Calendar No. 209

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 207

[Report No. 105–107]

A BILL

A bill to review, reform, and terminate unnecessary

and inequitable Federal subsidies

OCTOBER 9, 1997

Reported with amendments and an amendment to the

title
II

Calendar No. 209

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 207

[Report No. 105–107]

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, Mr. BROWNBACK,

Mr. ABRAHAM, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire, and Mr.

KOHL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Governmental Affairs

OCTOBER 9, 1997

Reported by Mr. THOMPSON, with amendments and an amendment to the title

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic]

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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Corporate Subsidy Re3 form Commission Act of 1997’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 The Congress finds that—

6 (1) Federal subsidies, including tax advantages,

7 which may have been enacted with a valid purpose

8 for specific industries or industry segments can—

9 (A) fall subject to abuse, causing unantici10 pated and unjustified windfalls to some indus11 tries and industry segments; or

12 (B) become obsolete, anticompetitive, or no

13 longer in the public interest, making such sub14 sidies unnecessary or undesired;

15 (2) it is unfair to force the United States tax16 payer to support unnecessary subsidies, including

17 tax advantages, that do not provide a substantial

18 public benefit or serve the public interest;

19 (3) the Congress and the President have been

20 unable to evaluate methodically those Federal sub21 sidies that are unfair and unnecessary and require

22 reform or elimination; and

23 (4) a Commission to advise the President and

24 Congress is essential to a comprehensive review of

25 such unfair corporate subsidies and to the reform or

26 elimination of such subsidies.
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1 SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

2 The purpose of this Act is to establish a fair and de3 liberative process that will result in the timely identifica4 tion, review, and reform or elimination of unnecessary and

5 inequitable subsidies, including tax advantages, provided

6 by the Federal Government to entities or industries en7 gaged in profitmaking enterprises.

8 SEC. 4. DEFINITION.

9 For purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘inequitable Fed10 eral subsidy’’ means a payment, benefit, service, or tax

11 advantage that—

12 (1) is provided by the Federal Government to

13 any corporation, partnership, joint venture, associa14 tion, or business trust, not to include—

15 (A) a nonprofit organization described

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

17 Code of 1986 that is exempt from taxation

18 under section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue

19 Code of 1986; or

20 (B) a State or local government or Indian

21 Tribe or Alaska Native village or regional or vil22 lage corporation as defined in or established pur23 suant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement

24 Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.);

25 (2) is provided without a reasonable expecta26 tion, demonstrated with the use of reliable perform-
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1 ance criteria, that actions or activities undertaken or

2 performed in return for such payment, benefit, serv3 ice, or tax advantage would result in a return or

4 benefit, quantifiable or nonquantifiable, to the public

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

6 tax advantage;

7 (3) provides an unfair competitive advantage or

8 financial windfall; and

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

10 or tax advantage that—

11 (A)(i) is awarded for the purposes of re12 search and development in the broad public in13 terest on the basis of a peer reviewed or other

14 open, competitive, merit-based procedure;

15 (ii) is for a purpose consistent with the

16 mission of the agency;

17 (iii) supports competing technologies at

18 levels appropriate to their potential, as deter19 mined by an appropriate priority setting proc20 ess; and

21 (iv) is for research and development that

22 the private sector cannot reasonably be ex23 pected to undertake without Federal support at

24 a level or in a time frame consistent with the

25 payment, benefit, service, or tax advantage’s po-
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1 tential to provide broad economic or other pub2 lic benefit;

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

4 or tax advantage that—

5 (A) is awarded for the purposes of research

6 and development that—

7 (i) is in the broad public interest on

8 the basis of a peer reviewed or other open,

9 competitive, merit-based procedure;

10 (ii) is for a purpose consistent with the

11 mission of the agency;

12 (iii) supports competing technologies at

13 levels appropriate to their potential, as de14 termined by an appropriate priority setting

15 process; and

16 (iv) the private sector cannot reason17 ably be expected to undertake without Fed18 eral support at a level or in a timeframe

19 consistent with the payment, benefit, serv20 ice, or tax advantage’s potential to provide

21 broad economic or other public 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;
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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

6 actual 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.
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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.
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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

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

2 the 12 months preceding such assignment.

3 (D) DETAILEE.—A person may not be de4 tailed from a Federal agency to the Commission

5 if, within 12 months before the detail is to

6 begin, that person participated personally and

7 substantially in any matter within that particu8 lar agency concerning the preparation of rec9 ommendations under this Act.

