II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST 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

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’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds that—

8 (1) Federal subsidies, including tax advantages,

9 which may have been enacted with a valid purpose

10 for specific industries or industry segments can—
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1 (A) fall subject to abuse, causing unantici2 pated and unjustified windfalls to some indus3 tries and industry segments; or

4 (B) become obsolete, anticompetitive, or no

5 longer in the public interest, making such sub6 sidies unnecessary or undesired;

7 (2) it is unfair to force the United States tax8 payer to support unnecessary subsidies, including

9 tax advantages, that do not provide a substantial

10 public benefit or serve the public interest;

11 (3) the Congress and the President have been

12 unable to evaluate methodically those Federal sub13 sidies that are unfair and unnecessary and require

14 reform or elimination; and

15 (4) a Commission to advise the President and

16 Congress is essential to a comprehensive review of

17 such unfair corporate subsidies and to the reform or

18 elimination of such subsidies.

19 SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

20 The purpose of this Act is to establish a fair and de21 liberative process that will result in the timely identifica22 tion, review, and reform or elimination of unnecessary and

23 inequitable subsidies, including tax advantages, provided

24 by the Federal Government to entities or industries en25 gaged in profitmaking enterprises.
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1 SEC. 4. DEFINITION.

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

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

4 that—

5 (1) is provided by the Federal Government to

6 any corporation, partnership, joint venture, associa7 tion, or business trust, not to include—

8 (A) a nonprofit organization described

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

10 Code of 1986 that is exempt from taxation

11 under section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue

12 Code of 1986; or

13 (B) a State or local government or Indian

14 Tribe or Alaska Native village or regional or vil15 lage corporation as defined in or established

16 pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settle17 ment Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.);

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

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

23 benefit, quantifiable or nonquantifiable, to the public

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

25 tax advantage;
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1 (3) provides an unfair competitive advantage or

2 financial windfall; and

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

4 or tax advantage that—

5 (A) is awarded for the purposes of re6 search 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

11 the mission of the agency;

12 (iii) supports competing technologies

13 at levels appropriate to their potential, as

14 determined by an appropriate priority set15 ting 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 of such programs and laws.

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) 3 shall be appointed by the President

17 of the United States;

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

19 the House of Representatives;

20 (C) 1 shall be appointed by the minority

21 Leader of the House of Representatives;

22 (D) 2 shall be appointed by the majority

23 Leader of the Senate; and

24 (E) 1 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, 2001 through January 31, 2001, the

13 President shall submit to the Senate the names of

14 3 individuals for appointment to the Commission.

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

16 does not submit to Congress the names of 3 individ17 uals for appointment to the Commission on or before

18 the date specified in paragraph (3), the process es19 tablished under this Act shall be terminated.

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

21 nominates individuals for appointment to the Com22 mission the President shall designate 1 such indi23 vidual who shall serve as Chairman of the Commis24 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.—Not later than April 1,

10 2001, 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 ac6 tual performance of duties vested in the Commis7 sion.

8 (2) CHAIRMAN.—Notwithstanding section 7 of

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

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

12 daily payment of the minimum annual rate of basic

13 pay payable for level III of the Executive Schedule

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

15 (3) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Members shall receive

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

18 title 5, United States Code.

19 (j) DIRECTOR OF STAFF.—

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

22 entities or industries that the Commission intends to

23 review during the 12 months preceding the date of

24 such appointment.
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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 per7 sonnel matters, the Director shall submit periodic

8 reports 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.—Not more than one11 third of the personnel detailed to the Commis12 sion may be on detail from Federal agencies

13 that deal directly or indirectly with the Federal

14 subsidies the Commission intends to review.

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

16 of 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 policymaking decisions
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1 affecting any such entity or industry in the 12

2 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 par8 ticular agency concerning the preparation of

9 recommendations 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 per2 sonnel in excess of the limitation under clause

3 (i), 15 days after submitting notification of

4 such increase to the Committee on Govern5 mental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee

6 on Government Reform and Oversight of the

7 House of 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, 2002.

21 SEC. 6. PROCEDURE FOR MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS TO

22 TERMINATE CORPORATE SUBSIDIES.

23 (a) AGENCY PLAN.—

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

25 2001, or the date budget documents are submitted
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1 to Congress in 2001, whichever is earlier, in support

2 of the budget of each Federal department or agency,

3 the head of each department or agency shall include

4 in such documents a list identifying all programs or

5 tax laws within that department or agency that the

6 head of the department or agency determines pro7 vide inequitable 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, ben16 efit, 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.—Not later

19 than November 30, 2001, 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, 2001, 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 Comp4 troller 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) not later than 60 days after April 1,

11 2001, or the public release of the President’s

12 budget documents in 2001, 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.—Not later than December 31,

19 2001, 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. Not later than February 1, 2002, 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, 2002, 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), not 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) CONSIDERATION AND REPORT.—Any

16 committee to which a bill or bills introduced

17 under subsection (c) is referred shall report

18 such bill not later than 120 calendar days after

19 the date of referral. No amendment during

20 committee consideration of a bill or bills intro21 duced under subsection (c) shall be in order un22 less that amendment is confined to terminating

23 or reforming an inequitable Federal subsidy as

24 defined in section 4 of this Act. Any such re25 ported bill shall be referred to the Committee
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1 on Governmental Affairs of the Senate or the

2 Committee on Government Reform and Over3 sight of the House of Representatives, as appli4 cable.

5 (B) COMMITTEES ON FINANCE AND WAYS

6 AND MEANS.—

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

8 the Committee on Finance or the Com9 mittee on Ways and Means that contains

10 revenue increases may be amended to in11 clude reductions in revenues in the form of

12 tax cuts in an amount up to the amount

13 of the revenue increases.

