I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1122 

To amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to simplify annual 

concurrent resolutions on the budget and to budget for emergencies. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 16, 2007 

Mr. BARRETT of South Carolina 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 amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to simplify 

annual concurrent resolutions on the budget and to budget for emergencies. 

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 ‘‘Emergency Spending 

5 Control Act of 2007’’. 

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1 TITLE I—ONE-PAGE BUDGET 

2 RESOLUTIONS 

3 SEC. 101. ONE-PAGE BUDGET RESOLUTIONS. 

4 (a) CONTENT OF ANNUAL CONCURRENT RESOLU5 TIONS ON THE BUDGET.—Section 301(a)(4) of the Con6 gressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended to read as fol7 lows: 

8 ‘‘(4) subtotals of new budget authority and out9 lays for nondefense discretionary spending, defense 

10 discretionary spending, direct spending (excluding 

11 interest), interest, and emergencies (for the reserve 

12 fund in section 316(b) and for military operations in 

13 section 316(c));’’. 

14 (b) ADDITIONAL MATTERS IN CONCURRENT RESO15 LUTION.—Section 301(b) of the Congressional Budget Act 

16 of 1974 is amended as follows: 

17 (1) Strike paragraphs (2), (4), and (6) through 

18 (9). 

19 (2) After paragraph (1), insert the following 

20 new paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(2) require such other congressional proce22 dures, relating to the budget, as may be appropriate 

23 to carry out the purposes of this Act;’’. 

24 (3) At the end of paragraph (3), insert ‘‘and’’ 

25 and redesignate paragraph (5) as paragraph (4) and 

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1 in such paragraph strike the semicolon and insert a 

2 period. 

3 (c) REQUIRED CONTENTS OF REPORT.—Section 

4 301(e)(2) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is 

5 amended as follows: 

6 (1) Redesignate subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), 

7 (D), (E), and (F) as subparagraphs (B), (C), (E), 

8 (F), and (G), respectively. 

9 (2) Before subparagraph (B) (as redesignated), 

10 insert the following new subparagraph: 

11 ‘‘(A) new budget authority and outlays for 

12 each major functional category, based on alloca13 tions of the total levels set forth pursuant to 

14 subsection (a)(1);’’. 

15 (3) In subparagraph (C) (as redesignated), 

16 strike ‘‘mandatory’’ and insert ‘‘direct spending’’. 

17 (d) ADDITIONAL CONTENTS OF REPORT.—Section 

18 301(e)(3) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is 

19 amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subparagraph 

20 (D), by striking the period and inserting ‘‘; and’’ at the 

21 end of subparagraph (E), and by adding at the end the 

22 following new subparagraph: 

23 ‘‘(F) reconciliation directives described in 

24 section 310.’’. 

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1 (e) PRESIDENT’S BUDGET SUBMISSION TO THE CON2 GRESS.—(1) The first two sentences of section 1105(a) 

3 of title 31, United States Code, are amended to read as 

4 follows: 

5 ‘‘On or after the first Monday in January but not later 

6 than the first Monday in February of each year the Presi7 dent shall submit a budget of the United States Govern8 ment for the following fiscal year which shall set forth the 

9 following levels: 

10 ‘‘(A) totals of new budget authority and out11 lays; 

12 ‘‘(B) total Federal revenues and the amount, if 

13 any, by which the aggregate level of Federal reve14 nues should be increased or decreased by bills and 

15 resolutions to be reported by the appropriate com16 mittees; 

17 ‘‘(C) the surplus or deficit in the budget; 

18 ‘‘(D) subtotals of new budget authority and 

19 outlays for nondefense discretionary spending, de20 fense discretionary spending, direct spending (ex21 cluding interest), interest, and emergencies (for the 

22 reserve fund in section 316(b) and for military oper23 ations in section 316(c)); and 

24 ‘‘(E) the public debt. 

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1 Each budget submission shall include a budget message 

2 and summary and supporting information and, as a sepa3 rately delineated statement, the levels required in the pre4 ceding sentence for at least each of the 4 ensuing fiscal 

5 years.’’. 

6 (2) The third sentence of section 1105(a) of title 31, 

7 United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘submission’’ 

8 after ‘‘budget’’. 

9 (f) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 310 RE10 GARDING RECONCILIATION DIRECTIVES.—(1) Section 

11 310(a) of such Act is amended by striking ‘‘A’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘The joint explanatory statement accompanying the 

13 conference report on a’’. 

14 (2) The first sentence of section 310(b) of such Act 

15 is amended by striking ‘‘If’’ and inserting ‘‘If the joint 

16 explanatory statement accompanying the conference re17 port on’’. 

