (f) TERMS.—Each member of the Commission in6 cluding the Chairman shall serve until the termination of

7 the Commission.

8 (g) MEETINGS.—

9 (1) INITIAL MEETING.—No later than April 1,

10 1998, the Commission shall conduct its first meet11 ing.

12 (2) OPEN MEETINGS.—Each meeting of the

13 Commission shall be open to the public. In cases

14 where classified information, trade secrets, or per15 sonnel matters are discussed, the Chairman may

16 close the meeting. All proceedings, information, and

17 deliberations of the Commission shall be available,

18 upon request, to the chairman and ranking member

19 of the relevant committees of Congress.

20 (h) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Commission shall

21 be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.

22 (i) PAY AND TRAVEL EXPENSES.—

23 (1) PAY.—Notwithstanding section 7 of the

24 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.),

25 each Commissioner, other than the Chairman, shall
9

•S 207 IS

1 be paid at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the

2 minimum annual rate of basic pay for level IV of the

3 Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5,

4 United States Code, for each day (including travel

5 time) during which the member is engaged in the ac6 tual performance of duties vested in the Commis7 sion.

8 (2) CHAIRMAN.—Notwithstanding section 7 of

9 the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C.

10 App.), the Chairman shall be paid for each day re11 ferred to in paragraph (1) at a rate equal to the

12 daily payment of the minimum annual rate of basic

13 pay payable for level III of the Executive Schedule

14 under section 5314 of title 5, United States Code.

15 (3) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Members shall receive

16 travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsist17 ence, in accordance with section 5702 and 5703 of

18 title 5, United States Code.

19 (j) DIRECTOR OF STAFF.—

20 (1) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Chairman shall ap21 point a Director who has not served in any of the

22 entities or industries that the Commission intends to

23 review during the 12 months preceding the date of

24 such appointment.
10

•S 207 IS

1 (2) PAY.—Notwithstanding section 7 of the

2 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.),

3 the Director shall be paid at the rate of basic pay

4 payable for level IV of the Executive Schedule under

5 section 5315 of title 5, United States Code.

6 (3) REPORTS.—On administrative and person7 nel matters, the Director shall submit periodic re8 ports to the Chairman of the Commission and the

9 chairman and ranking member of the Committee on

10 Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Com11 mittee on Government Reform and Oversight of the

12 House of the Representatives.

13 (k) STAFF.—

14 (1) ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—Subject to para15 graphs (2) and (4), the Director, with the approval

16 of the Commission, may appoint and fix the pay of

17 additional personnel.

18 (2) APPOINTMENTS.—The Director may make

19 such appointments without regard to the provisions

20 of title 5, United States Code, governing appoint21 ments in the competitive service, and any personnel

22 so appointed may be paid without regard to the pro23 visions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter

24 53 of that title relating to classification and General

25 Schedule pay rates.
11

•S 207 IS

1 (3) DETAILEES.—Upon the request of the Di2 rector, the head of any Federal department or agen3 cy may detail any of the personnel of that depart4 ment or agency to the Commission to assist the

5 Commission in accordance with an agreement en6 tered into with the Commission.

7 (4) RESTRICTIONS ON PERSONNEL AND

8 DETAILEES.—The following restrictions shall apply

9 to personnel and detailees of the Commission:

10 (A) PERSONNEL.—No more than one-third

11 of the personnel detailed to the Commission

12 may be on detail from Federal agencies that

13 deal directly or indirectly with the Federal sub14 sidies the Commission intends to review.

15 (B) ANALYSTS.—No more than one-fifth of

16 the professional analysts of the Commission

17 may be persons detailed from a Federal agency

18 that deals directly or indirectly with the Federal

19 subsidies the Commission intends to review.

20 (C) LEAD ANALYST.—No person detailed

21 from a Federal agency to the Commission may

22 be assigned as the lead professional analyst

23 with respect to an entity or industry the Com24 mission intends to review if the person has been
12

•S 207 IS

1 involved in regulatory or policy-making deci2 sions affecting any such entity or industry in

3 the 12 months preceding such assignment.

4 (D) DETAILEE.—A person may not be de5 tailed from a Federal agency to the Commission

6 if, within 12 months before the detail is to

7 begin, that person participated personally and

8 substantially in any matter within that particu9 lar agency concerning the preparation of rec10 ommendations under this Act.

