II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1977

To review, reform, and terminate unnecessary and inequitable Federal

subsidies.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

NOVEMBER 19, 1999

Mr. MCCAIN (for himself, Mr. THOMPSON, Mr. LIEBERMAN, and Mr. ABRAHAM) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to

the Committee on Governmental Affairs

FEBRUARY 2, 2000

Ordered that when the Governmental Affairs Committee reports S. 1977, the

bill then be sequentially referred to the Committee on Finance for a period of up to 45 session days and that if the bill is not reported by the

end of that period it then be discharged from the Committee on Finance

and placed back on the calendar

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 1999’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 The Congress finds that—

3 (1) Federal subsidies, including tax advantages,

4 which may have been enacted with a valid purpose

5 for specific industries or industry segments can—

6 (A) fall subject to abuse, causing unantici7 pated and unjustified windfalls to some indus8 tries and industry segments; or

9 (B) become obsolete, anticompetitive, or no

10 longer in the public interest, making such sub11 sidies unnecessary or undesired;

12 (2) it is unfair to force the United States tax13 payer to support unnecessary subsidies, including

14 tax advantages, that do not provide a substantial

15 public benefit or serve the public interest;

16 (3) the Congress and the President have been

17 unable to evaluate methodically those Federal sub18 sidies that are unfair and unnecessary and require

19 reform or elimination; and

20 (4) a Commission to advise the President and

21 Congress is essential to a comprehensive review of

22 such unfair corporate subsidies and to the reform or

23 elimination of such subsidies.

24 SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

25 The purpose of this Act is to establish a fair and de26 liberative process that will result in the timely identifica-
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1 tion, review, and reform or elimination of unnecessary and

2 inequitable subsidies, including tax advantages, provided

3 by the Federal Government to entities or industries en4 gaged in profitmaking enterprises.

5 SEC. 4. DEFINITION.

6 In this Act, the term ‘‘inequitable Federal subsidy’’

7 means a payment, benefit, service, or tax advantage

8 that—

9 (1) is provided by the Federal Government to

10 any corporation, partnership, joint venture, associa11 tion, or business trust, not to include—

12 (A) a nonprofit organization described

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

14 Code of 1986 that is exempt from taxation

15 under section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue

16 Code of 1986; or

17 (B) a State or local government or Indian

18 Tribe or Alaska Native village or regional or vil19 lage corporation as defined in or established

20 pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settle21 ment Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.);

22 (2) is provided without a reasonable expecta23 tion, demonstrated with the use of reliable perform24 ance criteria, that actions or activities undertaken or

25 performed in return for such payment, benefit, serv-
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1 ice, or tax advantage would result in a return or

2 benefit, quantifiable or nonquantifiable, to the public

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

4 tax advantage;

5 (3) provides an unfair competitive advantage or

6 financial windfall; and

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

8 or tax advantage that—

9 (A) is awarded for the purposes of re10 search and development that—

11 (i) is in the broad public interest on

12 the basis of a peer reviewed or other open,

13 competitive, merit-based procedure;

14 (ii) is for a purpose consistent with

15 the mission of the agency;

16 (iii) supports competing technologies

17 at levels appropriate to their potential, as

18 determined by an appropriate priority set19 ting process; and

20 (iv) the private sector cannot reason21 ably be expected to undertake without Fed22 eral support at a level or in a timeframe

23 consistent with the payment, benefit, serv24 ice, or tax advantage’s potential to provide

25 broad economic or other public benefit;
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1 (B) primarily benefits public health, safety,

2 the environment, or education;

3 (C) is necessary to comply with inter4 national trade or treaty obligations;

5 (D) is certified by the United States Trade

6 Representative as specifically intended and as

7 substantially needed to protect the foreign trade

8 interests of the United States; or

9 (E) is for the purpose of procurement of

10 property or services by the United States Gov11 ernment.

