II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 515 

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

to provide relief during fiscal years 2016 and 2017 from the reductions 

in the discretionary spending limits imposed by sequestration. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 12, 2015 

Mr. SCHATZ (for himself and Mr. DURBIN) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget 

A BILL 

To amend the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to provide relief during fiscal years 

2016 and 2017 from the reductions in the discretionary 

spending limits imposed by sequestration. 

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 ‘‘Sequestration Relief 

5 Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The National Institutes of Health conduct 

2 critical biomedical research and apply outcomes to 

3 ‘‘enhance health, lengthen life and reduce illness and 

4 disability’’. 

5 (2) On November 4, 2013, the National Insti6 tutes of Health reported the $1,550,000,000 seques7 ter cut resulted in 640 fewer competitive research 

8 project grants issued and 750 fewer new patients 

9 admitted to the Clinical Center of the National In10 stitutes of Health. 

11 (3) In 2007 and 2010 Congress enacted, and 

12 the President signed into law, the America COM13 PETES Act (Public Law 110–69) and the America 

14 COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (Public 

15 Law 111–358), respectively, each of which proposed 

16 to double funding for the National Science Founda17 tion, the Office of Science of the Department of En18 ergy, and the National Institute of Standards and 

19 Technology. 

20 (4) In January 2015, General Martin E. 

21 Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 

22 said of the sequestration reductions applied to the 

23 Department of Defense, ‘‘If they’re not reversed, 

24 they’re going to be imposed in 2016, and they will 

25 negatively affect our national security interests.’’. 


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1 (5) Since 1998, every quadrennial review pub2 lished by the American Society of Civil Engineers 

3 has graded the condition and status of infrastruc4 ture in the United States as near failing. 

5 (6) More than 1,200,000 children attending 

6 public school experienced homelessness in school 

7 year 2012–2013. 

8 SEC. 3. SENSE OF THE SENATE. 

9 It is the sense of the Senate that Congress should— 

10 (1) increase the discretionary spending limits 

11 during fiscal years 2016 and 2017 to facilitate job 

12 creating investment in the United States and provide 

13 Congressional leaders the flexibility to determine a 

14 more reasoned and sustainable path forward; 

15 (2) maintain the principle that any offsetting 

16 legislation should be balanced equally between rev17 enue and savings; 

18 (3) invest in critical life-saving and life-improv19 ing biomedical research; 

20 (4) meet the 21st century research investment 

21 goals set out in the America COMPETES Act; 

22 (5) avoid budget architecture that undermines 

23 the ability to maintain a robust national defense; 

24 (6) invest in, upgrade, and modernize the infra25 structure of the United States for the next generaVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:22 Feb 25, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S515.IS S515

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1 tion, including investments in ports, waterways, 

2 bridges, transit, rail, roads, parks, schools, aviation, 

3 and drinking and waste water; 

4 (7) aggressively pursue the goal of ending child 

5 homelessness; and 

6 (8) broadly invest in those programs that effi7 ciently and effectively support families and the most 

8 vulnerable individuals in the United States. 

9 SEC. 4. REVISION OF DISCRETIONARY SPENDING LIMITS 

10 FOR FISCAL YEARS 2016 AND 2017. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Balanced Budget and Emer12 gency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 900 et seq.) 

13 is amended— 

14 (1) in section 251(c) (2 U.S.C. 901(c)), by 

15 striking paragraphs (3) and (4) and inserting the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(3) for fiscal year 2016— 

18 ‘‘(A) for the revised security category, 

19 $561,000,000,000 in new budget authority; and 

20 ‘‘(B) for the revised nonsecurity category, 

21 $530,000,000,000 in new budget authority; 

22 ‘‘(4) for fiscal year 2017— 

23 ‘‘(A) for the revised security category, 

24 $573,000,000,000 in new budget authority; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) for the revised nonsecurity category, 

2 $541,000,000,000 in new budget authority;’’; 

3 and 

4 (2) in section 251A(10) (2 U.S.C. 901a(10))— 

5 (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking 

6 ‘‘2014 AND 2015’’ and inserting ‘‘2014 THROUGH

7 2017’’; 

8 (B) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘or 

9 the amendment made by the Sequestration Re10 lief Act of 2015 to section 251(c) of this Act re11 vising the discretionary spending limits for fis12 cal years 2016 and 2017’’ after ‘‘Act of 2013’’; 

13 and 

14 (C) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘fis15 cal years 2014 and 2015’’ and inserting ‘‘each 

16 of fiscal years 2014 through 2017’’. 

Æ 


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