11 (E) FEDERAL OFFICER OR EMPLOYEE.—

12 No member of a Federal agency, and no officer

13 or employee of a Federal agency, may—

14 (i) prepare any report concerning the

15 effectiveness, fitness, or efficiency of the

16 performance on the staff of the Commis17 sion of any person detailed from a Federal

18 agency to that staff;

19 (ii) review the preparation of such re20 port; or

21 (iii) approve or disapprove such a re22 port.

23 (F) LIMITATION ON STAFF SIZE.—(i) Sub24 ject to clause (ii), there may not be more than
13

•S 207 IS

1 25 persons (including any detailees) on the

2 staff at any time.

3 (ii) The Commission may increase person4 nel in excess of the limitation under clause (i),

5 15 days after submitting notification of such in6 crease to the Committee on Governmental Af7 fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Gov8 ernment Reform and Oversight of the House of

9 Representatives.

10 (G) LIMITATION ON FEDERAL OFFICER.—

11 No member of a Federal agency and no em12 ployee of a Federal agency may serve as a Com13 missioner or as a paid member of the staff.

14 (5) ASSISTANCE.—

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller Gen16 eral of the United States may provide assist17 ance, including the detailing of employees, to

18 the Commission in accordance with an agree19 ment entered into with the Commission.

20 (B) CONSULTATION.—The Commission

21 and the Comptroller General of the United

22 States shall consult with the Committee on

23 Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the

24 Committee on Government Reform and Over25 sight of the House of Representatives on the
14

•S 207 IS

1 agreement referred to under subparagraph (A)

2 before entering into such agreement.

3 (l) OTHER AUTHORITY.—

4 (1) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Com5 mission may procure by contract, to the extent funds

6 are available, the temporary or intermittent services

7 of experts or consultants pursuant to section 3109

8 of title 5, United States Code.

9 (2) LEASING.—The Commission may lease

10 space and acquire personal property to the extent

11 that funds are available.

12 (m) FUNDING.—

13 (1) COMMISSION.—There are authorized to be

14 appropriated to the Commission such funds as are

15 necessary to carry out its duties under this Act.

16 (2) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—There are au17 thorized to be appropriated to the Comptroller Gen18 eral of the United States such funds as are nec19 essary to carry out its duties under subsection (k)(5)

20 and section 6(b)(5).

21 (n) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate

22 on September 1, 1999.

23 SEC. 6. PROCEDURE FOR MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS TO

24 TERMINATE CORPORATE SUBSIDIES.

25 (a) AGENCY PLAN.—
15

•S 207 IS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—No later than April 1, 1998,

2 or the date budget documents are submitted to Con3 gress in 1998, whichever is earlier, in support of the

4 budget of each Federal department or agency, the

5 head of each department or agency shall include in

6 such documents a list identifying all programs or tax

7 laws within that department or agency that the head

8 of the department or agency determines provide in9 equitable Federal subsidies.

10 (2) CONTENTS.—Such a list shall include—

11 (A) a detailed description of each program

12 or tax law in question;

13 (B) a statement detailing the extent to

14 which a payment, benefit, service, or tax advan15 tage meets the provisions of section 4;

16 (C) a statement summarizing the legisla17 tive history and purpose of such payment, bene18 fit, service, or tax advantage, and the laws or

19 policies directly or indirectly giving rise to the

20 need for such programs or tax laws; and

21 (D) a recommendation to the Commission

22 regarding actions to be taken under section

23 5(b)(3).

24 (3) INTERNATIONAL TRADE PROGRAMS.—As

25 part of its agency plan submitted pursuant to this
16

•S 207 IS

1 subsection, the United States Trade Representative

2 shall survey all federally supported international

3 trade programs in all Federal agencies and shall cer4 tify to the Commission which of those programs

5 meet the requirements of section 4(4)(D). The

6 Trade Representative shall provide the Commission

7 a detailed statement of the reasons each program

8 was or was not so certified as part of its agency

9 plan.

10 (b) REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE COM11 MISSION.—

12 (1) REVIEW AND HEARINGS.—At any time after

13 the submission of the budget documents to Con14 gress, the Commission shall conduct public hearings

15 on the recommendations included in the lists re16 quired under subsection (a). All testimony before the

17 Commission at a public hearing conducted under

18 this paragraph shall be presented under oath.