12 SEC. 5. THE COMMISSION.

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an inde14 pendent commission to be known as the ‘‘Corporate Sub15 sidy Reform Commission’’ (hereafter in this Act, referred

16 to as the ‘‘Commission’’).

17 (b) DUTIES.—The Commission shall—

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

19 Federal Government and identify programs and tax

20 laws that provide inequitable Federal subsidies;

21 (2) review inequitable Federal subsidies; and

22 (3) submit the report required under section

23 6(b) to the President and the Congress.

24 (c) LIMITATIONS.—
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1 (1) CREATION OF NEW PROGRAMS OR TAXES.—

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

3 new programs or taxes, and the Commission estab4 lished in this section shall limit its activities to re5 viewing existing programs or tax laws with the goal

6 of ensuring fairness and equity in the operation and

7 application of such programs and laws.

8 (2) ELIMINATION OF AGENCIES AND DEPART9 MENTS.—The Commission shall limit its rec10 ommendations to the termination or reform of pay11 ments, benefits, services, or tax advantages, rather

12 than the termination of Federal agencies or depart13 ments.

14 (d) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The Commission shall

15 be considered an advisory committee within the meaning

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

17 (e) APPOINTMENT.—

18 (1) MEMBERS.—The Commissioners shall be

19 appointed for the life of the Commission and shall

20 be composed of nine members of whom—

21 (A) 3 shall be appointed by the President

22 of the United States;

23 (B) 2 shall be appointed by the Speaker of

24 the House of Representatives;
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1 (C) 1 shall be appointed by the minority

2 Leader of the House of Representatives;

3 (D) 2 shall be appointed by the majority

4 Leader of the Senate; and

5 (E) 1 shall be appointed by the minority

6 Leader of the Senate.

7 (2) CONSULTATION REQUIRED.—The President,

8 the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the mi9 nority leader of the House of Representatives, the

10 majority leader of the Senate, and the minority lead11 er of the Senate shall consult among themselves

12 prior to the appointment of the members of the

13 Commission in order to achieve, to the maximum ex14 tent possible, fair and equitable representation of

15 various points of view with respect to the matters to

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

17 (3) APPOINTMENTS.—During the period of

18 January 1, 2001 through January 31, 2001, the

19 President shall submit to the Senate the names of

20 3 individuals for appointment to the Commission.

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

22 does not submit to Congress the names of 3 individ23 uals for appointment to the Commission on or before

24 the date specified in paragraph (3), the process es25 tablished under this Act shall be terminated.
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1 (5) CHAIRMAN.—At the time the President

2 nominates individuals for appointment to the Com3 mission the President shall designate 1 such indi4 vidual who shall serve as Chairman of the Commis5 sion.

6 (6) BACKGROUND.—The members shall rep7 resent a broad array of expertise covering, to the ex8 tent practical, all subject matter, programs, and tax

9 laws the Commission is likely to review.

10 (f) TERMS.—Each member of the Commission in11 cluding the Chairman shall serve until the termination of

12 the Commission.

13 (g) MEETINGS.—

14 (1) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than April 1,

15 2001, the Commission shall conduct its first meet16 ing.

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

18 Commission shall be open to the public. In cases

19 where classified information, trade secrets, or per20 sonnel matters are discussed, the Chairman may

21 close the meeting. All proceedings, information, and

22 deliberations of the Commission shall be available,

23 upon request, to the chairman and ranking member

24 of the relevant committees of Congress.
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1 (h) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Commission shall

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

3 (i) PAY AND TRAVEL EXPENSES.—

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

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

6 each Commissioner, other than the Chairman, shall

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

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

9 Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5,

10 United States Code, for each day (including travel

11 time) during which the member is engaged in the ac12 tual performance of duties vested in the Commis13 sion.

14 (2) CHAIRMAN.—Notwithstanding section 7 of

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

16 App.), the Chairman shall be paid for each day re17 ferred to in paragraph (1) at a rate equal to the

18 daily payment of the minimum annual rate of basic

19 pay payable for level III of the Executive Schedule

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

21 (3) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Members shall receive

22 travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsist23 ence, in accordance with section 5702 and 5703 of

24 title 5, United States Code.

