I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3995

To amend the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 

and the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to extend the discretionary 

spending caps and the pay-as-you-go requirement, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 18, 2004

Mr. HILL (for himself, Mr. SCHIFF, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mr. JOHN, Mr. BISHOP

of Georgia, Mr. STENHOLM, Mr. COOPER, Ms. HARMAN, Mr. CARDOZA, 

Mr. BERRY, Mr. BOYD, Mr. POMEROY, Mr. MATHESON, Mr. BOSWELL, 

Mr. HOLDEN, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. CASE, Mr. TANNER, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. MOORE, Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi, Mr. MICHAUD, Mr. TURNER of Texas, and Mr. SANDLIN) 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 Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 and the Congressional Budget Act of 

1974 to extend the discretionary spending caps and the 

pay-as-you-go requirement, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Assuring Fiscal Hon3 esty and Accountability Act of 2004’’. 

4 SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF THE DISCRETIONARY SPENDING 

5 CAPS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 251(c) of the Balanced 

7 Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 is 

8 amended—

9 (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting a dash after 

10 ‘‘2005’’, by redesignating the remaining matter as 

11 subparagraph (B) and moving it two ems to the 

12 right, and by inserting before such redesignated 

13 matter the following: 

14 ‘‘(A) for the discretionary category: 

15 $822,903,000,000 in new budget authority and 

16 $902,920,000,000 in outlays; and’’; 

17 (2) in paragraph (3), by inserting a dash after 

18 ‘‘2006’’, by redesignating the remaining matter as 

19 subparagraph (B) and moving it two ems to the 

20 right, and by inserting before such redesignated 

21 matter the following: 

22 ‘‘(A) for the discretionary category: 

23 $845,042,000,000 in new budget authority and 

24 $894,031,000,000 in outlays; and’’; 

25 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through 

26 (9) as paragraphs (5) through (10), respectively, 
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1 and inserting after paragraph (3) the following new 

2 paragraphs: 

3 ‘‘(4) with respect to fiscal year 2007 for the 

4 discretionary category: $870,003,000,000 in new 

5 budget authority and $900,651,000,000 in outlays; 

6 and’’. 

7 (b) EXPIRATION.—Section 275 of the Balanced 

8 Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 

9 U.S.C. 900 note) is amended by striking subsection (b). 

10 SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF PAY-AS-YOU-GO REQUIREMENT. 

11 (a) PURPOSE.—Section 252(a) of the Balanced 

12 Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 is 

13 amended by striking ‘‘2002’’ and inserting ‘‘2009’’. 

14 (b) SEQUESTRATION.—Section 252(b)(1) of the Bal15 anced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 

16 is amended by striking ‘‘2002’’ and inserting ‘‘2009’’. 

17 SEC. 4. AUTOMATIC BUDGET ENFORCEMENT FOR MEAS18 URES CONSIDERED ON THE FLOOR. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Congressional 

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

21 following new section: 

22 ‘‘BUDGET EVASION POINTS OF ORDER

23 ‘‘SEC. 316. (a) DISCRETIONARY SPENDING CAPS.—

24 It shall not be in order in the House of Representatives 

25 or the Senate to consider any bill or resolution (or amend26 ment, motion, or conference report on that bill or resolu-
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1 tion) that waives or suspends the enforcement of section 

2 251 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Con3 trol Act of 1985 or otherwise would alter the spending 

4 limits set forth in that section. 

5 ‘‘(b) PAY-AS-YOU-GO.—It shall not be in order in the 

6 House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any 

7 bill or resolution (or amendment, motion, or conference 

8 report on that bill or resolution) that waives or suspends 

9 the enforcement of section 252 of the Balanced Budget 

10 and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 or otherwise 

11 would alter the balances of the pay-as-you-go scorecard 

12 pursuant to that section. 

13 ‘‘(c) DIRECTED SCORING.—It shall not be in order 

14 in the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider 

15 any bill or resolution (or amendment, motion, or con16 ference report on that bill or resolution) that directs the 

17 scorekeeping of any bill or resolution. 

18 ‘‘(d) FAR-OUTYEARS.—It shall not be in order in the 

19 House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any 

20 bill or resolution (or amendment, motion, or conference 

21 report on that bill or resolution) that contains a provision 

22 providing new budget authority or which reduces revenues 

23 which first takes effect after the first five fiscal years cov24 ered in the most recently adopted concurrent resolution 
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1 on the budget and would have the effect of reducing the 

2 surplus or increasing the deficit in any fiscal year. 

3 ‘‘(e) ENFORCEMENT IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENT4 ATIVES.—(1) It shall not be in order in the House of Rep5 resentatives to consider a rule or order that waives the 

6 application of this section. 

7 ‘‘(2)(A) This subsection shall apply only to the House 

8 of Representatives. 

