II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 276 

To establish a National Commission on Entitlement Solvency. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 16, 2009 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself and Mr. CORNYN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To establish a National Commission on Entitlement Solvency. 

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 ‘‘The Social Security 

5 and Medicare Solvency Commission Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this subtitle: 

8 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis9 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Centers for 

10 Medicare & Medicaid Services. 

11 (2) CALENDAR DAY.—The term ‘‘calendar day’’ 

12 means a calendar day other than one in which either 


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1 House is not in session because of an adjournment 

2 of more than 3 days to a date certain. 

3 (3) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

4 means the National Commission on Entitlement Sol5 vency established under section 3(a). 

6 (4) COMMISSION BILL.—The term ‘‘Commission 

7 bill’’ means a bill consisting of the proposed legisla8 tive language submitted by the Commission under 

9 section 3(c)(2)(A) that is introduced under section 

10 7(a). 

11 (5) COMMISSIONER.—The term ‘‘Commis12 sioner’’ means the Commissioner of Social Security. 

13 (6) LONG-TERM.—The term ‘‘long-term’’ means 

14 a period of not less than 75 years beginning on the 

15 date of enactment of this Act. 

16 (7) MEDICAID.—The term ‘‘Medicaid’’ means 

17 the program established under title XIX of the So18 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.). 

19 (8) MEDICARE.—The term ‘‘Medicare’’ means 

20 the program established under title XVIII of the So21 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.). 

22 (9) SOCIAL SECURITY.—The term ‘‘Social Secu23 rity’’ means the program of old-age, survivors, and 

24 disability insurance benefits established under title 


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1 II of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et 

2 seq.). 

3 (10) SOLVENCY OF MEDICARE PROGRAM.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara5 graph (B), the term ‘‘solvency’’, in relation to 

6 the Medicare program, means any year in which 

7 there is not excess general revenue Medicare 

8 funding (as defined in section 801(c)(1) of the 

9 Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and 

10 Modernization Act of 2003 (Public Law 108– 

11 173; 117 Stat. 2358)). 

12 (B) TREATMENT OF NEW REVENUE.— 

13 (i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of the 

14 requirement that the Commission evaluate 

15 the solvency of the Medicare program and 

16 recommend legislation to restore such sol17 vency as needed, the Commission shall 

18 treat any new revenue that is a result of 

19 any action taken or any legislation enacted 

20 by Congress pursuant to the recommenda21 tions of the Commission, as being a dedi22 cated medicare financing source (as de23 fined in section 801(c)(3) of the Medicare 

24 Prescription Drug, Improvement, and 


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1 Modernization Act of 2003 (Public Law 

2 108–173; 117 Stat. 2358)). 

3 (ii) DEFINITION OF NEW REVENUE.— 

4 For purposes of this subparagraph, the 

5 term ‘‘new revenue’’ means only those rev6 enues collected as a result of legislation en7 acted by Congress pursuant to section 7 of 

8 this Act. The term ‘‘new revenue’’ shall 

9 not include any revenue otherwise collected 

10 under law, including any such revenue that 

11 is dedicated to the Federal Hospital Insur12 ance Trust Fund under section 1817 of 

13 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395i) 

14 or the Federal Supplementary Medical In15 surance Trust Fund under section 1841 of 

16 such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395t). 

17 (11) SOLVENCY OF SOCIAL SECURITY PRO18 GRAM.—The term ‘‘solvency’’, in relation to Social 

19 Security, means any year in which the balance ratio 

20 (as defined under section 709(b) of the Social Secu21 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 910(b)) of the Federal Old-Age 

22 and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Fed23 eral Disability Insurance Trust Fund established 

24 under section 201 of the Social Security Act (42 

25 U.S.C. 401) is greater than zero. 


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1 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is permanently estab3 lished an independent and bipartisan commission to be 

4 known as the ‘‘National Commission on Entitlement Sol5 vency’’. 

6 (b) PURPOSE.—The Commission shall conduct a 

7 comprehensive review of the Social Security and Medicare 

8 programs for the following purposes: 

9 (1) REVIEW.—Reviewing relevant analyses of 

10 the current and long-term actuarial financial condi11 tion of the Social Security and Medicare programs. 

