107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2
AN ACT
To establish a procedure to safeguard the surpluses
of the Social Security and Medicare hospital in-
surance trust funds.
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2
AN ACT
To establish a procedure to safeguard the surpluses of the
Social Security and Medicare hospital insurance trust funds.
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 ‘‘Social Security and
Medicare Lock-Box Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
(1) the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and
strong economic growth have ended decades of def-
icit spending;
(2) the Government is able to meet its current
obligations without using the social security and
medicare surpluses;
(3) fiscal pressures will mount as an aging pop-
ulation increases the Government’s obligations to
provide retirement income and health services;
(4) social security and medicare hospital insur-
ance surpluses should be used to reduce the debt
held by the public until legislation is enacted that re-
forms social security and medicare;
(5) preserving the social security and medicare
hospital insurance surpluses would restore con-
fidence in the long-term financial integrity of social
security and medicare; and
(6) strengthening the Government’s fiscal posi-
tion through debt reduction would increase national
savings, promote economic growth, and reduce its in-
terest payments.
surplus of the Federal Hospital Insurance
Trust Fund for that fiscal year.
‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—(i) Subparagraph (A)
shall not apply to the extent that a violation of
such subparagraph would result from an as-
sumption in the resolution, amendment, or con-
ference report, as applicable, of an increase in
outlays or a decrease in revenue relative to the
baseline underlying that resolution for social se-
curity reform legislation or medicare reform leg-
islation for any such fiscal year.
‘‘(ii) If a concurrent resolution on the
budget, or an amendment thereto or conference
report thereon, would be in violation of sub-
paragraph (A) because of an assumption of an
increase in outlays or a decrease in revenue rel-
ative to the baseline underlying that resolution
for social security reform legislation or medi-
care reform legislation for any such fiscal year,
then that resolution shall include a statement
identifying any such increase in outlays or de-
crease in revenue.
‘‘(2) SPENDING AND TAX LEGISLATION.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—It shall not be in
order in the House of Representatives or the
enforcing any point of order under subsection
(a)(2).
‘‘(3) DISCLOSURE OF HI SURPLUS.—For pur-
poses of enforcing any point of order under sub-
section (a), the surplus of the Federal Hospital In-
surance Trust Fund for a fiscal year shall be the
levels set forth in the later of the report accom-
panying the concurrent resolution on the budget (or,
in the absence of such a report, placed in the Con-
gressional Record prior to the consideration of such
resolution) or in the joint explanatory statement of
managers accompanying such resolution.
‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL CONTENT OF REPORTS ACCOM-
PANYING BUDGET RESOLUTIONS AND OF JOINT EXPLAN-
ATORY STATEMENTS.—The report accompanying any con-
current resolution on the budget and the joint explanatory
statement accompanying the conference report on each
such resolution shall include the levels of the surplus in
the budget for each fiscal year set forth in such resolution
and of the surplus or deficit in the Federal Hospital Insur-
ance Trust Fund, calculated using the assumptions set
forth in subsection (b)(2)(A).
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:
‘‘(1) The term ‘medicare reform legislation’
means a bill or a joint resolution to save Medicare
that includes a provision stating the following: ‘For
purposes of section 316(a) of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974, this Act constitutes medicare
reform legislation.’.
‘‘(2) The term ‘social security reform legisla-
tion’ means a bill or a joint resolution to save social
security that includes a provision stating the fol-
lowing: ‘For purposes of section 316(a) of the Con-
gressional Budget Act of 1974, this Act constitutes
social security reform legislation.’.
‘‘(e) WAIVER AND APPEAL.—Subsection (a) may be
waived or suspended in the Senate only by an affirmative
vote of three-fifths of the Members, duly chosen and
sworn. An affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members
of the Senate, duly chosen and sworn, shall be required
in the Senate to sustain an appeal of the ruling of the
Chair on a point of order raised under this section.
‘‘(f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall cease to
have any force or effect upon the enactment of social secu-
rity reform legislation and medicare reform legislation.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The item relating
to section 316 in the table of contents set forth in section
1(b) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Con-
trol Act of 1974 is amended to read as follows:
‘‘Sec. 316. Lock-box for social security and hospital insurance surpluses.’’.
SEC. 4. PRESIDENTS’ BUDGET.
(a) PROTECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDI-
CARE SURPLUSES.—If the budget of the United States
Government submitted by the President under section
1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, recommends an
on-budget surplus for any fiscal year that is less than the
surplus of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund for
that fiscal year, then it shall include a detailed proposal
for social security reform legislation or medicare reform
legislation.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (a) shall cease to
have any force or effect upon the enactment of social secu-
rity reform legislation and medicare reform legislation as
defined by section 316(d) of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974.
Passed the House of Representatives February 13,
2001.
Attest:
Clerk.