I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2498 

To amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require that the Congressional Budget Office prepare long-term estimates for reported bills and 

joint resolutions that would have significant fiscal impact, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 21, 2015 

Mr. CARNEY (for himself, Mr. RENACCI, Mr. QUIGLEY, Miss RICE of New 

York, and Mr. WEBSTER of Florida) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Rules, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require 

that the Congressional Budget Office prepare long-term 

estimates for reported bills and joint resolutions that 

would have significant fiscal impact, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Budget Integrity Act’’. 

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1 SEC. 2. LONG-TERM COST ANALYSES OF LEGISLATION BY 

2 CBO. 

3 Section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 

4 is amended by inserting ‘‘(a) COST ESTIMATES.—’’ after 

5 ‘‘SEC. 402.’’ and by adding at the end the following new 

6 subsections: 

7 ‘‘(b) LONG-TERM COST ESTIMATES.—(1) Whenever 

8 the Director of the Congressional Budget Office prepares 

9 an analysis of the costs of a bill or joint resolution under 

10 subsection (a), and upon the request of the chair or rank11 ing minority member of the Committee on the Budget of 

12 the House of Representatives or the Senate, the Director 

13 shall prepare and submit to such committee the informa14 tion requested under paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of sub15 section (a) for any such bill or joint resolution that would 

16 have a significant fiscal impact, except that such informa17 tion shall be for, if practicable, at least each of the next 

18 two ten-fiscal-year periods beginning with the first fiscal 

19 year after the last fiscal year for which an analysis was 

20 prepared under subsection (a). 

21 ‘‘(2) As used in paragraph (1) and in subsection (c), 

22 the term ‘significant fiscal impact’, when applied to either 

23 of the two ten-fiscal-year periods referred to in that para24 graph, means any gross budgetary impact of at least 0.25 

25 percent of gross domestic product.’’. 

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1 SEC. 3. POINT OF ORDER AGAINST LEGISLATION INCREAS2 ING LONG-TERM DEFICITS. 

3 (a) POINT OF ORDER.—It shall not be in order in 

4 the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider 

5 any bill, joint resolution, amendment, motion, or con6 ference report that would cause a net increase in on-budg7 et deficits in excess of $5,000,000,000 in any of the two 

8 consecutive 10-fiscal-year periods described in section 

9 402(b) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. 

10 (b) SUPERMAJORITY WAIVER AND APPEAL IN THE

11 SENATE.— 

12 (1) WAIVER.—This section may be waived or 

13 suspended only by the affirmative vote of three-fifths 

14 of the Members, duly chosen and sworn. 

15 (2) APPEAL.—An affirmative vote of three16 fifths of the Members, duly chosen and sworn, shall 

17 be required to sustain an appeal of the ruling of the 

18 Chair on a point of order raised under this section. 

19 (c) DETERMINATIONS OF BUDGET LEVELS.—For 

20 purposes of this section, the levels of net deficit increases 

21 shall be determined on the basis of estimates provided by 

22 the Committee on the Budget of the House of Representa23 tives or the Senate, as applicable. 

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1 SEC. 4. CBO AND OMB PROJECTIONS. 

2 (a) CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE.—(1) Section 

3 308 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended 

4 by adding at the end the following new subsections: 

5 ‘‘(e) LONG-TERM PROJECTIONS.—Each year, the Di6 rector of the Congressional Budget Office shall issue a re7 port projecting total spending, revenue, deficits, and debt 

8 for at least 40 years beginning with the first fiscal year 

9 after the last fiscal year covered in the most recently en10 acted concurrent resolution on the budget as a percentage 

11 of current projected gross domestic product annually 

12 based on current law and current law levels as modified 

13 to maintain current policy.’’. 

14 (2) Section 202(e)(1) of the Congressional Budget 

15 Act of 1974 is amended by adding at the end the following 

16 new sentence: ‘‘Such report shall also include an analysis 

17 of the long-term projections of current policy and proposed 

18 policy in the budget submitted by the President for such 

19 fiscal year.’’. 

20 (b) OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET.—Sec21 tion 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, is amended 

22 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(40) long-term projections of total spending 

24 over 40 years as a percentage of gross domestic 

25 product annually and the impact of proposed policies 

26 over that period.’’. 