9 ‘‘(B) In order to be cognizable by the Chair, a point 

10 of order under this section must specify the precise lan11 guage on which it is premised. 

12 ‘‘(C) As disposition of points of order under this sec13 tion, the Chair shall put the question of consideration with 

14 respect to the proposition that is the subject of the points 

15 of order. 

16 ‘‘(D) A question of consideration under this section 

17 shall be debatable for 10 minutes by each Member initi18 ating a point of order and for 10 minutes by an opponent 

19 on each point of order, but shall otherwise be decided with20 out intervening motion except one that the House adjourn 

21 or that the Committee of the Whole rise, as the case may 

22 be. 

23 ‘‘(E) The disposition of the question of consideration 

24 under this subsection with respect to a bill or joint resolu25 tion shall be considered also to determine the question of 
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1 consideration under this subsection with respect to an 

2 amendment made in order as original text.’’. 

3 (b) WAIVER AND APPEAL IN THE SENATE.—Section 

4 904 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amend5 ed—

6 (1) in subsection (c)(1), by inserting ‘‘316,’’ 

7 after ‘‘313,’’; and 

8 (2) in subsection (d)(2), by inserting ‘‘316,’’ 

9 after ‘‘313,’’. 

10 (c) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

11 the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended by in12 serting after the item for section 315 the following:

‘‘Sec. 316. Budget evasion points of order.’’.

13 SEC. 5. DISCLOSURE OF INTEREST COSTS. 

14 Section 308(a)(1) of the Congressional Budget Act 

15 of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 639(a)(1)) is amended—

16 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

17 after the semicolon; 

18 (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period 

19 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

20 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub21 paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(D) containing a projection by the Con23 gressional Budget Office of the cost of the debt 

24 servicing that would be caused by such measure 
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1 for such fiscal year (or fiscal years) and each 

2 of the four ensuing fiscal years.’’. 

3 SEC. 6. ACCOUNTABILITY IN EMERGENCY SPENDING. 

4 (a) OMB EMERGENCY CRITERIA.—Section 3 of the 

5 Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 

6 1974 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

7 paragraph: 

8 ‘‘(11)(A) The term ‘emergency’ means a situa9 tion that—

10 ‘‘(i) requires new budget authority 

11 and outlays (or new budget authority and 

12 the outlays flowing therefrom) for the pre13 vention or mitigation of, or response to, 

14 loss of life or property, or a threat to na15 tional security; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) is unanticipated. 

17 ‘‘(B) As used in subparagraph (A), the 

18 term ‘unanticipated’ means that the situation 

19 is—

20 ‘‘(i) sudden, which means quickly 

21 coming into being or not building up over 

22 time; 

23 ‘‘(ii) urgent, which means a pressing 

24 and compelling need requiring immediate 

25 action; 
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1 ‘‘(iii) unforeseen, which means not 

2 predicted or anticipated as an emerging 

3 need; and 

4 ‘‘(iv) temporary, which means not of a 

5 permanent duration.’’. 

6 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF GUIDELINES FOR APPLICA7 TION OF EMERGENCY DEFINITION.—Not later than five 

8 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the chair9 men of the Committees on the Budget (in consultation 

10 with the President) shall, after consulting with the chair11 men of the Committees on Appropriations and applicable 

12 authorizing committees of their respective Houses and the 

13 Directors of the Congressional Budget Office and the Of14 fice of Management and Budget, jointly publish in the 

15 Congressional Record guidelines for application of the def16 inition of emergency set forth in section 3(11) of the Con17 gressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974. 

18 (c) SEPARATE HOUSE VOTE ON EMERGENCY DES19 IGNATION.—(1) Rule XXII of the Rules of the House of 

20 Representatives is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing new clause: 

22 ‘‘13. In the consideration of any measure for amend23 ment in the Committee of the Whole containing any emer24 gency spending designation, it shall always be in order un25 less specifically waived by terms of a rule governing con-
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1 sideration of that measure, to move to strike such emer2 gency spending designation from the portion of the bill 

3 then open to amendment.’’. 

4 (2) The Committee on Rules shall include in the re5 port required by clause 1(d) of rule XI (relating to its 

6 activities during the Congress) of the Rules of the House 

7 of Representatives a separate item identifying all waivers 

8 of points of order relating to emergency spending designa9 tions, listed by bill or joint resolution number and the sub10 ject matter of that measure. 

11 (d) COMMITTEE NOTIFICATION OF EMERGENCY

12 LEGISLATION.—Whenever the Committee on Appropria13 tions or any other committee of either House (including 

14 a committee of conference) reports any bill or joint resolu15 tion that provides budget authority for any emergency, the 

16 report accompanying that bill or joint resolution (or the 

17 joint explanatory statement of managers in the case of a 

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

19 identify all provisions that provide budget authority and 

20 the outlays flowing therefrom for such emergency and in21 clude a statement of the reasons why such budget author22 ity meets the definition of an emergency pursuant to the 

23 guidelines described in subsection (b). 
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1 SEC. 7. APPLICATION OF BUDGET ACT POINTS OF ORDER 

2 TO UNREPORTED LEGISLATION. 

3 (a) Section 315 of the Congressional Budget Act of 

4 1974 is amended by striking ‘‘reported’’ the first place it 

5 appears. 