12 (2) IDENTIFYING PROBLEMS.—Identifying 

13 problems that may threaten the long-term solvency 

14 of the Social Security and Medicare programs. 

15 (3) ANALYZING POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS.—Ana16 lyzing potential solutions to problems that threaten 

17 the long-term solvency of the Social Security and 

18 Medicare programs. 

19 (4) PROVIDING RECOMMENDATIONS AND PRO20 POSED LEGISLATIVE LANGUAGE.—Providing rec21 ommendations and proposed legislative language 

22 that will ensure the long-term solvency of the Social 

23 Security and Medicare programs and the provision 

24 of appropriate benefits. 

25 (c) DUTIES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall con2 duct a comprehensive review of the Social Security 

3 and Medicare programs consistent with the purposes 

4 described in subsection (b) and shall submit the re5 port required under paragraph (2). 

6 (2) REPORT, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND PRO7 POSED LEGISLATIVE LANGUAGE.— 

8 (A) REPORT.— 

9 (i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 

10 year after the date of enactment of this 

11 Act, and every 5 years thereafter, the 

12 Commission shall submit a report on the 

13 long-term solvency of the Social Security 

14 and Medicare programs that contains a de15 tailed statement of the findings, conclu16 sions, recommendations, and the proposed 

17 legislative language (as required under 

18 subparagraph (C)) of the Commission to 

19 the President, Congress, the Commis20 sioner, and the Administrator. 

21 (ii) PROPOSED LEGISLATIVE LAN22 GUAGE.—The Commission shall submit the 

23 proposed legislative language (as required 

24 under clause (i)) in the form of a proposed 

25 bill for introduction in Congress. 


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1 (B) FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND REC2 OMMENDATIONS.—A finding, conclusion, or rec3 ommendation of the Commission shall be in4 cluded in the report under subparagraph (A) 

5 only if not less than 10 members of the Com6 mission voted for such finding, conclusion, or 

7 recommendation. 

8 (C) LEGISLATIVE LANGUAGE.— 

9 (i) IN GENERAL.—If a recommenda10 tion submitted with respect to the Social 

11 Security or Medicare programs under sub12 paragraph (A) involves legislative action, 

13 the report shall include proposed legislative 

14 language to carry out such action. Such 

15 legislative language shall only be included 

16 in the report under subparagraph (A) if 

17 the Commission has considered the impact 

18 the recommendation would have on the 

19 Medicaid program. 

20 (ii) EXCLUSION OF RECOMMENDA21 TIONS WITH RESPECT TO MEDICAID.—Pro22 posed legislative language to carry out any 

23 recommendation submitted by the Commis24 sion with respect to the Medicaid program 


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1 shall not be included in the legislative lan2 guage submitted under clause (i). 

3 SEC. 4. STRUCTURE AND MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMIS4 SION. 

5 (a) APPOINTMENT.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be 

7 composed of 15 members, of whom— 

8 (A) 7 members shall be appointed by the 

9 President— 

10 (i) 3 of whom shall be Democrats, ap11 pointed in consultation with the majority 

12 leader of the Senate and the Speaker of 

13 the House of Representatives; 

14 (ii) 3 of whom shall be Republicans; 

15 and 

16 (iii) 1 of whom shall not be affiliated 

17 with any political party; 

18 (B) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

19 majority leader of the Senate, 1 of whom is 

20 from the Committee on Finance of the Senate; 

21 (C) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

22 minority leader of the Senate, 1 of whom is 

23 from the Committee on Finance of the Senate; 

24 (D) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

25 Speaker of the House of Representatives, 1 of 


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1 whom is from the Committee on Ways and 

2 Means of the House of Representatives; and 

3 (E) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

4 minority leader of the House of Representa5 tives, 1 of whom is from the Committee on 

6 Ways and Means of the House of Representa7 tives. 

8 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The members shall be 

9 individuals who are, by reason of their education, ex10 perience, and attainments, exceptionally qualified to 

11 perform the duties of members of the Commission. 

12 (3) DATE.—Members of the Commission shall 

13 be appointed by not later than January 1, 2010. 

14 (4) TERMS.—A member of the Commission 

15 shall be appointed for a single term of 5 years, ex16 cept the members initially appointed shall be ap17 pointed for terms of 6 years. 