10 (E) FEDERAL OFFICER OR EMPLOYEE.—

11 No member of a Federal agency, and no officer

12 or employee of a Federal agency, may—

13 (i) prepare any report concerning the

14 effectiveness, fitness, or efficiency of the

15 performance on the staff of the Commis16 sion of any person detailed from a Federal

17 agency to that staff;

18 (ii) review the preparation of such re19 port; or

20 (iii) approve or disapprove such a re21 port.

22 (F) LIMITATION ON STAFF SIZE.—(i) Sub23 ject to clause (ii), there may not be more than

24 25 persons (including any detailees) on the

25 staff at any time.
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1 (ii) The Commission may increase person2 nel in excess of the limitation under clause (i),

3 15 days after submitting notification of such in4 crease to the Committee on Governmental Af5 fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Gov6 ernment Reform and Oversight of the House of

7 Representatives.

8 (G) LIMITATION ON FEDERAL OFFICER.—

9 No member of a Federal agency and no em10 ployee of a Federal agency may serve as a Com11 missioner or as a paid member of the staff.

12 (5) ASSISTANCE.—

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller Gen14 eral of the United States may provide assist15 ance, including the detailing of employees, to

16 the Commission in accordance with an agree17 ment entered into with the Commission.

18 (B) CONSULTATION.—The Commission

19 and the Comptroller General of the United

20 States shall consult with the Committee on

21 Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the

22 Committee on Government Reform and Over23 sight of the House of Representatives on the

24 agreement referred to under subparagraph (A)

25 before entering into such agreement.
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1 (l) OTHER AUTHORITY.—

2 (1) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Com3 mission may procure by contract, to the extent funds

4 are available, the temporary or intermittent services

5 of experts or consultants pursuant to section 3109

6 of title 5, United States Code.

7 (2) LEASING.—The Commission may lease

8 space and acquire personal property to the extent

9 that funds are available.

10 (m) FUNDING.—

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

12 appropriated to the Commission such funds as are

13 necessary to carry out its duties under this Act.

14 (2) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—There are au15 thorized to be appropriated to the Comptroller Gen16 eral of the United States such funds as are nec17 essary to carry out its duties under subsection (k)(5)

18 and section 6(b)(5).

19 (n) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate

20 on September 1, 1999.

21 SEC. 6. PROCEDURE FOR MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS TO

22 TERMINATE CORPORATE SUBSIDIES.

23 (a) AGENCY PLAN.—

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

25 or the date budget documents are submitted to Con-
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1 gress in 1998, whichever is earlier, in support of the

2 budget of each Federal department or agency, the

3 head of each department or agency shall include in

4 such documents a list identifying all programs or tax

5 laws within that department or agency that the head

6 of the department or agency determines provide in7 equitable Federal subsidies.

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

9 (A) a detailed description of each program

10 or tax law in question;

11 (B) a statement detailing the extent to

12 which a payment, benefit, service, or tax advan13 tage meets the provisions of section 4;

14 (C) a statement summarizing the legisla15 tive history and purpose of such payment, bene16 fit, service, or tax advantage, and the laws or

17 policies directly or indirectly giving rise to the

18 need for such programs or tax laws; and

19 (D) a recommendation to the Commission

20 regarding actions to be taken under section

21 5(b)(3).

22 (3) INTERNATIONAL TRADE PROGRAMS.—As

23 part of its agency plan submitted pursuant to this

24 subsection, the United States Trade Representative

25 shall survey all federally supported international
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1 trade programs in all Federal agencies and shall cer2 tify to the Commission which of those programs

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

4 Trade Representative shall provide the Commission

5 a detailed statement of the reasons each program

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

7 plan.

8 (b) REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE COM9 MISSION.—

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

11 the submission of the budget documents to Con12 gress, the Commission shall conduct public hearings

13 on the recommendations included in the lists re14 quired under subsection (a). All testimony before the

15 Commission at a public hearing conducted under

16 this paragraph shall be presented under oath.