25 (j) DIRECTOR OF STAFF.—
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1 (1) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Chairman shall ap2 point a Director who has not served in any of the

3 entities or industries that the Commission intends to

4 review during the 12 months preceding the date of

5 such appointment.

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

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

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

9 payable for level IV of the Executive Schedule under

10 section 5315 of title 5, United States Code.

11 (3) REPORTS.—On administrative and per12 sonnel matters, the Director shall submit periodic

13 reports to the Chairman of the Commission and the

14 chairman and ranking member of the Committee on

15 Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Com16 mittee on Government Reform and Oversight of the

17 House of the Representatives.

18 (k) STAFF.—

19 (1) ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—Subject to para20 graphs (2) and (4), the Director, with the approval

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

22 additional personnel.

23 (2) APPOINTMENTS.—The Director may make

24 such appointments without regard to the provisions

25 of title 5, United States Code, governing appoint-
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1 ments in the competitive service, and any personnel

2 so appointed may be paid without regard to the pro3 visions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter

4 53 of that title relating to classification and General

5 Schedule pay rates.

6 (3) DETAILEES.—Upon the request of the Di7 rector, the head of any Federal department or agen8 cy may detail any of the personnel of that depart9 ment or agency to the Commission to assist the

10 Commission in accordance with an agreement en11 tered into with the Commission.

12 (4) RESTRICTIONS ON PERSONNEL AND

13 DETAILEES.—The following restrictions shall apply

14 to personnel and detailees of the Commission:

15 (A) PERSONNEL.—Not more than one16 third of the personnel detailed to the Commis17 sion may be on detail from Federal agencies

18 that deal directly or indirectly with the Federal

19 subsidies the Commission intends to review.

20 (B) ANALYSTS.—Not more than one-fifth

21 of the professional analysts of the Commission

22 may be persons detailed from a Federal agency

23 that deals directly or indirectly with the Federal

24 subsidies the Commission intends to review.
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1 (C) LEAD ANALYST.—No person detailed

2 from a Federal agency to the Commission may

3 be assigned as the lead professional analyst

4 with respect to an entity or industry the Com5 mission intends to review if the person has been

6 involved in regulatory or policymaking decisions

7 affecting any such entity or industry in the 12

8 months preceding such assignment.

9 (D) DETAILEE.—A person may not be de10 tailed from a Federal agency to the Commission

11 if, within 12 months before the detail is to

12 begin, that person participated personally and

13 substantially in any matter within that par14 ticular agency concerning the preparation of

15 recommendations under this Act.

16 (E) FEDERAL OFFICER OR EMPLOYEE.—

17 No member of a Federal agency, and no officer

18 or employee of a Federal agency, may—

19 (i) prepare any report concerning the

20 effectiveness, fitness, or efficiency of the

21 performance on the staff of the Commis22 sion of any person detailed from a Federal

23 agency to that staff;

24 (ii) review the preparation of such re25 port; or
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1 (iii) approve or disapprove such a re2 port.

3 (F) LIMITATION ON STAFF SIZE.—(i) Sub4 ject to clause (ii), there may not be more than

5 25 persons (including any detailees) on the

6 staff at any time.

7 (ii) The Commission may increase per8 sonnel in excess of the limitation under clause

9 (i), 15 days after submitting notification of

10 such increase to the Committee on Govern11 mental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee

12 on Government Reform and Oversight of the

13 House of Representatives.

14 (G) LIMITATION ON FEDERAL OFFICER.—

15 No member of a Federal agency and no em16 ployee of a Federal agency may serve as a Com17 missioner or as a paid member of the staff.

18 (5) ASSISTANCE.—

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller Gen20 eral of the United States may provide assist21 ance, including the detailing of employees, to

22 the Commission in accordance with an agree23 ment entered into with the Commission.

