I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3476 
To amend the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 
to provide for an increase in the discretionary spending limits for fiscal 
years 2016 and 2017, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 10, 2015 
Mr. VAN HOLLEN (for himself, Mrs. LOWEY, Ms. DELAURO, and Ms. LEE) 
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 con-
cerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Con-
trol Act of 1985 to provide for an increase in the discre-
tionary spending limits for fiscal years 2016 and 2017, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Prevent a Government Shutdown Act of 2015’’. 
(b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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(1) The Budget Control Act of 2011 set tight 
discretionary spending caps and required additional 
deficit reduction to be accomplished either through 
bipartisan, bicameral negotiations or, as a fallback, 
through sequestration that would further cut discre-
tionary and mandatory spending levels. The threat 
of such draconian and arbitrary cuts was intended 
to encourage lawmakers to negotiate a thoughtfully 
designed substitute package of revenue increases and 
targeted spending cuts. 
(2) The negotiations that followed were unsuc-
cessful and the initial sequester took place in fiscal 
year 2013. 
(3) While the threat of a sequester had not led 
to an agreement, the reality of a sequester did. Law-
makers negotiated a two-year agreement that set 
higher levels of both defense and non-defense discre-
tionary (NDD) spending for fiscal years 2014 and 
2015. 
(4) A similar agreement is necessary now to 
avoid deep budget cuts in the new fiscal year, begin-
ning on October 1, 2015. 
(5) Senator John McCain and Representative 
Mac Thornberry, the Chairs of the Senate and 
House Armed Services Committees, have criticized 
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the level of defense spending allowed under seques-
tration: ‘‘These cuts are seriously undermining the 
capabilities, readiness, morale and modernization of 
the armed forces. The senior military leaders of the 
Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps have all 
testified to our committees that, with defense spend-
ing at sequestration levels, they cannot execute the 
National Military Strategy.’’ 
(6) The impact of the cuts on NDD spending 
is becoming increasingly clear. NDD United—an al-
liance of more than 2,500 organizations trying to 
protect NDD investments that benefit all Ameri-
cans—made the case that ‘‘these self-imposed cuts 
are dragging down our economic recovery, ham-
pering business growth and development, weakening 
public health preparedness and response, reducing 
resources for our nation’s schools and colleges, com-
promising federal oversight and fraud recovery, hin-
dering scientific discovery, eroding our infrastruc-
ture, and threatening our ability to address emer-
gencies around the world.’’ The impact can also be 
seen in the bills reported by the House Committee 
on Appropriations for fiscal year 2016. Among other 
things, those bills would cut the Department of Edu-
cation by $2.8 billion below the current level, take 
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away housing vouchers from thousands of families, 
and provide $1.4 billion less than the President re-
quested for the Department of Veterans Affairs. 
(7) The sequester—in addition to endangering 
our defense, reducing investments in our future, and 
risking harm to vulnerable Americans—will weaken 
the Nation’s ongoing economic recovery. A recent 
analysis by the Congressional Budget Office found 
that eliminating the sequester would increase Gross 
Domestic Product by 0.4 percent in 2016 and 0.2 
percent in 2017. It would also increase employment 
by 500,000 next year and 300,000 in 2017. 
(8) Providing relief from the sequester will also 
make it possible for Congress to act on appropria-
tions legislation before the start of the fiscal year, 
averting a Government shutdown if funding is not in 
place. 
(9) The last Government shutdown lasted for 
16 days in 2013. The Office of Management and 
Budget later found that the shutdown cost the econ-
omy about 120,000 private-sector jobs and shrunk 
GDP growth in that quarter by 0.2 percent to 0.6 
percent. The country lost 6.6 million days’ worth of 
work through furloughs of Federal employees; na-
tional parks lost $500 million in visitor spending; $4 
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billion in tax refunds were delayed; nearly 6,300 
children lost access to Head Start; and hundreds of 
food safety inspections were delayed. 
(10) Therefore, to prevent another Government 
shutdown and allow appropriations bills for fiscal 
year 2016 to fund vital services at necessary levels, 
immediate negotiations on a budget agreement are 
needed. An essential component of those negotia-
tions should be to raise the discretionary spending 
caps for defense and non-defense, eliminating the 
non-defense sequester and reducing the defense se-
quester by the same amount. 
(11) It is preferable that Congress agree to off-
set the cost of the sequester relief with deficit reduc-
tion from closing special interest tax loopholes. How-
ever, it is imperative that the sequester relief occur 
regardless of whether the agreement for offsetting 
deficit reduction is reached. 
SEC. 2. BIPARTISAN, BICAMERAL AGREEMENT ON SEQUES-
TER RELIEF. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—A bipartisan measure shall be ne-
gotiated, by the individuals appointed under subsection 
(b), that— 
(1) increases the discretionary spending limit 
for fiscal years 2016 and 2017 in section 251(c) of 
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the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control 
Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(c)), with the increases 
equally applied to the revised security category and 
the revised nonsecurity category for each such fiscal 
year; and 
(2) includes provisions that reduce the deficit 
by an amount deemed appropriate. 
(b) APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS.—Not later than 1 
day after the date of enactment of this Act— 
(1) the Speaker of the House of Representa-
tives shall determine the total number of individuals 
that shall negotiate the measure described under 
subsection (a); and 
(2) the Speaker, the Minority Leader of the 
House of Representatives, the Majority Leader of 
the Senate, and the Minority Leader of the Senate 
shall each appoint one quarter of the total number 
of individuals determined under paragraph (1). 
(c) APPROVAL AND CONSIDERATION OF MEASURE.— 
(1) APPROVAL.—The measure described in sub-
section (a) shall require the approval of a majority 
of the individuals appointed under subsection (b)(2). 
(2) CONSIDERATION.—If approved under para-
graph (1), the measure shall be considered under the 
procedures set forth in section 402 of the Budget 
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Control Act of 2011 (Public Law 112–25), other 
than subsection (g), and except that in applying 
such section, ‘‘September 25, 2015’’ shall be sub-
stituted for ‘‘December 9, 2011’’ and ‘‘September 
30, 2015’’ shall be substituted for ‘‘December 23, 
2011’’ in each place it appears. 
SEC. 3. ALTERNATIVE ADJUSTMENT TO DISCRETIONARY 
SPENDING LIMITS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2016 
AND 2017. 
(a) SECURITY AND NONSECURITY DISCRETIONARY 
SPENDING LIMIT ADJUSTMENTS.—If the measure de-
scribed under section 2(a) is not enacted into law before 
October 1, 2015, effective upon October 1, 2015, the Bal-
anced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 
(2 U.S.C. 901 et seq.) is amended as follows: 
(1) In section 251(c)— 
(A) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking the 
dollar 
amount 
and 
inserting 
‘‘$559,600,000,000’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (4)(A), by striking the 
dollar 
amount 
and 
inserting 
‘‘$573,393,000,000’’. 
(2) In section 251A— 
(A) in paragraph (10)(A), by striking the 
period at the end and inserting ‘‘and for fiscal 
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years 2016 and 2017 by the Prevent a Govern-
ment Shutdown Act of 2015.’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (10)(B), by striking 
‘‘and 2015’’ and inserting ‘‘2015, 2016, and 
2017’’. 
(b) APPLICATION.—Any adjustment made to the dis-
cretionary spending limits for fiscal year 2016 in section 
251(c) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 
Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(c)) by the Office of 
Management and Budget before the date of enactment of 
this Act shall have no force or effect. The preceding sen-
tence shall only apply if the measure described under sec-
tion 2(a) is not enacted into law before October 1, 2015. 
Æ 
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