18 (b) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Commission shall 

19 be filled not later than 30 calendar days after the date 

20 on which the Commission is given notice of the vacancy, 

21 in the same manner as the original appointment. The indi22 vidual appointed to fill the vacancy shall serve only for 

23 the unexpired portion of the term for which the individ24 ual’s predecessor was appointed. 


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1 (c) COMMITTEE MEMBERS OF COMMISSION.—In the 

2 case of an individual appointed to the Commission under 

3 subsection (a)(1) who is required to be a member of the 

4 Committee on Finance of the Senate or the Committee 

5 on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, if 

6 such individual is no longer a member of the required 

7 Committee they shall no longer be eligible to serve on the 

8 Commission. Such individual shall be removed from the 

9 Commission and replaced in accordance with subsection 

10 (b). 

11 (d) CO-CHAIRPERSON.—The Commission shall des12 ignate 2 Co-Chairpersons from among the members of the 

13 Commission, neither of whom may be affiliated with the 

14 same political party. 

15 SEC. 5. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION. 

16 (a) MEETINGS AND HEARINGS.— 

17 (1) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at 

18 the call of the Co-Chairpersons. The Co-Chair19 persons of the Commission or their designee shall 

20 convene and preside at the meetings of the Commis21 sion. 

22 (2) HEARINGS.— 

23 (A) INITIAL TOWN-HALL STYLE PUBLIC

24 HEARINGS.— 


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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Commission 

2 shall hold at least 1 town-hall style public 

3 hearing within each Federal reserve dis4 trict not later than the date on which the 

5 Commission submits the report required 

6 under section 3(c)(2)(A), and shall, to the 

7 extent feasible, ensure that there is broad 

8 public participation in the hearings. 

9 (ii) HEARING FORMAT.—During each 

10 hearing, the Commission shall present to 

11 the public, and generate comments and 

12 suggestions regarding, the issues reviewed 

13 under section 3(b), policies designed to ad14 dress those issues, and tradeoffs between 

15 such policies. 

16 (B) ADDITIONAL HEARINGS.—In addition 

17 to the hearings required under subparagraph 

18 (A), the Commission shall hold such other hear19 ings as the Commission determines appropriate 

20 to carry out the purposes of this Act. 

21 (3) QUORUM.—Ten members of the Commis22 sion shall constitute a quorum for purposes of vot23 ing, but a quorum is not required for members to 

24 meet and hold hearings. 

25 (b) ADMINISTRATION.— 


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1 (1) COMPENSATION.—Each member, other than 

2 the Co-Chairpersons, shall be paid at a rate equal to 

3 the daily equivalent of the minimum annual rate of 

4 basic pay prescribed for level IV of the Executive 

5 Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 

6 States Code, for each day (including travel time) 

7 during which such member is engaged in the per8 formance of the duties of the Commission. The Co9 Chairpersons shall be paid at a rate equal to the 

10 daily equivalent of the minimum annual rate of basic 

11 pay prescribed for level III of the Executive Sched12 ule under section 5314 of title 5, United States 

13 Code, for each day (including travel time) during 

14 which such member is engaged in the performance 

15 of the duties of the Commission. 

16 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Members shall receive 

17 travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsist18 ence, in accordance with sections 5702 and 5703 of 

19 title 5, United States Code, while away from their 

20 homes or regular places of business in performance 

21 of services for the Commission. 

22 (c) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The 

23 Commission shall be exempt from the provisions of the 

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

25 (d) PERSONNEL.— 


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1 (1) DIRECTOR.—The Commission shall have a 

2 staff headed by an Executive Director. The Execu3 tive Director shall be paid at a rate equivalent to a 

4 rate established for the Senior Executive Service 

5 under section 5382 of title 5, United States Code. 

6 (2) STAFF APPOINTMENT.—With the approval 

7 of the Co-Chairpersons, the Executive Director may 

8 appoint such personnel as the Executive Director 

9 and the Commission determines to be appropriate. 

10 (3) ACTUARIAL EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.— 

11 With the approval of the Co-Chairpersons, the Exec12 utive Director may procure temporary and intermit13 tent services under section 3109(b) of title 5, United 

14 States Code. 

15 (4) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.— 

16 Upon the request of the Co-Chairpersons, the head 

17 of any Federal agency may detail, without reim18 bursement, any of the personnel of such agency to 

19 the Commission to assist in carrying out the duties 

20 of the Commission. Any such detail shall not inter21 rupt or otherwise affect the civil service status or 

22 privileges of the Federal employee. 