17 (2) REPORT OF COMMISSION.—

18 (A) REPORT TO PRESIDENT.—No later

19 than November 30, 1998, the Commission shall

20 submit a report to the President containing the

21 Commission’s findings and recommendations

22 for termination, modification, or retention of

23 each of the inequitable Federal subsidies re24 viewed by the Commission. Such findings and

25 recommendations shall specify—
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1 (i) all actions, circumstances, and con2 siderations relating to or bearing upon the

3 recommendations; and

4 (ii) to the maximum extent prac5 ticable, the estimated effect of the rec6 ommendations upon the policies, laws and

7 programs directly or indirectly affected by

8 the recommendations.

9 (B) CHANGES IN RECOMMENDATIONS.—

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

11 making its recommendations, the Commission

12 may make changes in any of the recommenda13 tions made by a department or agency if the

14 Commission determines that such department

15 or agency deviated substantially from the provi16 sions of section 4.

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

18 the recommendations made by a department or

19 agency, the Commission may make the change

20 only if the Commission—

21 (i) makes the determination required

22 under subparagraph (B); and

23 (ii) conducts a public hearing on the

24 Commission’s proposed changes.
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1 (D) APPLICATION.—Subparagraph (C)

2 shall apply to a change by the Commission in

3 a department or agency recommendation that

4 would—

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

6 service, or tax advantage to the list rec7 ommended for termination;

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

9 service, or tax advantage to the list rec10 ommended for modification; or

11 (iii) increase or decrease the extent of

12 a recommendation to modify a payment,

13 benefit, service, or tax advantage included

14 in a department’s or agency’s rec15 ommendation.

16 (3) JUSTIFICATION.—The Commission shall ex17 plain and justify in the report submitted to the

18 President under paragraph (2) any recommendation

19 made by the Commission that is different from a

20 recommendation made by an agency under sub21 section (a).

22 (4) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—After November

23 30, 1998, or after the date the Commission submits

24 recommendations to the President, the Commission

25 shall, upon request, promptly provide to any Member
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1 of Congress the information used by the Commission

2 in making its recommendations.

3 (5) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—The Comptrol4 ler General of the United States shall—

5 (A) assist the Commission, to the extent

6 requested, in the Commission’s review and anal7 ysis of the list, statements, and recommenda8 tions made by departments and agencies under

9 subsection (a); and

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

11 1998, or the public release of the President’s

12 budget documents in 1998, whichever is earlier,

13 submit to the Congress and to the Commission

14 a report containing a detailed analysis of the

15 list, statements, and recommendations of each

16 department or agency.

17 (c) REVIEW BY THE PRESIDENT.—

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

19 1998, the President shall submit a report to the

20 Commission and to the Congress containing the

21 President’s approval or disapproval of the Commis22 sion’s recommendations submitted under subsection

23 (b).

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

25 the recommendations of the Commission, the Presi-
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1 dent shall submit a copy of such recommendations

2 to the Congress, together with a certification of such

3 approval.

4 (3) DISAPPROVAL.—If the President dis5 approves the recommendations of the Commission in

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

7 Commission and the Congress the reasons for that

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

9 Commission shall submit to the President a revised

10 list of recommendations.

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

12 the revised recommendations of the Commission sub13 mitted to the President under paragraph (3), the

14 President shall submit a copy of such revised rec15 ommendations to the Congress, together with a cer16 tification of such approval.

17 (5) APPROVAL OF ENTIRE PACKAGE.—The

18 President may only submit an approval certificate

19 that pertains to the entire package of recommenda20 tions submitted by the Commission under subsection

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

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

23 does not submit to the Congress an approval and

24 certification described in paragraph (2) or (4) by
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1 February 15, 1999, the process established under

2 this Act shall be terminated.

3 SEC. 7. CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION.

4 (a) SUBMISSION OF RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE

5 PRESIDENT.—If the President submits the Commission

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

7 or (4), such recommendations shall be accompanied by in8 formation specifying—

9 (1) the reasons and justifications for the rec10 ommendations;

11 (2) to the maximum extent practicable, the esti12 mated fiscal, economic, and budgetary impact of ac13 cepting the recommendations;

14 (3) the amount of the projected savings result15 ing from each recommendation;

16 (4) all actions, circumstances, and consider17 ations relating to or bearing upon the recommenda18 tions and to the maximum extent practicable, the es19 timated effect of the recommendations upon the poli20 cies, laws and programs directly or indirectly af21 fected by the recommendations; and

22 (5) the specific changes in Federal statute nec23 essary to implement the recommendations.