19 (2) REPORT OF COMMISSION.—

20 (A) REPORT TO PRESIDENT.—No later

21 than November 30, 1998, the Commission shall

22 submit a report to the President containing the

23 Commission’s findings and recommendations

24 for termination, modification, or retention of
17

•S 207 IS

1 each of the inequitable Federal subsidies re2 viewed by the Commission. Such findings and

3 recommendations shall specify—

4 (i) all actions, circumstances, and con5 siderations relating to or bearing upon the

6 recommendations; and

7 (ii) to the maximum extent prac8 ticable, the estimated effect of the rec9 ommendations upon the policies, laws and

10 programs directly or indirectly affected by

11 the recommendations.

12 (B) CHANGES IN RECOMMENDATIONS.—

13 Subject to the deadline in subparagraph (A), in

14 making its recommendations, the Commission

15 may make changes in any of the recommenda16 tions made by a department or agency if the

17 Commission determines that such department

18 or agency deviated substantially from the provi19 sions of section 4.

20 (C) CHANGES.—In the case of a change in

21 the recommendations made by a department or

22 agency, the Commission may make the change

23 only if the Commission—

24 (i) makes the determination required

25 under subparagraph (B); and
18

•S 207 IS

1 (ii) conducts a public hearing on the

2 Commission’s proposed changes.

3 (D) APPLICATION.—Subparagraph (C)

4 shall apply to a change by the Commission in

5 a department or agency recommendation that

6 would—

7 (i) add or delete a payment, benefit,

8 service, or tax advantage to the list rec9 ommended for termination;

10 (ii) add or delete a payment, benefit,

11 service, or tax advantage to the list rec12 ommended for modification; or

13 (iii) increase or decrease the extent of

14 a recommendation to modify a payment,

15 benefit, service, or tax advantage included

16 in a department’s or agency’s rec17 ommendation.

18 (3) JUSTIFICATION.—The Commission shall ex19 plain and justify in the report submitted to the

20 President under paragraph (2) any recommendation

21 made by the Commission that is different from a

22 recommendation made by an agency under sub23 section (a).

24 (4) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—After November

25 30, 1998, or after the date the Commission submits
19

•S 207 IS

1 recommendations to the President, the Commission

2 shall, upon request, promptly provide to any Member

3 of Congress the information used by the Commission

4 in making its recommendations.

5 (5) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—The Comptrol6 ler General of the United States shall—

7 (A) assist the Commission, to the extent

8 requested, in the Commission’s review and anal9 ysis of the list, statements, and recommenda10 tions made by departments and agencies under

11 subsection (a); and

12 (B) no later than 60 days after April 1,

13 1998, or the public release of the President’s

14 budget documents in 1998, whichever is earlier,

15 submit to the Congress and to the Commission

16 a report containing a detailed analysis of the

17 list, statements, and recommendations of each

18 department or agency.

19 (c) REVIEW BY THE PRESIDENT.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—No later than December 31,

21 1998, the President shall submit a report to the

22 Commission and to the Congress containing the

23 President’s approval or disapproval of the Commis24 sion’s recommendations submitted under subsection

25 (b).
20

•S 207 IS

1 (2) APPROVAL.—If the President approves all

2 the recommendations of the Commission, the Presi3 dent shall submit a copy of such recommendations

4 to the Congress, together with a certification of such

5 approval.

6 (3) DISAPPROVAL.—If the President dis7 approves the recommendations of the Commission in

8 whole or in part, the President shall submit to the

9 Commission and the Congress the reasons for that

10 disapproval. No later than February 1, 1999, the

11 Commission shall submit to the President a revised

12 list of recommendations.

13 (4) REVISION.—If the President approves all of

14 the revised recommendations of the Commission sub15 mitted to the President under paragraph (3), the

16 President shall submit a copy of such revised rec17 ommendations to the Congress, together with a cer18 tification of such approval.

19 (5) APPROVAL OF ENTIRE PACKAGE.—The

20 President may only submit an approval certificate

21 that pertains to the entire package of recommenda22 tions submitted by the Commission under subsection

23 (b)(2) or paragraph (3) of this subsection.

24 (6) FAILURE TO SUBMIT.—If the President

25 does not submit to the Congress an approval and
21

•S 207 IS

1 certification described in paragraph (2) or (4) by

2 February 15, 1999, the process established under

3 this Act shall be terminated.

