I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 297 
To require greater accountability in discretionary and direct spending 
programs, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 5, 2017 
Mr. CHAFFETZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on the Budget, and in addition to the Committees on Rules, and 
the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To require greater accountability in discretionary and direct 
spending programs, 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. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Review Every Dollar 
Act of 2017’’. 
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TITLE I—FEDERAL PROGRAM 
SUNSET 
SEC. 101. LIMITATION ON REAUTHORIZATION OF FEDERAL 
PROGRAMS. 
(a) ENFORCEMENT.—(1) It shall not be in order in 
the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider 
any bill or joint resolution, or amendment thereto or con-
ference report thereon, that reauthorizes any Federal pro-
gram for a period of more than seven fiscal years. 
(2) It shall not be in order in the House of Represent-
atives or the Senate to consider any bill or joint resolution, 
or any amendment thereto or conference report thereon, 
that establishes any new Federal program with an author-
ization of appropriations for a period of more than seven 
fiscal years. 
(b) COMMITTEE REVIEW OF DIRECT SPENDING PRO-
GRAMS.—Not later than July 31 during the second session 
of each Congress, each standing committee of the House 
of Representatives and the Senate with legislative jurisdic-
tion over any direct spending program shall apply the cri-
teria set forth in section 102 to determine whether any 
such program should be modified, terminated, or reauthor-
ized. 
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SEC. 102. CRITERIA FOR REVIEW. 
Any committee of the House of Representatives or 
the Senate with jurisdiction over any program being reau-
thorized shall consider the following criteria in deter-
mining whether such program should be modified, termi-
nated, or reauthorized: 
(1) The effectiveness and efficiency of the oper-
ation of the program. 
(2) Whether the program is cost effective. 
(3) Whether the original objectives of the pro-
gram have been achieved. 
(4) Whether alternative methods exist to carry 
out the objectives of the program in a more cost ef-
fective manner. 
(5) The extent to which the program is duplica-
tive or conflicts with other programs. 
(6) The potential benefits of consolidating this 
program with similar or duplicative programs. 
(7) The growth in cost per beneficiary or per-
sons served by the program. 
(8) The extent to which any trends, develop-
ments, and emerging conditions may affect the prob-
lems or needs that the program is intended to ad-
dress. 
(9) The extent it imposes mandates on State 
and local governments. 
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(10) The extent it impedes sustainable eco-
nomic growth. 
(11) The extent to which the program is a con-
stitutionally authorized activity of the Government. 
TITLE II—DEFICIT REDUCTION 
ACCOUNTS 
SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT OF DISCRETIONARY DEFICIT 
REDUCTION ACCOUNT. 
(a) DISCRETIONARY
DEFICIT
REDUCTION
AC-
COUNT.—Title III of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974 is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section: 
‘‘DISCRETIONARY DEFICIT REDUCTION ACCOUNT 
‘‘SEC. 316. (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNT.—The 
chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the House 
of Representatives and the chairman of the Committee on 
the Budget of the Senate shall each maintain an account 
to be known as the ‘deficit reduction discretionary ac-
count’. The Account shall be divided into entries cor-
responding to the subcommittees of the Committee on Ap-
propriations of that House and each entry shall consist 
of the ‘deficit reduction balance’. 
‘‘(b) COMPONENTS.—Each entry shall consist only of 
amounts credited to it under subsection (c). 
‘‘(c) CREDITING OF AMOUNTS TO ACCOUNT.— 
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‘‘(1) Whenever a Member of Congress offers an 
amendment to an appropriation bill to reduce new 
budget authority in any account or has the effect of 
reducing direct spending, that Member may state 
the portion of such reduction that shall be credited 
to— 
‘‘(A) the deficit reduction balance; 
‘‘(B) used to offset an increase in new 
budget authority in any other account; or 
‘‘(C) allowed to remain within the applica-
ble section 302(b) suballocation. 
‘‘(2) If no such statement is made, the amount 
of reduction in new budget authority resulting from 
the amendment shall be credited to the deficit reduc-
tion balance, as applicable, if the amendment is 
agreed to. 
‘‘(3) Except as provided by paragraph (4), the 
chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the 
House of Representatives or Senate, as applicable, 
shall, upon the engrossment of any appropriation bill 
by the House of Representatives or Senate, as appli-
cable, credit to the applicable entry balances 
amounts of new budget authority and outlays equal 
to the net amounts of reductions in budget authority 
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and in outlays resulting from amendments agreed to 
by that House to that bill. 