14 (ii) SCORECARD.—If the bill referred

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

16 amount of revenue reductions not made by

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

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

19 under section 252 of the Balanced Budget

20 and Emergency Deficit Control Act of

21 1985 and may only be offset by legislation

22 reducing revenues.

23 (2) DISCHARGE.—If a committee does not re24 port a bill within the 120-day period as provided

25 under paragraph (1), such bill shall be discharged
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1 from the committee and referred to the Committee

2 on Governmental Affairs of the Senate or the Com3 mittee on Government Reform and Oversight of the

4 House of Representatives, as applicable.

5 (3) REPORT TO FLOOR; CONSOLIDATION.—

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

7 day the Senate or the House of Representatives

8 (as applicable) is in session following 10 cal9 endar days in session after the end of the 120-

10 day period described under paragraphs (1) and

11 (2), the Committee on Governmental Affairs of

12 the Senate and the Committee on Government

13 Reform and Oversight of the House of Rep14 resentatives, as applicable, shall—

15 (i) consolidate all bills referred under

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

17 (without substantive amendment) and re18 port such bill to the Senate or the House

19 of Representatives; or

20 (ii) if only 1 bill is referred under

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

22 (without amendment) to the Senate or

23 House of Representatives.

24 (B) LEGISLATIVE CALENDAR.—The bill re25 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)(i) No amendment to the bill reported by

6 the Committee on Governmental Affairs under sub7 section (d)(3) shall be in order unless—

8 (I) that amendment is confined to termi9 nating or reforming an inequitable Federal sub10 sidy as defined by section 4 of this Act; and

11 (II) that amendment is germane to the bill

12 reported by the Committee on Governmental

13 Affairs.

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

15 clause (i), the term ‘‘germane’’ means only amend16 ments which strike language from such bill, or re17 store language in the bill or bills introduced under

18 subsection (c).

19 (4) CONFERENCE REPORTS.—

20 (A) MOTION TO PROCEED.—A motion to

21 proceed to the consideration of the conference

22 report on a bill subject to the procedures of this

23 section and reported to the Senate may be

24 made even though a previous motion to the

25 same effect has been disagreed to.
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1 (B) TIME LIMITATION.—The consideration

2 in the Senate of the conference report on the

3 bill and any amendments in disagreement there4 to, including all debatable motions and appeals

5 in connection therewith, shall be limited to 5

6 hours, to be equally divided between, and con7 trolled by, the majority leader and minority

8 leader or their designees. Debate on any debat9 able motion, appeal related to the conference re10 port, or any amendment to an amendment in

11 disagreement, shall be limited to 30 minutes, to

12 be equally divided between, and controlled by,

13 the mover and the manager of the conference

14 report (or a message between Houses).

15 (f) PROCEDURE IN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

16 AFTER REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE; DEBATE.—

17 (1) MOTION TO CONSIDER.—When the Com18 mittee on Government Reform and Oversight of the

19 House of Representatives reports a bill under sub20 section (d)(3) it is in order (at any time after the

21 fifth day (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal

22 holidays) following the day on which any committee

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

24 to the Committee on Government Reform and Over25 sight has been available to Members of the House)
29

•S 1977 IS

1 to move to proceed to the consideration of the bill

2 reported to the House of Representatives. The mo3 tion is highly privileged and is not debatable. An

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

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

6 the motion is agreed to or disagreed to.

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

8 House of Representatives shall be limited to not

9 more than 10 hours, which shall be divided equally

10 between the majority and minority parties. A motion

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

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

13 order to move to reconsider the vote by which the

14 bill is agreed to or disagreed to.

15 (3) TERMS OF CONSIDERATION.—Consideration

16 of the bill by the House of Representatives shall be

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

18 considered for amendment under the 5-minute rule

19 in accordance with the applicable provisions of rule

20 XXIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives.

21 After the committee rises and reports the bill back

22 to the House, the previous question shall be consid23 ered as ordered on the bill and any amendments

24 thereto to final passage without intervening motion.
30

•S 1977 IS

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

2 of Representatives on the conference report on a bill

3 subject to the procedures under this section and re4 ported to the House of Representatives shall be lim5 ited to not more than 5 hours, which shall be divided

6 equally between the majority and minority parties. A

7 motion further to limit debate is not debatable. A

8 motion to recommit the conference report is not in

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

10 the vote by which the conference report is agreed to

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

12 order.

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

14 Chair relating to the application of the Rules of the

15 House of Representatives to the procedure relating

16 to the bill shall be decided without debate.

17 (g) RULES OF THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REP18 RESENTATIVES.—This section is enacted by Congress—

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

20 the Senate and the House of Representatives, re21 spectively, but applicable only with respect to the

22 procedure to be followed in that House in the case

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

24 rules only to the extent that it is inconsistent with

25 such rules; and
31

•S 1977 IS

1 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional

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

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

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

5 the case of any other rule of that House.

Æ