4 SEC. 7. CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION.

5 (a) SUBMISSION OF RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE

6 PRESIDENT.—If the President submits the Commission

7 recommendations to the Congress under section 6(c) (2)

8 or (4), such recommendations shall be accompanied by in9 formation specifying—

10 (1) the reasons and justifications for the rec11 ommendations;

12 (2) to the maximum extent practicable, the esti13 mated fiscal, economic, and budgetary impact of ac14 cepting the recommendations;

15 (3) the amount of the projected savings result16 ing from each recommendation;

17 (4) all actions, circumstances, and consider18 ations relating to or bearing upon the recommenda19 tions and to the maximum extent practicable, the es20 timated effect of the recommendations upon the poli21 cies, laws and programs directly or indirectly af22 fected by the recommendations; and

23 (5) the specific changes in Federal statute nec24 essary to implement the recommendations.
22

•S 207 IS

1 (b) SUBMISSION OF RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE

2 SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—

3 (1) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—The rec4 ommendations submitted by the President to the

5 Congress under subsection (a) shall be submitted to

6 the Senate and the House of Representatives on the

7 same day, and shall be delivered to the Secretary of

8 the Senate if the Senate is not in session, and to the

9 Clerk of the House of the Representatives if the

10 House is not in session.

11 (2) FEDERAL REGISTER.—Any recommenda12 tions and accompanying information submitted

13 under subsection (a) shall be printed in the first

14 issue of the Federal Register after such submission.

15 (c) INTRODUCTION.—

16 (1) DATE OF INTRODUCTION.—The Majority

17 Leader of the Senate or his designee, and the Speak18 er of the House of Representatives, or his designee,

19 shall introduce a bill (or bills as provided under

20 paragraph (2)) that implements the recommenda21 tions submitted by the President under subsection

22 (a), no later than the later of 14 calendar days in

23 session after the date on which—

24 (A) the Senate or the House of Represent25 atives received the recommendations submitted
23

•S 207 IS

1 by the President under subsection (a), if the

2 Senate or the House of Representatives (as ap3 plicable) is in session on the date of such sub4 mission; or

5 (B) the Senate or the House of Represent6 atives is first in session after such recommenda7 tions are submitted, if the Senate or the House

8 of Representatives (as applicable) is not in ses9 sion on the date of such submission.

10 (2) MULTIPLE BILLS.—The majority leader of

11 the Senate, or his designee, or the Speaker of the

12 House of Representatives, or his designee, shall in13 troduce a bill or separate bills ensuring that all such

14 recommendations will be implemented.

15 (d) COMMITTEE REFERRAL AND ACTION.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any committee to which a

17 bill or bills introduced under subsection (c) is re18 ferred shall report such bill no later than 120 cal19 endar days after the date of referral. Any such re20 ported bill shall be referred to the Committee on

21 Governmental Affairs of the Senate or the Commit22 tee on Government Reform and Oversight of the

23 House of Representatives, as applicable.

24 (2) DISCHARGE.—If a committee does not re25 port a bill within the 120-day period as provided
24

•S 207 IS

1 under paragraph (1), such bill shall be discharged

2 from the committee and referred to the Committee

3 on Governmental Affairs of the Senate or the Com4 mittee on Government Reform and Oversight of the

5 House of Representatives, as applicable.

6 (3) REPORT TO FLOOR; CONSOLIDATION.—

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—No later than the first

8 day the Senate or the House of Representatives

9 (as applicable) is in session following 10 cal10 endar days in session after the end of the 120-

11 day period described under paragraphs (1) and

12 (2), the Committee on Governmental Affairs of

13 the Senate and the Committee on Government

14 Reform and Oversight of the House of Rep15 resentatives, as applicable, shall—

16 (i) consolidate all bills referred under

17 paragraphs (1) and (2) into a single bill

18 (without substantive amendment) and re19 port such bill to the Senate or the House

20 of Representatives; or

21 (ii) if only 1 bill is referred under

22 paragraph (1) or (2), report such bill

23 (without amendment) to the Senate or

24 House of Representatives.
25

•S 207 IS

1 (B) LEGISLATIVE CALENDAR.—The bill re2 ported under subparagraph (A) shall be placed

3 on the legislative calendar of the appropriate

4 House.

5 (e) PROCEDURE IN SENATE AFTER REPORT OF COM6 MITTEE; DEBATE; AMENDMENTS.—

7 (1) DEBATE ON BILL.—Debate in the Senate

8 on a bill reported by the Committee on Govern9 mental Affairs under subsection (d)(3), and all

10 amendments thereto and debatable motions and ap11 peals in connection therewith, shall be limited to not

12 more than 30 hours. The time shall be equally di13 vided between, and controlled by, the Majority Lead14 er and Minority Leader or their designees.