24 (b) SUBMISSION OF RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE

25 SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—
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1 (1) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—The rec2 ommendations submitted by the President to the

3 Congress under subsection (a) shall be submitted to

4 the Senate and the House of Representatives on the

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

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

7 Clerk of the House of the Representatives if the

8 House is not in session.

9 (2) FEDERAL REGISTER.—Any recommenda10 tions and accompanying information submitted

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

12 issue of the Federal Register after such submission.

13 (c) INTRODUCTION.—

14 (1) DATE OF INTRODUCTION.—The Majority

15 Leader of the Senate or his designee, and the Speak16 er of the House of Representatives, or his designee,

17 shall introduce a bill (or bills as provided under

18 paragraph (2)) that implements the recommenda19 tions submitted by the President under subsection

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

21 session after the date on which—

22 (A) the Senate or the House of Represent23 atives received the recommendations submitted

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

25 Senate or the House of Representatives (as ap-
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1 plicable) is in session on the date of such sub2 mission; or

3 (B) the Senate or the House of Represent4 atives is first in session after such recommenda5 tions are submitted, if the Senate or the House

6 of Representatives (as applicable) is not in ses7 sion on the date of such submission.

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

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

10 House of Representatives, or his designee, shall in11 troduce a bill or separate bills ensuring that all such

12 recommendations will be implemented.

13 (d) COMMITTEE REFERRAL AND ACTION.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any committee to which

16 a bill or bills introduced under subsection (c) is

17 referred shall report such bill no later than 120

18 calendar days after the date of referral. No

19 amendment during committee consideration of a

20 bill or bills introduced under subsection (c) shall

21 be in order unless that amendment is confined to

22 terminating or reforming an inequitable Federal

23 subsidy as defined in section 4 of this Act. Any

24 such reported bill shall be referred to the Com25 mittee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate
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1 or the Committee on Government Reform and

2 Oversight of the House of Representatives, as

3 applicable.

4 (B) COMMITTEES ON FINANCE AND WAYS

5 AND MEANS.—

6 (i) IN GENERAL.—Any bill referred to

7 the Committee on Finance or the Committee

8 on Ways and Means that contains revenue

9 increases may be amended to include reduc10 tions in revenues in the form of tax cuts in

11 an amount up to the amount of the revenue

12 increases.

13 (ii) SCORECARD.—If the bill referred to

14 in clause (i) is enacted into law, any

15 amount of revenue reductions not made by

16 the bill as provided in clause (i) shall be

17 credited to the pay-as-you-go scorecard

18 under section 252 of the Balanced Budget

19 and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985

20 and may only be offset by legislation reduc21 ing revenues.

22 (2) DISCHARGE.—If a committee does not re23 port a bill within the 120-day period as provided

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

25 from the committee and referred to the Committee
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1 on Governmental Affairs of the Senate or the Com2 mittee on Government Reform and Oversight of the

3 House of Representatives, as applicable.

4 (3) REPORT TO FLOOR; CONSOLIDATION.—

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

6 day the Senate or the House of Representatives

7 (as applicable) is in session following 10 cal8 endar days in session after the end of the 120-

9 day period described under paragraphs (1) and

10 (2), the Committee on Governmental Affairs of

11 the Senate and the Committee on Government

12 Reform and Oversight of the House of Rep13 resentatives, as applicable, shall—

14 (i) consolidate all bills referred under

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

16 (without substantive amendment) and re17 port such bill to the Senate or the House

18 of Representatives; or

19 (ii) if only 1 bill is referred under

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

21 (without amendment) to the Senate or

22 House of Representatives.

23 (B) LEGISLATIVE CALENDAR.—The bill re24 ported under subparagraph (A) shall be placed
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1 on the legislative calendar of the appropriate

2 House.

3 (e) PROCEDURE IN SENATE AFTER REPORT OF COM4 MITTEE; DEBATE; AMENDMENTS.—

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

6 on a bill reported by the Committee on Govern7 mental Affairs under subsection (d)(3), and all

8 amendments thereto and debatable motions and ap9 peals in connection therewith, shall be limited to not

10 more than 30 hours. The time shall be equally di11 vided between, and controlled by, the Majority Lead12 er and Minority Leader or their designees.