18 (3) Section 310(c)(1) of such Act is amended by in19 serting ‘‘the joint explanatory statement accompanying 

20 the conference report on’’ after ‘‘pursuant to’’. 

21 TITLE II—EMERGENCIES 

22 SEC. 201. REPEAL OF ADJUSTMENTS FOR EMERGENCIES. 

23 (a) ELIMINATION OF EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.— 

24 Sections 251(b)(2)(A), 252(e), and 252(d)(4)(B) of the 

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1 Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 

2 1985 are repealed. 

3 (b) ELIMINATION OF ADJUSTMENTS.—Section 

4 314(b) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amend5 ed by striking paragraph (1) and by redesignating para6 graphs (2) through (5) as paragraphs (1) through (4), re7 spectively. 

8 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Clause 2 of rule 

9 XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives is 

10 amended by repealing paragraph (e) and by redesignating 

11 paragraph (f) as paragraph (e). 

12 SEC. 202. OMB EMERGENCY CRITERIA. 

13 Section 3 of the Congressional Budget and Impound14 ment Control Act of 1974 is amended by adding at the 

15 end the following new paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(11)(A) The term ‘emergency’ means an un17 derlying situation that— 

18 ‘‘(i) requires new budget authority and 

19 outlays (or new budget authority and the out20 lays flowing therefrom) for the prevention or 

21 mitigation of, or response to, loss of life or 

22 property, or a threat to national security; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) is unanticipated. 

24 ‘‘(B) As used in subparagraph (A), the term 

25 ‘unanticipated’ means that the situation is— 

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1 ‘‘(i) sudden, which means quickly coming 

2 into being or not building up over time; 

3 ‘‘(ii) urgent, which means a pressing and 

4 compelling need requiring immediate action; 

5 ‘‘(iii) unforeseen, which means not pre6 dicted or anticipated as an emerging need; and 

7 ‘‘(iv) temporary, which means not of a per8 manent duration.’’. 

9 SEC. 203. DEVELOPMENT OF GUIDELINES FOR APPLICA10 TION OF EMERGENCY DEFINITION. 

11 Not later than 5 months after the date of enactment 

12 of this Act, the chairmen of the Committees on the Budget 

13 (in consultation with the President) shall, after consulting 

14 with the chairmen of the Committees on Appropriations 

15 and applicable authorizing committees of their respective 

16 Houses and the Directors of the Congressional Budget Of17 fice and the Office of Management and Budget, jointly 

18 publish in the Congressional Record guidelines for applica19 tion of the definition of emergency set forth in section 

20 3(11) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment 

21 Control Act of 1974. 

22 SEC. 204. RESERVE FUND FOR EMERGENCIES IN PRESI23 DENT’S BUDGET. 

24 Section 1105(f) of title 31, United States Code is 

25 amended by adding at the end the following new senmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 tences: ‘‘Such budget submission shall also comply with 

2 the requirements of subsections (b) and (c) of section 316 

3 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and, in the case 

4 of any budget authority requested for an emergency, such 

5 submission shall include a detailed justification of why 

6 such emergency is an emergency within the meaning of 

7 section 3(11) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.’’. 

8 SEC. 205. BUDGETING FOR EMERGENCIES. 

9 (a) EMERGENCIES.—Title III of the Congressional 

10 Budget Act of 1974 is amended by adding at the end the 

11 following new section: 

12 ‘‘EMERGENCIES

13 ‘‘SEC. 316. (a) ADJUSTMENTS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—After the reporting of a bill 

15 or joint resolution or the submission of a conference 

16 report thereon that provides budget authority for 

17 any emergency as identified pursuant to subsection 

18 (d) that is not covered by subsection (c)— 

19 ‘‘(A) the chairman of the Committee on 

20 the Budget of the House of Representatives or 

21 the Senate shall determine and certify, pursu22 ant to the guidelines referred to in section 203 

23 of the , the portion (if any) of the amount so 

24 specified that is for an emergency within the 

25 meaning of section 3(11); and 

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1 ‘‘(B) such chairman shall make the adjust2 ment set forth in paragraph (2) for the amount 

3 of new budget authority (or outlays) in that 

4 measure and the outlays flowing from that 

5 budget authority. 

6 ‘‘(2) MATTERS TO BE ADJUSTED.—The adjust7 ments referred to in paragraph (1) are to be made 

8 to the allocations made pursuant to the appropriate 

9 concurrent resolution on the budget pursuant to sec10 tion 302(a) and shall be in an amount not to exceed 

11 the amount reserved for emergencies pursuant to the 

12 requirements of subsection (b). 