6 (b) Section 303(b) of the Congressional Budget Act 

7 of 1974 is amended—

8 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘(A)’’ and by 

9 redesignating subparagraph (B) as paragraph (2) 

10 and by striking the semicolon at the end of such new 

11 paragraph (2) and inserting a period; and 

12 (2) by striking paragraph (3). 

13 SEC. 8. BUDGET COMPLIANCE STATEMENTS. 

14 Clause 3(d) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

15 of Representatives is amended by adding at the end the 

16 following new subparagraph: 

17 ‘‘(4) A budget compliance statement prepared 

18 by the chairman of the Committee on the Budget, 

19 if timely submitted prior to the filing of the report, 

20 which shall include assessment by such chairman as 

21 to whether the bill or joint resolution complies with 

22 the requirements of sections 302, 303, 306, 311, 

23 and 401 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 

24 or any other requirements set forth in a concurrent 

25 resolution on the budget and may include the budg26 etary implications of that bill or joint resolution 
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1 under section 251 or 252 of the Balanced Budget 

2 and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as ap3 plicable.’’. 

4 SEC. 9. REQUIREMENTS FOR BUDGET ACT WAIVERS IN THE 

5 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 

6 (a) JUSTIFICATION FOR BUDGET ACT WAIVERS.—

7 Clause 6 of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Rep8 resentatives is amended by adding at the end the following 

9 new paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(h) It shall not be in order to consider any resolution 

11 from the Committee on Rules for the consideration of any 

12 reported bill or joint resolution which waives section 302, 

13 303, 311, or 401 of the Congressional Budget Act of 

14 1974, unless the report accompanying such resolution in15 cludes a description of the provision proposed to be 

16 waived, an identification of the section being waived, the 

17 reasons why such waiver should be granted, and an esti18 mated cost of the provisions to which the waiver applies.’’. 

19 (b) SEPARATE VOTE TO WAIVE MAJOR BUDGET ACT

20 POINT OF ORDER.—(1) Section 905 of the Congressional 

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

22 following new subsection: 

23 ‘‘(h)(1) It shall not be in order in the House of Rep24 resentatives to consider a rule or order that waives the 
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1 application of a major budget act point of order as defined 

2 in paragraph (2). 

3 ‘‘(2) For the purposes of this subsection, the term 

4 ‘major budget point of order’ means any point of order 

5 arising under any section listed in section 904. 

6 ‘‘(3)(A) In order to be cognizable by the Chair, a 

7 point of order under the sections referenced in paragraph 

8 (2) must specify the precise language on which it is pre9 mised. 

10 ‘‘(B) As disposition of points of order under the sec11 tions referenced in paragraph (2), the Chair shall put the 

12 question of consideration with respect to the proposition 

13 that is the subject of the points of order. 

14 ‘‘(C) A question of consideration under the sections 

15 referenced in paragraph (2) shall be debatable for 10 min16 utes by each Member initiating a point of order and for 

17 10 minutes by an opponent on each point of order, but 

18 shall otherwise be decided without intervening motion ex19 cept one that the House adjourn or that the Committee 

20 of the Whole rise, as the case may be. 

21 ‘‘(D) The disposition of the question of consideration 

22 under this subsection with respect to a bill or joint resolu23 tion shall be considered also to determine the question of 

24 consideration under this subsection with respect to an 

25 amendment made in order as original text.’’. 
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1 SEC. 10. CBO SCORING OF CONFERENCE REPORTS. 

2 (a) The first sentence of section 402 of the Congres3 sional Budget Act of 1974 is amended as follows: 

4 (1) Insert ‘‘or conference report thereon,’’ be5 fore ‘‘and submit’’. 

6 (2) In paragraph (1), strike ‘‘bill or resolution’’ 

7 and insert ‘‘bill, joint resolution, or conference re8 port’’. 

9 (3) At the end of paragraph (2) strike ‘‘and’’, 

10 at the end of paragraph (3) strike the period and in11 sert ‘‘; and’’, and after such paragraph (3) add the 

12 following new paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(4) A determination of whether such bill, joint 

14 resolution, or conference report provides direct 

15 spending.’’. 

16 (b) The second sentence of section 402 of the Con17 gressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended by inserting 

18 before the period the following: ‘‘, or in the case of a con19 ference report, shall be included in the joint explanatory 

20 statement of managers accompanying such conference re21 port if timely submitted before such report is filed’’.

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