I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4338 
To establish a procedure to safeguard the surpluses of the social security 
and medicare hospital insurance trust funds. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 6, 2007 
Mr. WALBERG (for himself, Mrs. DRAKE, and Mrs. JONES of Ohio) 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 subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
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’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 
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(1) fiscal pressures will mount as an aging pop-
ulation increases the Government’s obligations to 
provide retirement income and health services; 
(2) social security and medicare surpluses 
should be reserved for strengthening and preserving 
the social security trust funds; and 
(3) preserving social security and medicare sur-
pluses would restore confidence in the long-term fi-
nancial integrity of social security and medicare. 
(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to pre-
vent the social security and medicare hospital insurance 
trust funds from being used for any purpose other than 
providing retirement and health security. 
SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE 
SURPLUSES. 
(a) PROTECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDI-
CARE SURPLUSES.—Title III of the Congressional Budget 
Act of 1974 is amended by adding at the end the following 
new section: 
‘‘LOCK-BOX FOR SOCIAL SECURITY AND HOSPITAL 
INSURANCE SURPLUSES 
‘‘SEC. 316. (a) LOCK-BOX FOR SOCIAL SECURITY 
AND HOSPITAL INSURANCE SURPLUSES.— 
‘‘(1) CONCURRENT
RESOLUTIONS
ON
THE 
BUDGET.— 
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‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—It shall not be in 
order in the House of Representatives or the 
Senate to consider any concurrent resolution on 
the budget, or an amendment thereto or con-
ference report thereon, that would set forth a 
surplus for any fiscal year that is less than the 
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, 
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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 
Senate to consider any bill, joint resolution, 
amendment, motion, or conference report if— 
‘‘(i) the enactment of that bill or reso-
lution, as reported; 
‘‘(ii) the adoption and enactment of 
that amendment; or 
‘‘(iii) the enactment of that bill or res-
olution in the form recommended in that 
conference report, 
would cause the surplus for any fiscal year cov-
ered by the most recently agreed to concurrent 
resolution on the budget to be less than the sur-
plus of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust 
Fund for that fiscal year. 
‘‘(B) 
EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph 
(A) 
shall not apply to social security reform legisla-
tion or medicare reform legislation. 
‘‘(b) ENFORCEMENT.— 
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‘‘(1) BUDGETARY LEVELS WITH RESPECT TO 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS ON THE BUDGET.—For 
purposes of enforcing any point of order under sub-
section (a)(1), the surplus for any fiscal year shall 
be— 
‘‘(A) the levels set forth in the later of the 
concurrent resolution on the budget, as re-
ported, or in the conference report on the con-
current resolution on the budget; and 
‘‘(B) adjusted to the maximum extent al-
lowable under all procedures that allow budg-
etary aggregates to be adjusted for legislation 
that would cause a decrease in the surplus for 
any fiscal year covered by the concurrent reso-
lution on the budget (other than procedures de-
scribed in paragraph (2)(A)(ii)). 
‘‘(2) CURRENT
LEVELS
WITH
RESPECT
TO 
SPENDING AND TAX LEGISLATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of en-
forcing subsection (a)(2), the current levels of 
the surplus for any fiscal year shall be— 
‘‘(i) calculated using the following as-
sumptions— 
‘‘(I) direct spending and revenue 
levels at the baseline levels underlying 
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the most recently agreed to concur-
rent resolution on the budget; and 
‘‘(II) for the budget year, discre-
tionary spending levels at current law 
levels and, for outyears, discretionary 
spending levels at the baseline levels 
underlying the most recently agreed to 
concurrent resolution on the budget; 
and 
‘‘(ii) adjusted for changes in the sur-
plus levels set forth in the most recently 
agreed to concurrent resolution on the 
budget pursuant to procedures in such res-
olution that authorize adjustments in 
budgetary aggregates for updated economic 
and technical assumptions in the mid-ses-
sion report of the Director of the Congres-
sional Budget Office. 
Such revisions shall be included in the first cur-
rent level report on the congressional budget 
submitted for publication in the Congressional 
Record after the release of such mid-session re-
port. 
‘‘(B) BUDGETARY
TREATMENT.—Outlays 
(or receipts) for any fiscal year resulting from 
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social security or medicare reform legislation in 
excess of the amount of outlays (or less than 
the amount of receipts) for that fiscal year set 
forth in the most recently agreed to concurrent 
resolution on the budget or the section 302(a) 
allocation for such legislation, as applicable, 
shall not be taken into account for purposes of 
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 
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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. 
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‘‘(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 Government sub-
mitted 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 re-
form 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. 
Æ 
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