24 (B) CONSULTATION.—The Commission

25 and the Comptroller General of the United
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1 States shall consult with the Committee on

2 Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the

3 Committee on Government Reform and Over4 sight of the House of Representatives on the

5 agreement referred to under subparagraph (A)

6 before entering into such agreement.

7 (l) OTHER AUTHORITY.—

8 (1) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Com9 mission may procure by contract, to the extent funds

10 are available, the temporary or intermittent services

11 of experts or consultants pursuant to section 3109

12 of title 5, United States Code.

13 (2) LEASING.—The Commission may lease

14 space and acquire personal property to the extent

15 that funds are available.

16 (m) FUNDING.—

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

18 appropriated to the Commission such funds as are

19 necessary to carry out its duties under this Act.

20 (2) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—There are au21 thorized to be appropriated to the Comptroller Gen22 eral of the United States such funds as are nec23 essary to carry out its duties under subsection (k)(5)

24 and section 6(b)(5).
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1 (n) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate

2 on September 1, 2002.

3 SEC. 6. PROCEDURE FOR MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS TO

4 TERMINATE CORPORATE SUBSIDIES.

5 (a) AGENCY PLAN.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than April 1,

7 2001, or the date budget documents are submitted

8 to Congress in 2001, whichever is earlier, in support

9 of the budget of each Federal department or agency,

10 the head of each department or agency shall include

11 in such documents a list identifying all programs or

12 tax laws within that department or agency that the

13 head of the department or agency determines pro14 vide inequitable Federal subsidies.

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

16 (A) a detailed description of each program

17 or tax law in question;

18 (B) a statement detailing the extent to

19 which a payment, benefit, service, or tax advan20 tage meets the provisions of section 4;

21 (C) a statement summarizing the legisla22 tive history and purpose of such payment, ben23 efit, service, or tax advantage, and the laws or

24 policies directly or indirectly giving rise to the

25 need for such programs or tax laws; and
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1 (D) a recommendation to the Commission

2 regarding actions to be taken under section

3 5(b)(3).

4 (3) INTERNATIONAL TRADE PROGRAMS.—As

5 part of its agency plan submitted pursuant to this

6 subsection, the United States Trade Representative

7 shall survey all federally supported international

8 trade programs in all Federal agencies and shall cer9 tify to the Commission which of those programs

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

11 Trade Representative shall provide the Commission

12 a detailed statement of the reasons each program

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

14 plan.

15 (b) REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE COM16 MISSION.—

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

18 the submission of the budget documents to Con19 gress, the Commission shall conduct public hearings

20 on the recommendations included in the lists re21 quired under subsection (a). All testimony before the

22 Commission at a public hearing conducted under

23 this paragraph shall be presented under oath.

24 (2) REPORT OF COMMISSION.—
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1 (A) REPORT TO PRESIDENT.—Not later

2 than November 30, 2001, the Commission shall

3 submit a report to the President containing the

4 Commission’s findings and recommendations

5 for termination, modification, or retention of

6 each of the inequitable Federal subsidies re7 viewed by the Commission. Such findings and

8 recommendations shall specify—

9 (i) all actions, circumstances, and con10 siderations relating to or bearing upon the

11 recommendations; and

12 (ii) to the maximum extent prac13 ticable, the estimated effect of the rec14 ommendations upon the policies, laws and

15 programs directly or indirectly affected by

16 the recommendations.

17 (B) CHANGES IN RECOMMENDATIONS.—

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

19 making its recommendations, the Commission

20 may make changes in any of the recommenda21 tions made by a department or agency if the

22 Commission determines that such department

23 or agency deviated substantially from the provi24 sions of section 4.
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1 (C) CHANGES.—In the case of a change in

2 the recommendations made by a department or

3 agency, the Commission may make the change

4 only if the Commission—

5 (i) makes the determination required

6 under subparagraph (B); and

7 (ii) conducts a public hearing on the

8 Commission’s proposed changes.

9 (D) APPLICATION.—Subparagraph (C)

10 shall apply to a change by the Commission in

11 a department or agency recommendation that

12 would—

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

14 service, or tax advantage to the list rec15 ommended for termination;

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

17 service, or tax advantage to the list rec18 ommended for modification; or

19 (iii) increase or decrease the extent of

20 a recommendation to modify a payment,

21 benefit, service, or tax advantage included

22 in a department’s or agency’s rec23 ommendation.