23 (5) OTHER RESOURCES.—The Commission 

24 shall have reasonable access to materials, resources, 

25 statistical data, and other information from the LiVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:53 Jan 17, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S276.IS S276

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1 brary of Congress, the Chief Actuary of Social Secu2 rity, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 

3 the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the 

4 Congressional Budget Office, and other agencies and 

5 elected representatives of the executive and legisla6 tive branches of the Federal Government. The Co7 Chairpersons of the Commission shall make requests 

8 for such access in writing when necessary. 

9 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

11 as are necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act. 

12 SEC. 7. EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION OF COMMISSION REC13 OMMENDATIONS. 

14 (a) INTRODUCTION AND COMMITTEE CONSIDER15 ATION.— 

16 (1) INTRODUCTION.—A Commission bill shall 

17 be introduced in the Senate by the majority leader, 

18 or the majority leader’s designee, and in the House 

19 of Representatives, by the majority leader, or the 

20 majority leader’s designee. Upon such introduction, 

21 the Commission bill shall be referred to the appro22 priate committees of Congress under paragraph (2). 

23 If the Commission bill is not introduced in accord24 ance with the preceding sentence, then any member 

25 of Congress may introduce the Commission bill in 


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1 their respective House of Congress beginning on the 

2 date that is the 5th calendar day that such House 

3 is in session following the date of the submission of 

4 the Commission report under section 3(c)(2)(A). 

5 (2) COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION.— 

6 (A) REFERRAL.—A Commission bill intro7 duced in the Senate shall be referred to the 

8 Committee on Finance of the Senate. A Com9 mission bill introduced in the House of Rep10 resentatives shall be referred jointly to the 

11 Committee on Ways and Means and the Com12 mittee on Energy and Commerce of the House 

13 of Representatives. 

14 (B) REPORTING.—Not later than 60 cal15 endar days after the introduction of the Com16 mission bill, each Committee of Congress to 

17 which the Commission bill was referred shall re18 port the bill. Each such reported bill shall meet 

19 the requirement of ensuring the long-term sol20 vency of the Social Security and Medicare pro21 grams, and the provision of appropriate bene22 fits, that the proposed legislative language pro23 vided by the Commission is subject to under 

24 section 3(b)(4). 


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1 (C) DISCHARGE OF COMMITTEE.—If a 

2 committee to which is referred a Commission 

3 bill has not reported such Commission bill at 

4 the end of 60 calendar days after its introduc5 tion, such committee shall be automatically dis6 charged from further consideration of the Com7 mission bill and it shall be placed on the appro8 priate calendar. 

9 (b) EXPEDITED PROCEDURE.— 

10 (1) AMENDMENTS.—No amendment that is not 

11 relevant to the provisions of the Commission bill 

12 shall be in order in either the Senate or the House 

13 of Representatives. In either House, an amendment, 

14 any amendment to an amendment, or any debatable 

15 motion or appeal is debatable for not to exceed 5 

16 hours to be divided equally between those favoring 

17 and those opposing the amendment, motion, or ap18 peal. 

19 (2) FLOOR CONSIDERATION IN THE SENATE.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 cal21 endar days after the date on which a committee 

22 has reported or has been discharged from con23 sideration of a Commission bill, the majority 

24 leader of the Senate, or the majority leader’s 

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1 ation of the Commission bill. It shall also be in 

2 order for any member of the Senate to move to 

3 proceed to the consideration of the bill at any 

4 time after the conclusion of such 30-day period. 

5 (B) MOTION TO PROCEED.—A motion to 

6 proceed to the consideration of a Commission 

7 bill is privileged in the Senate. The motion is 

8 not debatable and is not subject to a motion to 

9 postpone consideration of the Commission bill 

10 or to proceed to the consideration of other busi11 ness. A motion to reconsider the vote by which 

12 the motion to proceed is agreed to or not 

13 agreed to shall not be in order. If the motion 

14 to proceed is agreed to, the Senate shall imme15 diately proceed to consideration of the Commis16 sion bill without intervening motion, order, ac17 tion, or other business, and the Commission bill 

18 shall remain the unfinished business of the Sen19 ate until disposed of. 

