I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1204
To encourage Members of Congress and the executive branch to be honest
with the public about true on-budget circumstances, to exclude the Social
Security trust funds and the Medicare hospital insurance trust fund
from the annual Federal budget baseline, to prohibit Social Security
and Medicare hospital insurance trust funds surpluses to be used as
offsets for tax cuts or spending increases, and to exclude the Social
Security trust funds and the Medicare hospital insurance trust fund
from official budget surplus/deficit pronouncements.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 22, 2001
Mr. SMITH of Washington introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on the Budget, and in addition to the Committee on Ways
and Means, 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 encourage Members of Congress and the executive branch
to be honest with the public about true on-budget cir-
cumstances, to exclude the Social Security trust funds
and the Medicare hospital insurance trust fund from
the annual Federal budget baseline, to prohibit Social
Security and Medicare hospital insurance trust funds
surpluses to be used as offsets for tax cuts or spending
increases, and to exclude the Social Security trust funds
and the Medicare hospital insurance trust fund from
official budget surplus/deficit pronouncements.
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 ‘‘Honesty in Budgeting
Act’’.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF HOUSE TO ENCOURAGE HONESTY FOR
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND EXECUTIVE
BRANCH OFFICIALS.
It is the sense of the House of Representatives that
Members of Congress, executive branch officials, and their
respective representatives should use on-budget numbers
when making public statements regarding the Federal
budget.
SEC. 3. OFF-BUDGET STATUS OF OASDI AND HI TRUST
FUNDS.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the re-
ceipts and disbursements of the Federal Old-Age and Sur-
vivors Insurance Trust Fund, the Federal Disability In-
surance Trust Fund, and the Federal Hospital Insurance
Trust Fund shall not be counted as new budget authority,
outlays, receipts, or deficit or surplus for purposes of—
(1) the budget of the United States Govern-
ment as submitted by the President,
(2) the congressional budget, or
(3) the Balanced Budget and Emergency Def-
icit Control Act of 1985.
SEC. 4. REMOVING SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE
FROM 
BUDGET 
SURPLUS/DEFICIT 
PRO-
NOUNCEMENTS.
(a) REMOVING SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE
FROM BUDGET SURPLUS/DEFICIT PRONOUNCEMENTS.—
Title III of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is
amended by adding at the end the following section:
‘‘REMOVING SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE FROM
BUDGET SURPLUS/DEFICIT PRONOUNCEMENTS
‘‘SEC. 316. (a) SURPLUS OR DEFICIT TOTALS.—Any
official statement issued by the Office of Management and
Budget or by the Congressional Budget Office of surplus
or deficit totals of the budget of the United States Govern-
ment as submitted by the President or of the surplus or
deficit totals of the congressional budget, and any descrip-
tion of, or reference to, such totals in any official publica-
tion or material issued by either of such Offices, shall ex-
clude the receipts and disbursements totals of the old-age
survivors, and disability insurance program under title 2
of the Social Security Act and of the Federal Hospital In-
surance Trust Fund under part A of title 18 of such Act.
The Office of Management and Budget and the Congres-
sional Budget Office shall issue separate reports on the
outlays and revenues of the Social Security trust funds
and of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund.
‘‘(b) 
PRESENTATION
OF
BUDGETARY
AGGRE-
GATES.—For purposes of chapter 11 of title 31, United
States Code, or this Act, tables and other displays of
budgetary aggregates for the United States Government
of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
or the Director of the Congressional Budget Office shall
not include receipts or disbursements referred to in sub-
section (a).’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con-
tents set forth in section 1(b) of the Congressional Budget
and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is amended by
adding after the item relating to section 315 the following
new item:
‘‘Sec. 316. Removing Social Security and Medicare from budget surplus/deficit
pronouncements.’’.
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