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103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2415

To amend title 31 of the United States Code to establish government efficiency reserve accounts and to provide for the apportionment of salaries

and expenses.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 15, 1993

Mr. MICHEL (for himself and Mr. SMITH of Texas) introduced the following

bill; which was referred jointly to the Committees on Government Operations and Rules

A BILL

To amend title 31 of the United States Code to establish

government efficiency reserve accounts and to provide

for the apportionment of salaries and expenses.

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 That this Act may be cited as the ‘‘Reserve Account

5 for Administrative Savings Act of 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY RESERVE ACCOUNTS.

7 Subchapter II of chapter 15 of title 31, United States

8 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘§ 1520. Special rule for apportioning salaries and ex2 penses within an appropriation

3 ‘‘(a) All appropriations for salaries and expenses shall

4 be apportioned as necessary to carry out this section.

5 ‘‘(b)(1) Except as provided by paragraph (2), in ap6 portioning any appropriation for salaries and expenses for

7 a fiscal year under this section, a reserve shall be estab8 lished in an amount that is equal to 5 percent of the actual

9 amount incurred for those salaries and expenses in the im10 mediately preceding fiscal year.

11 ‘‘(2) The size of each reserve to be established under

12 paragraph (1) for a fiscal year shall (if applicable) be re13 duced by a dollar amount equal to the amount by which

14 that fiscal year’s appropriation for salaries and expenses

15 is less than the actual amount incurred for those salaries

16 and expenses in the immediately preceding fiscal year.

17 ‘‘(c) Each appropriation subject to this section shall

18 be apportioned by the appropriate official referred to in

19 section 1513 and within the applicable time parameters

20 set forth in that section.

21 ‘‘(d) The head of each agency that has an appropria22 tion for salaries and expenses for a fiscal year subject to

23 this section shall, within 60 days after the beginning of

24 that fiscal year or within 60 days after the date of enact25 ment of the law by which the appropriation for that fiscal

26 year is made available, whichever occurs later, and after
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1 consultation with it chief financial officer and the Deputy

2 Director for Management (or his or her designee) of the

3 Office of Management and Budget, make recommenda4 tions to the President of changes in laws or regulations

5 or other changes that should be made to bring about a

6 more efficient and cost-effective operation and thereby re7 duce salaries and expenditures without jeopardizing any

8 programs that agency administers.

9 ‘‘(e) The President’s annual budget submission for

10 a budget year under section 1105(a) shall include a special

11 message which sets forth on an agency-by-agency basis a

12 recommendation for the current fiscal year of whether—

13 ‘‘(1) for the programs that agency administers

14 to be maintained at a proper administrative level the

15 release of all or part of those funds held in reserve

16 under subsection (b) is necessary;

17 ‘‘(2) those programs can function effectively at

18 reduced levels and the funds held in reserve under

19 subsection (b) should be rescinded and returned to

20 the Treasury; or

21 ‘‘(3) supplemental appropriations for other pro22 grams are necessary and can be offset by rescissions

23 of the funds held in reserve under subsection (b).

24 If that special message recommends the option set forth

25 in paragraph (1) for any agency, then the President shall
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1 include with that special message a bill that, if enacted,

2 would release specified amounts of funds held in reserve

3 under subsection (b) as set forth in that bill.

4 ‘‘(f) Except to the extent that a law is enacted under

5 section 1521 requiring the release of all or part of the

6 money reserved under subsection (b), on August 1 of the

7 calendar year during which a fiscal year ends, all funds

8 held in any reserve under subsection (b) respecting that

9 fiscal year are hereby rescinded and shall be promptly re10 turned to the general fund of the Treasury.

11 ‘‘§ 1521. Fast-track supplemental appropriation of

12 amounts not to exceed aggregate amount

13 rescinded under section 1520

14 ‘‘(a)(1) Before the close of the second legislative day

15 of the House of Representatives after the date of receipt

16 of a special message transmitted to Congress under sec17 tion 1520(e), the majority leader or minority leader of the

18 House of Representatives shall introduce (by request) the

19 draft bill accompanying that special message. If the bill

20 is not introduced as provided in the preceding sentence,

21 then, on the third legislative day of the House of Rep22 resentatives after the date of receipt of that special mes23 sage, any Member of that House may introduce the bill.

24 ‘‘(2) The bill shall be referred to the Committee on

25 Appropriations of the House of Representatives. The com-
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1 mittee shall report the bill with or without recommenda2 tion. The bill shall be reported not later than the seventh

3 legislative day of that House after the date of receipt of

4 that special message. If the Committee on Appropriations

5 fails to report the bill within that period, that committee

6 shall be automatically discharged from consideration of

7 the bill, and the bill shall be placed on the appropriate

8 calendar.

9 ‘‘(3) During consideration under this subsection, any

10 Member of the House of Representatives may move to

11 strike any provision of the bill or offer an amendment to

12 reduce any amount proposed to be released.