20 (C) LIMITED DEBATE.— 

21 (i) IN GENERAL.—Consideration in 

22 the Senate of the Commission bill and all 

23 amendments to such bill, and on all debat24 able motions and appeals in connection 

25 therewith, shall be limited to not more 


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1 than 40 hours, which shall be equally di2 vided between, and controlled by, the ma3 jority leader and the minority leader of the 

4 Senate or their designees. A motion fur5 ther to limit debate on the Commission bill 

6 is in order and is not debatable. All time 

7 used for consideration of the Commission 

8 bill, including time used for quorum calls 

9 (except quorum calls immediately pre10 ceding a vote), shall come from the 40 

11 hours of consideration. 

12 (ii) RECOMMITTAL TO COMMITTEE.— 

13 Upon expiration of the 40-hour period pro14 vided under clause (i), the Commission bill 

15 shall be recommitted to committee for further consideration unless 3 16 ⁄5 of the Mem17 bers, duly chosen and sworn, of the Senate 

18 agree to proceed to passage. Any bill re19 ported by a committee as a result of such 

20 further consideration shall— 

21 (I) meet the requirement of en22 suring the long-term solvency of the 

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1 lative language provided by the Com2 mission is subject to under section 

3 3(b)(4); and 

4 (II) be considered under the ex5 pedited procedures under this sub6 section. 

7 (D) VOTE ON PASSAGE.— 

8 (i) IN GENERAL.—The vote on pas9 sage in the Senate of the Commission bill 

10 shall occur immediately following the con11 clusion of the 40-hour period for consider12 ation of the Commission bill under sub13 paragraph (C) and a request to establish 

14 the presence of a quorum. 

15 (ii) OTHER MOTIONS NOT IN

16 ORDER.—A motion in the Senate to post17 pone consideration of the Commission bill, 

18 a motion to proceed to the consideration of 

19 other business, or a motion to recommit 

20 the Commission bill is not in order. A mo21 tion in the Senate to reconsider the vote by 

22 which the Commission bill is agreed to or 

23 not agreed to is not in order. 

24 (3) FLOOR CONSIDERATION IN THE HOUSE.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 cal2 endar days after the date on which a committee 

3 has reported or has been discharged from con4 sideration of a Commission bill, the majority 

5 leader of the House of Representatives, or the 

6 majority leader’s designee shall move to proceed 

7 to the consideration of the Commission bill. It 

8 shall also be in order for any member of the 

9 House of Representatives to move to proceed to 

10 the consideration of the bill at any time after 

11 the conclusion of such 30-day period. 

12 (B) MOTION TO PROCEED.—A motion to 

13 proceed to the consideration of a Commission 

14 bill is privileged in the House of Representa15 tives. The motion is not debatable and is not 

16 subject to a motion to postpone consideration of 

17 the Commission bill or to proceed to the consid18 eration of other business. A motion to recon19 sider the vote by which the motion to proceed 

20 is agreed to or not agreed to shall not be in 

21 order. If the motion to proceed is agreed to, the 

22 House of Representatives shall immediately pro23 ceed to consideration of the Commission bill 

24 without intervening motion, order, action, or 

25 other business, and the Commission bill shall 


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1 remain the unfinished business of the House of 

2 Representatives until disposed of. 

3 (C) LIMITED DEBATE.— 

4 (i) IN GENERAL.—Consideration in 

5 the House of Representatives of the Com6 mission bill and all amendments to such 

7 bill, and on all debatable motions and ap8 peals in connection therewith, shall be lim9 ited to not more than 40 hours, which 

10 shall be equally divided between, and con11 trolled by, the majority leader and the mi12 nority leader of the House of Representa13 tives or their designees. A motion further 

14 to limit debate on the Commission bill is in 

15 order and is not debatable. All time used 

16 for consideration of the Commission bill, 

17 including time used for quorum calls (ex18 cept quorum calls immediately preceding a 

19 vote), shall come from the 40 hours of con20 sideration. 