24 (3) JUSTIFICATION.—The Commission shall ex25 plain and justify in the report submitted to the
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1 President under paragraph (2) any recommendation

2 made by the Commission that is different from a

3 recommendation made by an agency under sub4 section (a).

5 (4) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—After November

6 30, 2001, or after the date the Commission submits

7 recommendations to the President, the Commission

8 shall, upon request, promptly provide to any Member

9 of Congress the information used by the Commission

10 in making its recommendations.

11 (5) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—The Comp12 troller General of the United States shall—

13 (A) assist the Commission, to the extent

14 requested, in the Commission’s review and anal15 ysis of the list, statements, and recommenda16 tions made by departments and agencies under

17 subsection (a); and

18 (B) not later than 60 days after April 1,

19 2001, or the public release of the President’s

20 budget documents in 2001, whichever is earlier,

21 submit to the Congress and to the Commission

22 a report containing a detailed analysis of the

23 list, statements, and recommendations of each

24 department or agency.

25 (c) REVIEW BY THE PRESIDENT.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than December 31,

2 2001, the President shall submit a report to the

3 Commission and to the Congress containing the

4 President’s approval or disapproval of the Commis5 sion’s recommendations submitted under subsection

6 (b).

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

8 the recommendations of the Commission, the Presi9 dent shall submit a copy of such recommendations

10 to the Congress, together with a certification of such

11 approval.

12 (3) DISAPPROVAL.—If the President dis13 approves the recommendations of the Commission in

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

15 Commission and the Congress the reasons for that

16 disapproval. Not later than February 1, 2002, the

17 Commission shall submit to the President a revised

18 list of recommendations.

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

20 the revised recommendations of the Commission sub21 mitted to the President under paragraph (3), the

22 President shall submit a copy of such revised rec23 ommendations to the Congress, together with a cer24 tification of such approval.
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1 (5) APPROVAL OF ENTIRE PACKAGE.—The

2 President may only submit an approval certificate

3 that pertains to the entire package of recommenda4 tions submitted by the Commission under subsection

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

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

7 does not submit to the Congress an approval and

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

9 February 15, 2002, the process established under

10 this Act shall be terminated.

11 SEC. 7. CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION.

12 (a) SUBMISSION OF RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE

13 PRESIDENT.—If the President submits the Commission

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

15 or (4), such recommendations shall be accompanied by in16 formation specifying—

17 (1) the reasons and justifications for the rec18 ommendations;

19 (2) to the maximum extent practicable, the esti20 mated fiscal, economic, and budgetary impact of ac21 cepting the recommendations;

22 (3) the amount of the projected savings result23 ing from each recommendation;

24 (4) all actions, circumstances, and consider25 ations relating to or bearing upon the recommenda-
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1 tions and to the maximum extent practicable, the es2 timated effect of the recommendations upon the poli3 cies, laws and programs directly or indirectly af4 fected by the recommendations; and

5 (5) the specific changes in Federal statute nec6 essary to implement the recommendations.

7 (b) SUBMISSION OF RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE

8 SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—

9 (1) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—The rec10 ommendations submitted by the President to the

11 Congress under subsection (a) shall be submitted to

12 the Senate and the House of Representatives on the

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

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

15 Clerk of the House of the Representatives if the

16 House is not in session.

17 (2) FEDERAL REGISTER.—Any recommenda18 tions and accompanying information submitted

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

20 issue of the Federal Register after such submission.