‘‘(4) When indicating the net amounts of reduc-
tions in new budget authority and outlays resulting 
from amendments agreed to by the House of Rep-
resentatives or Senate, as applicable, to an appro-
priation bill, the chairman of the Committee on the 
Budget of that House shall only count those por-
tions of such amendments agreed to that were so 
designated by the Members offering such amend-
ments as amounts to be credited to the deficit reduc-
tion balance. 
‘‘(5) The chairman of the Committee on the 
Budget of the House of Representatives and the 
chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the 
Senate shall each maintain a running tally of the 
amendments adopted reflecting increases and de-
creases of budget authority in the bill as reported to 
its House. This tally shall be available to Members 
or Senators during consideration of any bill by that 
House. 
‘‘(d) CALCULATION OF SAVINGS IN DEFICIT REDUC-
TION ACCOUNTS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AND SENATE.— 
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SEC. 202. ESTABLISHMENT OF DIRECT SPENDING REDUC-
TION ACCOUNT. 
Title III of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 
(as amended by section 201) is further amended by adding 
at the end the following new section: 
‘‘DIRECT SPENDING DEFICIT REDUCTION ACCOUNT 
‘‘SEC. 317. (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNT.—The 
chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the House 
of Representatives and of the Senate shall each maintain 
an account to be known as the ‘deficit reduction direct 
spending account’. The account shall be divided into en-
tries corresponding to the House of Representatives or 
Senate committees, as applicable, that received allocations 
under section 302(a) in the most recently adopted concur-
rent resolution on the budget, except that it shall not in-
clude the Committee on Appropriations of that House and 
each entry shall consist of the ‘first-year deficit reduction 
account’ and the ‘five-year deficit reduction account’ or 
the period covered by the resolution on the budget for that 
fiscal year, as applicable. 
‘‘(b) COMPONENTS.—Each entry shall consist only of 
amounts credited to it under subsection (c). No entry of 
a negative amount shall be made. 
‘‘(c) CALCULATION OF ACCOUNT SAVINGS IN HOUSE 
AND SENATE.—For the purposes of enforcing section 
302(a), upon the engrossment of any bill, other than an 
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appropriation bill, by the House of Representatives or 
Senate, as applicable, the amount of budget authority and 
outlays calculated pursuant to subsection (d)(3) shall be 
counted against the 302(a) allocation provided to the ap-
plicable committee or committees of that House which re-
ported the bill as if the amount calculated pursuant to 
subsection (d)(3) was included in the bill just engrossed. 
‘‘(d) CREDITING OF AMOUNTS TO ACCOUNT.—(1) 
Whenever a Member or Senator, as the case may be, offers 
an amendment to a bill that reduces the amount of budget 
authority for direct spending provided either under cur-
rent law or proposed to be provided by the bill under con-
sideration, that Member or Senator may state the portion 
of such reduction achieved in the first year covered by the 
most recently adopted concurrent resolution on the budget 
and in addition the portion of such reduction achieved in 
the first ten years covered by the most recently adopted 
concurrent resolution on the budget that shall be credited 
to the first-year deficit reduction balance and the five-year 
deficit reduction balance, as applicable, if the amendment 
is agreed to. 
‘‘(2) Except as provided by paragraph (3), the chair-
man of the Committee on the Budget of the House of Rep-
resentatives or Senate, as applicable, shall, upon the en-
grossment of any bill, other than an appropriation bill, by 
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the House of Representatives or Senate, as applicable, 
credit to the applicable entry balances amounts of new 
budget authority and outlays equal to the net amounts of 
reductions in budget authority and in outlays resulting 
from amendments agreed to by that House to that bill. 
‘‘(3) When computing the net amounts of reductions 
in budget authority and in outlays resulting from amend-
ments agreed to by the House of Representatives or Sen-
ate, as applicable, to a bill, the chairman of the Committee 
on the Budget of that House shall only count those por-
tions of such amendments agreed to that were so des-
ignated by the Members or Senators offering such amend-
ments as amounts to be credited to the first year deficit 
reduction balance and the five-year deficit reduction bal-
ance. 
‘‘(4) The chairman of the Committee on the Budget 
of the House of Representatives and of the Senate shall 
each maintain a running tally of the amendments adopted 
reflecting increases and decreases of budget authority in 
the bill as reported to its House. This tally shall be avail-
able to Members or Senators during consideration of any 
bill by that House. 
‘‘(e) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the term 
‘appropriation bill’ means any general or special appro-
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priation bill, and any bill or joint resolution making sup-
plemental, deficiency, or continuing appropriations.’’. 
SEC. 203. CONFORMING AMENDMENT. 
The table of contents set forth in section 1(b) of the 
Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 
1974 is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
section 315 the following new items: 
‘‘Sec. 316. Discretionary deficit reduction account. 
