I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4939 

To establish a procedure to safeguard the surpluses of the Social Security 

and Medicare hospital insurance trust funds. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 25, 2010 

Mr. TIM MURPHY of Pennsylvania introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Budget, and in addition to the Committee 

on Rules, 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 establish a procedure to safeguard the surpluses of the 

Social Security and Medicare hospital insurance trust funds. 

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 ‘‘Social Security and 

5 Medicare Protection Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) fiscal pressures will mount as an aging pop2 ulation increases the Government’s obligations to 

3 provide retirement income and health services; 

4 (2) Social Security and Medicare surpluses 

5 should be reserved for strengthening and preserving 

6 the Social Security trust funds; and 

7 (3) preserving Social Security and Medicare 

8 surpluses would restore confidence in the long-term 

9 financial integrity of Social Security and Medicare. 

10 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to pre11 vent the Social Security and Medicare hospital insurance 

12 trust funds from being used for any purpose other than 

13 providing retirement and health security. 

14 SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE 

15 SURPLUSES. 

16 (a) PROTECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDI17 CARE SURPLUSES.—Title III of the Congressional Budget 

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

19 new section: 

20 ‘‘PROTECTION FOR SOCIAL SECURITY AND HOSPITAL

21 INSURANCE SURPLUSES

22 ‘‘SEC. 316. (a) PROTECTION FOR SOCIAL SECURITY

23 AND HOSPITAL INSURANCE SURPLUSES.— 

24 ‘‘(1) CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS ON THE

25 BUDGET.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—It shall not be in 

2 order in the House of Representatives or the 

3 Senate to consider any concurrent resolution on 

4 the budget, or an amendment thereto or con5 ference report thereon, that would set forth a 

6 surplus for any fiscal year that is less than the 

7 surplus of the Federal Hospital Insurance 

8 Trust Fund for that fiscal year. 

9 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—(i) Subparagraph (A) 

10 shall not apply to the extent that a violation of 

11 such subparagraph would result from an as12 sumption in the resolution, amendment, or con13 ference report, as applicable, of an increase in 

14 outlays or a decrease in revenue relative to the 

15 baseline underlying that resolution for social se16 curity reform legislation or medicare reform leg17 islation for any such fiscal year. 

18 ‘‘(ii) If a concurrent resolution on the 

19 budget, or an amendment thereto or conference 

20 report thereon, would be in violation of sub21 paragraph (A) because of an assumption of an 

22 increase in outlays or a decrease in revenue rel23 ative to the baseline underlying that resolution 

24 for social security reform legislation or medi25 care reform legislation for any such fiscal year, 


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1 then that resolution shall include a statement 

2 identifying any such increase in outlays or de3 crease in revenue. 

4 ‘‘(2) SPENDING AND TAX LEGISLATION.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—It shall not be in 

6 order in the House of Representatives or the 

7 Senate to consider any bill, joint resolution, 

8 amendment, motion, or conference report if— 

9 ‘‘(i) the enactment of that bill or reso10 lution, as reported; 

11 ‘‘(ii) the adoption and enactment of 

12 that amendment; or 

13 ‘‘(iii) the enactment of that bill or res14 olution in the form recommended in that 

15 conference report, 

16 would cause the surplus for any fiscal year cov17 ered by the most recently agreed to concurrent 

18 resolution on the budget to be less than the sur19 plus of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust 

20 Fund for that fiscal year. 

21 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph (A) 

22 shall not apply to social security reform legisla23 tion or medicare reform legislation. 

24 ‘‘(b) ENFORCEMENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) BUDGETARY LEVELS WITH RESPECT TO

2 CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS ON THE BUDGET.—For 

3 purposes of enforcing any point of order under sub4 section (a)(1), the surplus for any fiscal year shall 

5 be— 

6 ‘‘(A) the levels set forth in the later of the 

7 concurrent resolution on the budget, as re8 ported, or in the conference report on the con9 current resolution on the budget; and 

10 ‘‘(B) adjusted to the maximum extent al11 lowable under all procedures that allow budg12 etary aggregates to be adjusted for legislation 

13 that would cause a decrease in the surplus for 

14 any fiscal year covered by the concurrent reso15 lution on the budget (other than procedures de16 scribed in paragraph (2)(A)(ii)). 