21 (c) INTRODUCTION.—

22 (1) DATE OF INTRODUCTION.—The Majority

23 Leader of the Senate or his designee, and the Speak24 er of the House of Representatives, or his designee,

25 shall introduce a bill (or bills as provided under
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1 paragraph (2)) that implements the recommenda2 tions submitted by the President under subsection

3 (a), not later than the later of 14 calendar days in

4 session after the date on which—

5 (A) the Senate or the House of Represent6 atives received the recommendations submitted

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

8 Senate or the House of Representatives (as ap9 plicable) is in session on the date of such sub10 mission; or

11 (B) the Senate or the House of Represent12 atives is first in session after such recommenda13 tions are submitted, if the Senate or the House

14 of Representatives (as applicable) is not in ses15 sion on the date of such submission.

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

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

18 House of Representatives, or his designee, shall in19 troduce a bill or separate bills ensuring that all such

20 recommendations will be implemented.

21 (d) COMMITTEE REFERRAL AND ACTION.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—

23 (A) CONSIDERATION AND REPORT.—Any

24 committee to which a bill or bills introduced

25 under subsection (c) is referred shall report
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1 such bill not later than 120 calendar days after

2 the date of referral. No amendment during

3 committee consideration of a bill or bills intro4 duced under subsection (c) shall be in order un5 less that amendment is confined to terminating

6 or reforming an inequitable Federal subsidy as

7 defined in section 4 of this Act. Any such re8 ported bill shall be referred to the Committee

9 on Governmental Affairs of the Senate or the

10 Committee on Government Reform and Over11 sight of the House of Representatives, as appli12 cable.

13 (B) COMMITTEES ON FINANCE AND WAYS

14 AND MEANS.—

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

16 the Committee on Finance or the Com17 mittee on Ways and Means that contains

18 revenue increases may be amended to in19 clude reductions in revenues in the form of

20 tax cuts in an amount up to the amount

21 of the revenue increases.

22 (ii) SCORECARD.—If the bill referred

23 to in clause (i) is enacted into law, any

24 amount of revenue reductions not made by

25 the bill as provided in clause (i) shall be
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1 credited to the pay-as-you-go scorecard

2 under section 252 of the Balanced Budget

3 and Emergency Deficit Control Act of

4 1985 and may only be offset by legislation

5 reducing revenues.

6 (2) DISCHARGE.—If a committee does not re7 port a bill within the 120-day period as provided

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

9 from the committee and referred to the Committee

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

12 House of Representatives, as applicable.

13 (3) REPORT TO FLOOR; CONSOLIDATION.—

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the first

15 day the Senate or the House of Representatives

16 (as applicable) is in session following 10 cal17 endar days in session after the end of the 120-

18 day period described under paragraphs (1) and

19 (2), the Committee on Governmental Affairs of

20 the Senate and the Committee on Government

21 Reform and Oversight of the House of Rep22 resentatives, as applicable, shall—

23 (i) consolidate all bills referred under

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

25 (without substantive amendment) and re-
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1 port such bill to the Senate or the House

2 of Representatives; or

3 (ii) if only 1 bill is referred under

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

5 (without amendment) to the Senate or

6 House of Representatives.

7 (B) LEGISLATIVE CALENDAR.—The bill re8 ported under subparagraph (A) shall be placed

9 on the legislative calendar of the appropriate

10 House.

11 (e) PROCEDURE IN SENATE AFTER REPORT OF COM12 MITTEE; DEBATE; AMENDMENTS.—

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

14 on a bill reported by the Committee on Govern15 mental Affairs under subsection (d)(3), and all

16 amendments thereto and debatable motions and ap17 peals in connection therewith, shall be limited to not

18 more than 30 hours. The time shall be equally di19 vided between, and controlled by, the Majority Lead20 er and Minority Leader or their designees.

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

22 Senate on any amendment to the bill shall be limited

23 to 1 hour, to be equally divided between, and con24 trolled by, the mover and the manager of the bill,

25 and debate on any amendment to an amendment,
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1 debatable motion, or appeal shall be limited to 30

2 minutes, to be equally divided between, and con3 trolled by, the mover and the manager of the bill, ex4 cept that in the event the manager of the bill is in

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

6 time in opposition thereto shall be controlled by the

7 minority leader or his designee.