‘‘Sec. 317. Direct spending deficit reduction account.’’. 
TITLE III—GENERAL FUND 
TRANSFERS 
SEC. 301. BUDGET RULE RELATING TO TRANSFERS FROM 
THE GENERAL FUND OF THE TREASURY TO 
THE HIGHWAY TRUST FUND THAT INCREASE 
PUBLIC INDEBTEDNESS. 
For purposes of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974, the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Con-
trol Act of 1985, the Rules of the House of Representa-
tives, or the Standing Rules of the Senate, a bill or joint 
resolution, or an amendment thereto or conference report 
thereon, or any Act that transfers funds from the general 
fund of the Treasury to the Highway Trust Fund shall 
be counted as new budget authority and outlays equal to 
the amount of the transfer in the fiscal year the transfer 
occurs. 
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TITLE IV—BUDGETING FOR 
ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS 
SEC. 501. REVIEW OF RULES REQUIRING NEW BUDGET AU-
THORITY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 5 of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 559 the 
following: 
‘‘§ 559a. Review of rules requiring new budget au-
thority 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A rule made to carry out a direct 
spending program that would require new budget author-
ity of not less than $100,000,000 for the fiscal year the 
rule takes effect or for any of the 9 fiscal years imme-
diately succeeding that fiscal year may not take effect, ex-
cept as provided in subsection (d). 
‘‘(b) REVIEW
BY OFFICE
OF MANAGEMENT
AND 
BUDGET OF PROPOSED RULES.—Before the effective date 
of any rule, the Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget shall review the rule to determine if the rule is 
a rule described in subsection (a). If the Director deter-
mines that the rule is such a rule— 
‘‘(1) the Director shall notify the agency mak-
ing the rule— 
‘‘(A) of that determination; and 
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‘‘(B) the amount of the estimated new 
budget authority that the rule would require for 
the fiscal year in which the rule would take ef-
fect and the 9 fiscal years immediately suc-
ceeding that fiscal year; and 
‘‘(2) the agency may not undertake any further 
action pertaining to such rulemaking. 
‘‘(c) PERIODIC REVIEW OF RULES.—Beginning on 
the date that is one year after the date on which any rule 
takes effect, and annually thereafter, the Director of the 
Office of Management and Budget may make a determina-
tion as to whether the rule is a rule described in subsection 
(a). For purposes of this determination, the fiscal year the 
rule takes effect shall be deemed to be the fiscal year in 
which the Director makes the determination. If the Direc-
tor determines that the rule is such a rule, the agency 
that issued the rule shall provide for a transition period 
of such length as the Director, in consultation with the 
agency, determines appropriate. At the end of that transi-
tion period, the rule shall cease to have effect. 
‘‘(d) EXCEPTIONS.—Notwithstanding any other pro-
vision of this section, a rule described in subsection (a) 
shall take effect or continue in effect— 
‘‘(1) if the President submits written notice to 
the Congress that the President has determined that 
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the rule should take effect or continue in effect be-
cause such rule is— 
‘‘(A) necessary because of an imminent 
threat to health or safety or other emergency; 
‘‘(B) necessary for the enforcement of 
criminal laws; 
‘‘(C) necessary for national security; or 
‘‘(D) issued pursuant to any statute imple-
menting an international trade agreement; or 
‘‘(2) when the new budget authority to carry 
out the rule is provided by law. 
‘‘(e) TREATMENT
OF
SUBSTANTIALLY
SIMILAR 
RULES.—A rule that does not take effect (or does not con-
tinue in effect) under this section may not be reissued in 
substantially the same form, and a new rule that is sub-
stantially the same as such a rule may not be issued, un-
less the reissued or new rule is specifically authorized by 
a law enacted after the date that the rule fails to take 
effect or fails to continue in effect. 
‘‘(f) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Any determination under 
this section shall be subject to review under chapter 7 of 
this title. 
‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘new budget author-
ity’ and ‘direct spending’ have the meanings given such 
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terms under section 250 of the Balanced Budget and 
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 900). 
‘‘(h) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall apply only 
to rules for which the rulemakings are commenced after 
the date of enactment of the Review Every Dollar Act of 
2017.’’. 
(b) COST OF PROJECTED ADMINISTRATIVE REGULA-
TIONS.—Section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, 
is amended— 
(1) by redesignating the second paragraph (37) 
as paragraph (39); and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(40) a separate statement of the cost of ad-
ministrative rules that are projected to take effect 
during the fiscal year for which the budget is sub-
mitted.’’. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, is amended 
by inserting after the item relating to section 559 the fol-
lowing new item: 
‘‘559a. Review of rules requiring new budget authority.’’. 
Æ 
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