17 ‘‘(2) CURRENT LEVELS WITH RESPECT TO

18 SPENDING AND TAX LEGISLATION.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of en20 forcing subsection (a)(2), the current levels of 

21 the surplus for any fiscal year shall be— 

22 ‘‘(i) calculated using the following as23 sumptions— 

24 ‘‘(I) direct spending and revenue 

25 levels at the baseline levels underlying 


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1 the most recently agreed to concur2 rent resolution on the budget; and 

3 ‘‘(II) for the budget year, discre4 tionary spending levels at current law 

5 levels and, for outyears, discretionary 

6 spending levels at the baseline levels 

7 underlying the most recently agreed to 

8 concurrent resolution on the budget; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(ii) adjusted for changes in the sur11 plus levels set forth in the most recently 

12 agreed to concurrent resolution on the 

13 budget pursuant to procedures in such res14 olution that authorize adjustments in 

15 budgetary aggregates for updated economic 

16 and technical assumptions in the mid-ses17 sion report of the Director of the Congres18 sional Budget Office. 

19 Such revisions shall be included in the first cur20 rent level report on the congressional budget 

21 submitted for publication in the Congressional 

22 Record after the release of such mid-session re23 port. 

24 ‘‘(B) BUDGETARY TREATMENT.—Outlays 

25 (or receipts) for any fiscal year resulting from 


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1 social security or medicare reform legislation in 

2 excess of the amount of outlays (or less than 

3 the amount of receipts) for that fiscal year set 

4 forth in the most recently agreed to concurrent 

5 resolution on the budget or the section 302(a) 

6 allocation for such legislation, as applicable, 

7 shall not be taken into account for purposes of 

8 enforcing any point of order under subsection 

9 (a)(2). 

10 ‘‘(3) DISCLOSURE OF HI SURPLUS.—For pur11 poses of enforcing any point of order under sub12 section (a), the surplus of the Federal Hospital In13 surance Trust Fund for a fiscal year shall be the 

14 levels set forth in the later of the report accom15 panying the concurrent resolution on the budget (or, 

16 in the absence of such a report, placed in the Con17 gressional Record prior to the consideration of such 

18 resolution) or in the joint explanatory statement of 

19 managers accompanying such resolution. 

20 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL CONTENT OF REPORTS ACCOM21 PANYING BUDGET RESOLUTIONS AND OF JOINT EXPLAN22 ATORY STATEMENTS.—The report accompanying any con23 current resolution on the budget and the joint explanatory 

24 statement accompanying the conference report on each 

25 such resolution shall include the levels of the surplus in 


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1 the budget for each fiscal year set forth in such resolution 

2 and of the surplus or deficit in the Federal Hospital Insur3 ance Trust Fund, calculated using the assumptions set 

4 forth in subsection (b)(2)(A). 

5 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section: 

6 ‘‘(1) The term ‘medicare reform legislation’ 

7 means a bill or a joint resolution to save Medicare 

8 that includes a provision stating the following: ‘For 

9 purposes of section 316(a) of the Congressional 

10 Budget Act of 1974, this Act constitutes medicare 

11 reform legislation.’. 

12 ‘‘(2) The term ‘social security reform legisla13 tion’ means a bill or a joint resolution to save social 

14 security that includes a provision stating the fol15 lowing: ‘For purposes of section 316(a) of the Con16 gressional Budget Act of 1974, this Act constitutes 

17 social security reform legislation.’. 

18 ‘‘(e) WAIVER AND APPEAL.—Subsection (a) may be 

19 waived or suspended in the Senate only by an affirmative 

20 vote of three-fifths of the Members, duly chosen and 

21 sworn. An affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members 

22 of the Senate, duly chosen and sworn, shall be required 

23 in the Senate to sustain an appeal of the ruling of the 

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


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1 ‘‘(f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall cease to 

2 have any force or effect upon the enactment of social secu3 rity reform legislation and medicare reform legislation.’’. 

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The item relating 

5 to section 316 in the table of contents set forth in section 

6 1(b) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Con7 trol Act of 1974 is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 316. Protection for Social Security and hospital insurance surpluses.’’. 

8 SEC. 4. PRESIDENT’S BUDGET. 

9 (a) PROTECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDI10 CARE SURPLUSES.—If the budget of the Government sub11 mitted by the President under section 1105(a) of title 31, 

12 United States Code, recommends a surplus for any fiscal 

13 year that is less than the surplus of the Federal Hospital 

14 Insurance Trust Fund for that fiscal year, then it shall 

15 include a detailed proposal for social security reform legis16 lation or medicare reform legislation. 

17 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (a) shall cease to 

18 have any force or effect upon the enactment of social secu19 rity reform legislation and medicare reform legislation as 

20 defined by section 316(d) of the Congressional Budget Act 

21 of 1974. 

Æ 


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