I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 903
To amend the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 
and the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to extend the discretionary 
spending caps and the pay-as-you-go requirement, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 17, 2005
Mr. COOPER (for himself, Mr. TANNER, Mr. CARDOZA, Mr. MATHESON, Mr. 
BOYD, Mr. ROSS, Mr. BARROW, Mr. CASE, Mr. MICHAUD, Mr. DAVIS of 
Tennessee, Mr. SALAZAR, Ms. HARMAN, Mr. THOMPSON of California, 
Mr. COSTA, Mr. BOSWELL, Ms. HERSETH, Mr. MOORE of Kansas, Mr. 
SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. CHANDLER, Mr. FORD, Mr. BERRY, Mr. HOLDEN, 
Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. SCHIFF, and Mr. TAYLOR 
of Mississippi) 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 concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Con-
trol Act of 1985 and the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974 to extend the discretionary spending caps and the 
pay-as-you-go requirement, 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 ‘‘Fiscal Honesty and 
Accountability Act of 2005’’. 
SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF PAY-AS-YOU-GO REQUIREMENT. 
(a) PURPOSE.—Section 252(a) of the Balanced 
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 is 
amended by striking ‘‘2002’’ and inserting ‘‘2010’’. 
(b) SEQUESTRATION.—Section 252(b)(1) of the Bal-
anced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 
is amended by striking ‘‘2002’’ and inserting ‘‘2010’’. 
SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF THE DISCRETIONARY SPENDING 
CAPS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 251(c) of the Balanced 
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 is 
amended—
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through 
(9) as paragraphs (7) through (12), respectively, 
and inserting after paragraph (3) the following new 
paragraphs: 
‘‘(4) with respect to fiscal year 2007 for the 
discretionary category: $857,952,000,000 in new 
budget authority and $906,854,000,000 in outlays; 
‘‘(5) with respect to fiscal year 2008 for the 
discretionary category: $875,969,000,000 in new 
budget authority and $920,233,000,000 in outlays;
‘‘(6) with respect to fiscal year 2009 for the 
discretionary category: $894,365,000,000 in new 
budget authority and $933,786,000,000 in outlays;’’. 
(b) EXPIRATION.—Section 275 of the Balanced 
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 
U.S.C. 900 note) is amended by striking subsection (b). 
SEC. 4. ACCOUNTABILITY IN EMERGENCY SPENDING. 
(a) OMB EMERGENCY CRITERIA.—Section 3 of the 
Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 
1974 is amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(11)(A) The term ‘emergency’ means a situa-
tion that—
‘‘(i) requires new budget authority and 
outlays (or new budget authority and the out-
lays flowing therefrom) for the prevention or 
mitigation of, or response to, loss of life or 
property, or a threat to national security; and 
‘‘(ii) is unanticipated. 
‘‘(B) As used in subparagraph (A), the term 
‘unanticipated’ means that the situation is—
‘‘(i) sudden, which means quickly coming 
into being or not building up over time; 
‘‘(ii) urgent, which means a pressing and 
compelling need requiring immediate action;
‘‘(iii) unforeseen, which means not pre-
dicted or anticipated as an emerging need; and 
‘‘(iv) temporary, which means not of a per-
manent duration.’’. 
(b) DEVELOPMENT OF GUIDELINES FOR APPLICA-
TION OF EMERGENCY DEFINITION.—Not later than five 
months after the date of enactment of this Act, the chair-
men of the Committees on the Budget (in consultation 
with the President) shall, after consulting with the chair-
men of the Committees on Appropriations and applicable 
authorizing committees of their respective Houses and the 
Directors of the Congressional Budget Office and the Of-
fice of Management and Budget, jointly publish in the 
Congressional Record guidelines for application of the def-
inition of emergency set forth in section 3(11) of the Con-
gressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974. 
(c) SEPARATE HOUSE VOTE ON EMERGENCY DES-
IGNATION.—(1) Rule XXII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new clause: 
‘‘13. In the consideration of any measure for amend-
ment in the Committee of the Whole containing any emer-
gency spending designation, it shall always be in order un-
less specifically waived by terms of a rule governing con-
sideration of that measure, to move to strike such emer-
gency spending designation from the portion of the bill 
then open to amendment.’’. 
(2) The Committee on Rules shall include in the re-
port required by clause 1(d) of rule XI (relating to its 
activities during the Congress) of the Rules of the House 
of Representatives a separate item identifying all waivers 
of points of order relating to emergency spending designa-
tions, listed by bill or joint resolution number and the sub-
ject matter of that measure. 
(d) COMMITTEE
NOTIFICATION
OF
EMERGENCY 
LEGISLATION.—Whenever the Committee on Appropria-
tions or any other committee of either House (including 
a committee of conference) reports any bill or joint resolu-
tion that provides budget authority for any emergency, the 
report accompanying that bill or joint resolution (or the 
joint explanatory statement of managers in the case of a 
conference report on any such bill or joint resolution) shall 
identify all provisions that provide budget authority and 
the outlays flowing therefrom for such emergency and in-
clude a statement of the reasons why such budget author-
ity meets the definition of an emergency pursuant to the 
guidelines described in subsection (b). 
(e) RESERVE FUND FOR EMERGENCIES IN PRESI-
DENT’S BUDGET.—Section 1105(f) of title 31, United 
States Code is amended by adding at the end the following
new sentences: ‘‘Such budget submission shall also comply 
with the requirements of section 316(b) of the Congres-
sional Budget Act of 1974 and, in the case of any budget 
authority requested for an emergency, such submission 
shall include a detailed justification of why such emer-
gency is an emergency within the meaning of section 3(11) 
of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.’’. 
(f) ADJUSTMENTS AND RESERVE FUND FOR EMER-
GENCIES IN JOINT BUDGET RESOLUTIONS.—Title III of 
the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended by add-
ing at the end the following new section: 
‘‘EMERGENCIES 
‘‘SEC. 316. (a) ADJUSTMENTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—After the reporting of a bill 
or joint resolution or the submission of a conference 
report thereon that provides budget authority for 
any emergency as identified pursuant to subsection 
(d) that is not covered by subsection (c)—
‘‘(A) the chairman of the Committee on 
the Budget of the House of Representatives or 
the Senate shall determine and certify, pursu-
ant to the guidelines referred to in subsection 
(b), the portion (if any) of the amount so speci-
fied that is for an emergency within the mean-
ing of section 3(11); and