15 (2) DEBATE ON AMENDMENTS.—Debate in the

16 Senate on any amendment to the bill shall be limited

17 to 1 hour, to be equally divided between, and con18 trolled by, the mover and the manager of the bill,

19 and debate on any amendment to an amendment,

20 debatable motion, or appeal shall be limited to 30

21 minutes, to be equally divided between, and con22 trolled by, the mover and the manager of the bill, ex23 cept that in the event the manager of the bill is in

24 favor of any such amendment, motion or appeal, the
26

•S 207 IS

1 time in opposition thereto shall be controlled by the

2 minority leader or his designee.

3 (3) LIMIT OF DEBATE.—(A) A motion to fur4 ther limit debate is not debatable. A motion by the

5 majority leader or his designee to extend debate is

6 not debatable. A motion to recommit is not in order.

7 (B) No amendment not germane to the bill re8 ported by the Committee on Governmental Affairs

9 under subsection (d)(3) shall be in order.

10 (4) CONFERENCE REPORTS.—

11 (A) MOTION TO PROCEED.—A motion to

12 proceed to the consideration of the conference

13 report on a bill subject to the procedures of this

14 section and reported to the Senate may be

15 made even though a previous motion to the

16 same effect has been disagreed to.

17 (B) TIME LIMITATION.—The consideration

18 in the Senate of the conference report on the

19 bill and any amendments in disagreement there20 to, including all debatable motions and appeals

21 in connection therewith, shall be limited to 5

22 hours, to be equally divided between, and con23 trolled by, the majority leader and minority
27

•S 207 IS

1 leader or their designees. Debate on any debat2 able motion, appeal related to the conference re3 port, or any amendment to an amendment in

4 disagreement, shall be limited to 30 minutes, to

5 be equally divided between, and controlled by,

6 the mover and the manager of the conference

7 report (or a message between Houses).

8 (f) PROCEDURE IN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

9 AFTER REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE; DEBATE.—

10 (1) MOTION TO CONSIDER.—When the Commit11 tee on Government Reform and Oversight of the

12 House of Representatives reports a bill under sub13 section (d)(3) it is in order (at any time after the

14 fifth day (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal

15 holidays) following the day on which any committee

16 report filed on a bill referred under subsection (d)(1)

17 to the Committee on Government Reform and Over18 sight has been available to Members of the House)

19 to move to proceed to the consideration of the bill

20 reported to the House of Representatives. The mo21 tion is highly privileged and is not debatable. An

22 amendment to the motion is not in order, and it is

23 not in order to move to reconsider the vote by which

24 the motion is agreed to or disagreed to.
28

•S 207 IS

1 (2) DEBATE.—General debate on the bill in the

2 House of Representatives shall be limited to not

3 more than 10 hours, which shall be divided equally

4 between the majority and minority parties. A motion

5 further to limit debate is not debatable. A motion to

6 postpone debate is not in order, and it is not in

7 order to move to reconsider the vote by which the

8 bill is agreed to or disagreed to.

9 (3) TERMS OF CONSIDERATION.—Consideration

10 of the bill by the House of Representatives shall be

11 in the Committee of the Whole, and the bill shall be

12 considered for amendment under the 5-minute rule

13 in accordance with the applicable provisions of rule

14 XXIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives.

15 After the committee rises and reports the bill back

16 to the House, the previous question shall be consid17 ered as ordered on the bill and any amendments

18 thereto to final passage without intervening motion.

19 (4) LIMIT ON DEBATE.—Debate in the House

20 of Representatives on the conference report on a bill

21 subject to the procedures under this section and re22 ported to the House of Representatives shall be lim23 ited to not more than 5 hours, which shall be divided

24 equally between the majority and minority parties. A

25 motion further to limit debate is not debatable. A
29

•S 207 IS

1 motion to recommit the conference report is not in

2 order, and it is not in order to move to reconsider

3 the vote by which the conference report is agreed to

4 or disagreed to. A motion to postpone is not in

5 order.

6 (5) APPEALS.—Appeals from decisions of the

7 Chair relating to the application of the Rules of the

8 House of Representatives to the procedure relating

9 to the bill shall be decided without debate.

10 (g) RULES OF THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REP11 RESENTATIVES.—This section is enacted by Congress—

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

13 the Senate and the House of Representatives, re14 spectively, but applicable only with respect to the

15 procedure to be followed in that House in the case

16 of a bill under this section, and it supersedes other

17 rules only to the extent that it is inconsistent with

18 such rules; and

19 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional

20 right of either House to change the rules as far as

21 relating to the procedure of that House at any time,

22 in the same manner, and to the same extent as in

23 the case of any other rule of that House.

Æ