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

14 Senate on any amendment to the bill shall be limited

15 to 1 hour, to be equally divided between, and con16 trolled by, the mover and the manager of the bill,

17 and debate on any amendment to an amendment,

18 debatable motion, or appeal shall be limited to 30

19 minutes, to be equally divided between, and con20 trolled by, the mover and the manager of the bill, ex21 cept that in the event the manager of the bill is in

22 favor of any such amendment, motion or appeal, the

23 time in opposition thereto shall be controlled by the

24 minority leader or his designee.
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1 (3) LIMIT OF DEBATE.—(A) A motion to fur2 ther limit debate is not debatable. A motion by the

3 majority leader or his designee to extend debate is

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

5 (B) No amendment not germane to the bill re6 ported by the Committee on Governmental Affairs

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

8 (B) No amendment to the bill reported by

9 the Committee on Governmental Affairs under

10 subsection (d)(3) shall be in order unless—

11 (i) that amendment is confined to ter12 minating or reforming an inequitable Fed13 eral subsidy as defined by section 4 of this

14 Act;

15 (ii) that amendment is germane to the

16 bill reported by the Committee on Govern17 mental Affairs; and

18 (iii) for the purposes of such bill, ‘‘ger19 mane’’ means only amendments which

20 strike language from such bill, or restore

21 language in the bill or bills introduced

22 under subsection (c).

23 (4) CONFERENCE REPORTS.—

24 (A) MOTION TO PROCEED.—A motion to

25 proceed to the consideration of the conference
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•S 207 RS

1 report on a bill subject to the procedures of this

2 section and reported to the Senate may be

3 made even though a previous motion to the

4 same effect has been disagreed to.

5 (B) TIME LIMITATION.—The consideration

6 in the Senate of the conference report on the

7 bill and any amendments in disagreement there8 to, including all debatable motions and appeals

9 in connection therewith, shall be limited to 5

10 hours, to be equally divided between, and con11 trolled by, the majority leader and minority

12 leader or their designees. Debate on any debat13 able motion, appeal related to the conference re14 port, or any amendment to an amendment in

15 disagreement, shall be limited to 30 minutes, to

16 be equally divided between, and controlled by,

17 the mover and the manager of the conference

18 report (or a message between Houses).

19 (f) PROCEDURE IN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

20 AFTER REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE; DEBATE.—

21 (1) MOTION TO CONSIDER.—When the Commit22 tee on Government Reform and Oversight of the

23 House of Representatives reports a bill under sub24 section (d)(3) it is in order (at any time after the

25 fifth day (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal
30

•S 207 RS

1 holidays) following the day on which any committee

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

3 to the Committee on Government Reform and Over4 sight has been available to Members of the House)

5 to move to proceed to the consideration of the bill

6 reported to the House of Representatives. The mo7 tion is highly privileged and is not debatable. An

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

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

10 the motion is agreed to or disagreed to.

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

12 House of Representatives shall be limited to not

13 more than 10 hours, which shall be divided equally

14 between the majority and minority parties. A motion

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

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

17 order to move to reconsider the vote by which the

18 bill is agreed to or disagreed to.

19 (3) TERMS OF CONSIDERATION.—Consideration

20 of the bill by the House of Representatives shall be

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

22 considered for amendment under the 5-minute rule

23 in accordance with the applicable provisions of rule

24 XXIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives.

25 After the committee rises and reports the bill back
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•S 207 RS

1 to the House, the previous question shall be consid2 ered as ordered on the bill and any amendments

3 thereto to final passage without intervening motion.

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

5 of Representatives on the conference report on a bill

6 subject to the procedures under this section and re7 ported to the House of Representatives shall be lim8 ited to not more than 5 hours, which shall be divided

9 equally between the majority and minority parties. A

10 motion further to limit debate is not debatable. A

11 motion to recommit the conference report is not in

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

13 the vote by which the conference report is agreed to

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

15 order.

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

17 Chair relating to the application of the Rules of the

18 House of Representatives to the procedure relating

19 to the bill shall be decided without debate.

20 (g) RULES OF THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REP21 RESENTATIVES.—This section is enacted by Congress—

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

23 the Senate and the House of Representatives, re24 spectively, but applicable only with respect to the

25 procedure to be followed in that House in the case
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•S 207 RS

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

2 rules only to the extent that it is inconsistent with

3 such rules; and

4 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional

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

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

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

8 the case of any other rule of that House.

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to review, reform, and terminate unncessary and inequitable Federal

subsidies.’’