13 ‘‘(4) A vote on final passage of the bill shall be taken

14 in the House of Representatives on or before the close of

15 the 10th legislative day of that House after the date of

16 the introduction of the bill in that House. If the bill is

17 passed, the Clerk of the House of Representatives shall

18 cause the bill to be engrossed, certified, and transmitted

19 to the Senate within one calendar day of the day on which

20 the bill is passed.

21 ‘‘(5)(A) A motion in the House of Representatives to

22 proceed to the consideration of a bill under this section

23 shall be highly privileged and not debatable. An amend24 ment to the motion shall not be in order, nor shall it be
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1 in order to move to reconsider the vote by which the mo2 tion is agreed to or disagreed to.

3 ‘‘(B) Debate in the House of Representatives on a

4 bill under this section shall not exceed 4 hours, which shall

5 be divided equally between those favoring and those oppos6 ing the bill. A motion further to limit debate shall not be

7 debatable. It shall not be in order to move to recommit

8 a bill under this section or to move to reconsider the vote

9 by which the bill is agreed to or disagreed to.

10 ‘‘(C) Appeals from decisions of the Chair relating to

11 the application of the Rules of the House of Representa12 tives to the procedure relating to a bill under this section

13 shall be decided without debate.

14 ‘‘(D) Except to the extent specifically provided in the

15 preceding provisions of this subsection, consideration of a

16 bill under this section shall be governed by the Rules of

17 the House of Representatives.

18 ‘‘(6)(A) A bill transmitted to the Senate pursuant to

19 paragraph (4) shall be referred to its Committee on Ap20 propriations. The committee shall report the bill with or

21 without recommendation. The bill shall be reported not

22 later than the seventh legislative day of the Senate after

23 it receives the bill. A committee failing to report the bill

24 within such period shall be automatically discharged from
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1 consideration of the bill, and the bill shall be placed upon

2 the appropriate calendar.

3 ‘‘(B) During consideration under this subsection, any

4 Member of the Senate may move to strike any provision

5 of the bill or offer an amendment to reduce any amount

6 proposed to be released.

7 ‘‘(C) A vote on final passage of a bill transmitted to

8 the Senate shall be taken on or before the close of the

9 10th legislative day of the Senate after the date on which

10 the bill is transmitted. If the bill is passed in the Senate

11 without amendment, the Secretary of the Senate shall

12 cause the engrossed bill to be returned to the House of

13 Representatives.

14 ‘‘(7)(A) A motion in the Senate to proceed to the con15 sideration of a bill under this subsection shall be privileged

16 and not debatable. An amendment to the motion shall not

17 be in order, nor shall it be in order to move to reconsider

18 the vote by which the motion is agreed to or disagreed

19 to.

20 ‘‘(B) Debate in the Senate on a bill under this sub21 section, and all debatable motions and appeals in connec22 tion therewith, shall not exceed 10 hours. The time shall

23 be equally divided between, and controlled by, the majority

24 leader and the minority leader or their designees.
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1 ‘‘(C) Debate in the Senate on any debatable motion

2 or appeal in connection with a bill under this section shall

3 be limited to not more than 1 hour, to be equally divided

4 between, and controlled by, the mover and the manager

5 of the bill, except that in the event the manager of the

6 bill is in favor of any such motion or appeal, the time in

7 opposition thereto, shall be controlled by the minority

8 leader or his designee. Such leaders, or either of them,

9 may, from time under their control on the passage of a

10 bill, allot additional time to any Senator during the consid11 eration of any debatable motion or appeal.

12 ‘‘(D) A motion in the Senate to further limit debate

13 on a bill under this subsection is not debatable. A motion

14 to recommit a bill under this section is not in order.

15 ‘‘(b) AMENDMENTS AND DIVISIONS.—No amendment

16 to a bill considered under this section shall be in order

17 in either the House of Representatives or the Senate ex18 cept an amendment to strike a provision of the bill or to

19 reduce an amount proposed to be restored by the bill. It

20 shall not be in order to demand a division of the question

21 in the House of Representatives (or in a Committee of

22 the Whole) or in the Senate. No motion to suspend the

23 application of this subsection shall be in order in either

24 House, nor shall it be in order in either House to suspend

25 the application of this subsection by unanimous consent.
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1 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENT TO MAKE AVAILABLE FOR OBLI2 GATION.—Any amount of budget authority proposed to be

3 restored in a special message transmitted to Congress

4 under section 1520(e) shall be made available for obliga5 tion on the day after the date on which the bill proposing

6 to restore such amount of budget authority is enacted into

7 law unless it has been automatically rescinded under that

8 section.

9 ‘‘(d) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the

10 term ‘legislative day’ means, with respect to either House

11 of Congress, any day during which that House is in ses12 sion.’’.

13 SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

14 The amendments made by this Act shall only apply

15 to fiscal years 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998 and

16 shall have no force or effect after September 30, 1998.

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