8 (3) LIMIT OF DEBATE.—(A) A motion to fur9 ther limit debate is not debatable. A motion by the

10 majority leader or his designee to extend debate is

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

12 (B)(i) No amendment to the bill reported by

13 the Committee on Governmental Affairs under sub14 section (d)(3) shall be in order unless—

15 (I) that amendment is confined to termi16 nating or reforming an inequitable Federal sub17 sidy as defined by section 4 of this Act; and

18 (II) that amendment is germane to the bill

19 reported by the Committee on Governmental

20 Affairs.

21 (ii) For the purposes of a bill described under

22 clause (i), the term ‘‘germane’’ means only amend23 ments which strike language from such bill, or re24 store language in the bill or bills introduced under

25 subsection (c).
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1 (4) CONFERENCE REPORTS.—

2 (A) MOTION TO PROCEED.—A motion to

3 proceed to the consideration of the conference

4 report on a bill subject to the procedures of this

5 section and reported to the Senate may be

6 made even though a previous motion to the

7 same effect has been disagreed to.

8 (B) TIME LIMITATION.—The consideration

9 in the Senate of the conference report on the

10 bill and any amendments in disagreement there11 to, including all debatable motions and appeals

12 in connection therewith, shall be limited to 5

13 hours, to be equally divided between, and con14 trolled by, the majority leader and minority

15 leader or their designees. Debate on any debat16 able motion, appeal related to the conference re17 port, or any amendment to an amendment in

18 disagreement, shall be limited to 30 minutes, to

19 be equally divided between, and controlled by,

20 the mover and the manager of the conference

21 report (or a message between Houses).

22 (f) PROCEDURE IN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

23 AFTER REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE; DEBATE.—

24 (1) MOTION TO CONSIDER.—When the Com25 mittee on Government Reform and Oversight of the
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1 House of Representatives reports a bill under sub2 section (d)(3) it is in order (at any time after the

3 fifth day (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal

4 holidays) following the day on which any committee

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

6 to the Committee on Government Reform and Over7 sight has been available to Members of the House)

8 to move to proceed to the consideration of the bill

9 reported to the House of Representatives. The mo10 tion is highly privileged and is not debatable. An

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

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

13 the motion is agreed to or disagreed to.

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

15 House of Representatives shall be limited to not

16 more than 10 hours, which shall be divided equally

17 between the majority and minority parties. A motion

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

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

20 order to move to reconsider the vote by which the

21 bill is agreed to or disagreed to.

22 (3) TERMS OF CONSIDERATION.—Consideration

23 of the bill by the House of Representatives shall be

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

25 considered for amendment under the 5-minute rule
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1 in accordance with the applicable provisions of rule

2 XXIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives.

3 After the committee rises and reports the bill back

4 to the House, the previous question shall be consid5 ered as ordered on the bill and any amendments

6 thereto to final passage without intervening motion.

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

8 of Representatives on the conference report on a bill

9 subject to the procedures under this section and re10 ported to the House of Representatives shall be lim11 ited to not more than 5 hours, which shall be divided

12 equally between the majority and minority parties. A

13 motion further to limit debate is not debatable. A

14 motion to recommit the conference report is not in

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

16 the vote by which the conference report is agreed to

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

18 order.

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

20 Chair relating to the application of the Rules of the

21 House of Representatives to the procedure relating

22 to the bill shall be decided without debate.

23 (g) RULES OF THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REP24 RESENTATIVES.—This section is enacted by Congress—
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1 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of

2 the Senate and the House of Representatives, re3 spectively, but applicable only with respect to the

4 procedure to be followed in that House in the case

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

6 rules only to the extent that it is inconsistent with

7 such rules; and

8 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional

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

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

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

12 the case of any other rule of that House.

Æ