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1 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF STATUTORY LIMIT ON THE 

2 PUBLIC DEBT. 

3 The Rules of the House of Representatives are 

4 amended by adding at the end the following new rule: 

5 ‘‘RULE XXX 

6 ‘‘ESTABLISHMENT OF STATUTORY LIMIT ON THE

7 PUBLIC DEBT

8 ‘‘1. Upon adoption by Congress of a concurrent reso9 lution on the budget for a fiscal year under section 301 

10 or 304 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 that sets 

11 forth, as the appropriate level of the public debt for that 

12 fiscal year, an amount that is different from the amount 

13 of the statutory limit on the public debt that otherwise 

14 would be in effect for that fiscal year, the Clerk shall pre15 pare an engrossment of a joint resolution increasing or 

16 decreasing, as the case may be, the statutory limit on the 

17 public debt in the form prescribed in clause 2. Upon en18 grossment of the joint resolution, the vote by which the 

19 concurrent resolution on the budget was finally agreed to 

20 in the House shall also be considered as a vote on passage 

21 of the joint resolution in the House, and the joint resolu22 tion shall be considered as passed by the House and duly 

23 certified and examined. The engrossed copy shall be signed 

24 by the Clerk and transmitted to the Senate for further 

25 legislative action. 

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1 ‘‘2. The matter after the resolving clause in a joint 

2 resolution described in clause 1 shall be as follows: ‘That 

3 subsection (b) of section 3101 of title 31, United States 

4 Code, is amended by striking out the dollar limitation con5 tained in such subsection and inserting in lieu thereof 

6 ‘‘$lll’’.’, with the blank being filled with a dollar limi7 tation equal to the appropriate level of the public debt set 

8 forth pursuant to section 301(a)(5) of the Congressional 

9 Budget Act of 1974 for the budget year in the relevant 

10 concurrent resolution described in clause 1. 

11 ‘‘3. (a) The report of the Committee on the Budget 

12 on a concurrent resolution described in clause 1 and the 

13 joint explanatory statement of the managers on a con14 ference report to accompany such a concurrent resolution 

15 each shall contain a clear statement of the effect the even16 tual enactment of a joint resolution engrossed under this 

17 rule would have on the statutory limit on the public debt. 

18 ‘‘(b) It shall not be in order for the House to consider 

19 a concurrent resolution described in clause 1, or a con20 ference report thereon, unless the report of the Committee 

21 on the Budget or the joint explanatory statement of the 

22 managers complies with paragraph (a). 

23 ‘‘4. Nothing in this rule shall be construed as limiting 

24 or otherwise affecting— 

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1 ‘‘(a) the power of the House or the Senate to 

2 consider and pass bills or joint resolutions, without 

3 regard to the procedures under clause 1, that would 

4 change the statutory limit on the public debt; or 

5 ‘‘(b) the rights of Members, Delegates, the 

6 Resident Commissioner, or committees with respect 

7 to the introduction, consideration, and reporting of 

8 such bills or joint resolutions. 

9 ‘‘5. In this rule the term ‘statutory limit on the public 

10 debt’ means the maximum face amount of obligations 

11 issued under authority of chapter 31 of title 31, United 

12 States Code, and obligations guaranteed as to principal 

13 and interest by the United States (except such guaranteed 

14 obligations as may be held by the Secretary of the Treas15 ury), as determined under section 3101(b) of such title 

16 after the application of section 3101(a) of such title, that 

17 may be outstanding at any one time.’’. 

18 SEC. 6. STUDY BY THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OF19 FICE OF LONG-TERM DEBT. 

20 (a) GAO STUDY.—Title IV of the Congressional 

21 Budget Act of 1974 is amended by inserting after section 

22 402 the following new section: 

23 ‘‘STUDY BY THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE

24 OF LONG-TERM DEBT

25 ‘‘SEC. 403. The Government Accountability Office 

26 shall study the effect of the public debt over the 75-year 

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1 period commencing with the year of the study of social 

2 service programs not included as liabilities on the balance 

3 sheet of the annual consolidated financial statements of 

4 the Government and report such results to the Congress. 

5 Such report shall be revised annually.’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents set 

7 forth in section 1(b) of the Congressional Budget and Im8 poundment Act of 1974 is amended by inserting after the 

9 item relating to section 402 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 403. Study by the Government Accountability Office of long-term debt.’’. 

Æ 

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