13 ‘‘(b) RESERVE FUND FOR NONMILITARY EMER14 GENCIES.—The amount set forth in the reserve fund for 

15 emergencies for budget authority and outlays for a fiscal 

16 year pursuant to section 301(a)(4) shall equal— 

17 ‘‘(1) the average of the enacted levels of budget 

18 authority for emergencies (other than those covered 

19 by subsection (c)) in the 5 fiscal years preceding the 

20 current year; and 

21 ‘‘(2) the average of the levels of outlays for 

22 emergencies in the 5 fiscal years preceding the cur23 rent year flowing from the budget authority referred 

24 to in paragraph (1), but only in the fiscal year for 

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1 which such budget authority first becomes available 

2 for obligation. 

3 ‘‘(c) TREATMENT OF EMERGENCIES TO FUND CER4 TAIN MILITARY OPERATIONS.—Whenever the Committee 

5 on Appropriations reports any bill or joint resolution that 

6 provides budget authority for any emergency that is a 

7 threat to national security and the funding of which car8 ries out a military operation authorized by a declaration 

9 of war or a joint resolution authorizing the use of military 

10 force (or economic assistance funding in furtherance of 

11 such operation) and the report accompanying that bill or 

12 joint resolution, pursuant to subsection (d), identifies any 

13 provision that increases outlays or provides budget author14 ity (and the outlays flowing therefrom) for such emer15 gency, the enactment of which would cause the total 

16 amount of budget authority or outlays provided for emer17 gencies for the budget year in the joint resolution on the 

18 budget (pursuant to section 301(a)(4)) to be exceeded: 

19 ‘‘(1) Such bill or joint resolution shall be re20 ferred to the Committee on the Budget of the House 

21 or the Senate, as the case may be, with instructions 

22 to report it without amendment, other than that 

23 specified in paragraph (2), within 5 legislative days 

24 of the day in which it is reported from the origi25 nating committee. If the Committee on the Budget 

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1 of either House fails to report a bill or joint resolu2 tion referred to it under this subparagraph within 

3 such 5-day period, the committee shall be automati4 cally discharged from further consideration of such 

5 bill or joint resolution and such bill or joint resolu6 tion shall be placed on the appropriate calendar. 

7 ‘‘(2) An amendment to such a bill or joint reso8 lution referred to in this subsection shall only consist 

9 of an exemption from section 251 of the Balanced 

10 Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 

11 of all or any part of the provisions that provide 

12 budget authority (and the outlays flowing therefrom) 

13 for such emergency if the committee determines, 

14 pursuant to the guidelines referred to in section 203 

15 of the Emergency Spending Control Act of 2007, 

16 that such budget authority is for an emergency with17 in the meaning of section 3(11). 

18 ‘‘(3) If such a bill or joint resolution is reported 

19 with an amendment specified in paragraph (2) by 

20 the Committee on the Budget of the House of Rep21 resentatives or the Senate, then the budget authority 

22 and resulting outlays that are the subject of such 

23 amendment shall not be included in any determina24 tions under section 302(f) or 311(a) for any bill, 

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1 joint resolution, amendment, motion, or conference 

2 report. 

3 ‘‘(d) COMMITTEE NOTIFICATION OF EMERGENCY

4 LEGISLATION.—Whenever the Committee on Appropria5 tions or any other committee of either House (including 

6 a committee of conference) reports any bill or joint resolu7 tion that provides budget authority for any emergency, the 

8 report accompanying that bill or joint resolution (or the 

9 joint explanatory statement of managers in the case of a 

10 conference report on any such bill or joint resolution) shall 

11 identify all provisions that provide budget authority and 

12 the outlays flowing therefrom for such emergency and in13 clude a statement of the reasons why such budget author14 ity meets the definition of an emergency pursuant to the 

15 guidelines referred to in section 203 of the Emergency 

16 Spending Control Act of 2007.’’. 

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con18 tents set forth in section 1(b) of the Congressional Budget 

19 and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is amended by in20 serting after the item relating to section 315 the following 

21 new item: 

‘‘Sec. 316. Emergencies.’’. 

22 SEC. 206. APPLICATION OF SECTION 306 TO EMERGENCIES 

23 IN EXCESS OF AMOUNTS IN RESERVE FUND. 

24 Section 306 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 

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1 tence: ‘‘No amendment reported by the Committee on the 

2 Budget (or from the consideration of which such com3 mittee has been discharged) pursuant to section 316(c) 

4 may be amended.’’. 

5 SEC. 207. UP-TO-DATE TABULATIONS. 

6 Section 308(b)(2) of the Congressional Budget Act 

7 of 1974 is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub8 paragraph (B), by striking the period at the end of sub9 paragraph (C) and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by adding at 

10 the end the following new subparagraph: 

11 ‘‘(D) shall include an up-to-date tabulation 

12 of amounts remaining in the reserve fund for 

13 emergencies.’’. 

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