21 (ii) RECOMMITTAL TO COMMITTEE.— 

22 Upon expiration of the 40-hour period pro23 vided under clause (i), the Commission bill 

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1 bers, duly chosen and sworn, of the House 

2 of Representatives agree to proceed to final 

3 passage. Any bill reported by a committee 

4 as a result of such further consideration 

5 shall— 

6 (I) meet the requirement of en7 suring the long-term solvency of the 

8 Social Security and Medicare pro9 grams and the provision of appro10 priate benefits that the proposed legis11 lative language provided by the Com12 mission is subject to under section 

13 3(b)(4); and 

14 (II) be considered under the ex15 pedited procedures under this sub16 section. 

17 (D) VOTE ON PASSAGE.— 

18 (i) IN GENERAL.—The vote on pas19 sage in the House of Representatives of 

20 the Commission bill shall occur imme21 diately following the conclusion of the 40- 

22 hour period for consideration of the Com23 mission bill under subparagraph (C) and a 

24 request to establish the presence of a 

25 quorum. 


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1 (ii) OTHER MOTIONS NOT IN

2 ORDER.—A motion in the House of Rep3 resentatives to postpone consideration of 

4 the Commission bill, a motion to proceed 

5 to the consideration of other business, or a 

6 motion to recommit the Commission bill is 

7 not in order. A motion in the House of 

8 Representatives to reconsider the vote by 

9 which the Commission bill is agreed to or 

10 not agreed to is not in order. 

11 (4) CONSIDERATION BY OTHER HOUSE.—If, be12 fore the passage by one House of the Commission 

13 bill that was introduced in such House, such House 

14 receives from the other House a Commission bill as 

15 passed by such other House— 

16 (A) the Commission bill of the other House 

17 shall not be referred to a committee and may 

18 only be considered for passage in the House 

19 that receives it under subparagraph (C); 

20 (B) the procedure in the House in receipt 

21 of the Commission bill of the other House, with 

22 respect to the Commission bill that was intro23 duced in the receiving House, shall be the same 

24 as if no Commission bill had been received from 

25 the other House; and 


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1 (C) notwithstanding subparagraph (B), the 

2 vote on final passage shall be on the Commis3 sion bill of the other House. 

4 Upon disposition of a Commission bill that is re5 ceived by one House from the other House, it shall 

6 no longer be in order to consider the Commission bill 

7 that was introduced in the receiving House. 

8 (5) CONSIDERATION IN CONFERENCE.— 

9 (A) CONVENING OF CONFERENCE.—In the 

10 case of any disagreement between the two 

11 Houses of Congress with respect to a Commis12 sion bill passed by both Houses, conferees shall 

13 be promptly appointed and a conference con14 vened. All motions to proceed to conference are 

15 nondebatable. The committee of conference 

16 shall make and file a report with respect to 

17 such Commission bill within 30 calendar days 

18 after the day on which managers on the part of 

19 the Senate and the House of Representatives 

20 have been appointed. Notwithstanding any rule 

21 in either House concerning the printing of con22 ference reports or concerning any delay in the 

23 consideration of such reports, such report shall 

24 be acted on by both Houses not later than 5 

25 calendar days after the conference report is 


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1 filed in the House in which such report is filed 

2 first. In the event the conferees are unable to 

3 agree within 30 calendar days after the date on 

4 which the conference was convened, they shall 

5 report back to their respective Houses in dis6 agreement. 

7 (B) CONFERENCE REPORT DEFEATED.— 

8 Should the conference report be defeated, de9 bate on any request for a new conference and 

10 the appointment of conferees shall be limited to 

11 1 hour, to be equally divided between, and con12 trolled by, the manager of the conference report 

13 and the minority leader or the minority leader’s 

14 designee, and should any motion be made to in15 struct the conferees before the conferees are 

16 named, debate on such motion shall be limited 

to 1 17 ⁄2 hour, to be equally divided between, and 

18 controlled by, the mover and the manager of 

19 the conference report. Debate on any amend20 ment to any such instructions shall be limited 

21 to 20 minutes, to be equally divided between, 

22 and controlled by, the mover and the manager 

23 of the conference report. In all cases when the 

24 manager of the conference report is in favor of 

25 any motion, appeal, or amendment, the time in 


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1 opposition shall be under the control of the mi2 nority leader or the minority leader’s designee. 

Æ 


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