I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 563
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 from the annual Federal budget baseline, to prohibit
Social Security trust funds surpluses to be used as offsets for tax
cuts or spending increases, and to exclude the Social Security trust
funds from official budget surplus/deficit pronouncements.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 3, 1999
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
from the annual Federal budget baseline, to prohibit
Social Security trust funds surpluses to be used as off-
sets for tax cuts or spending increases, and to exclude
the Social Security trust funds from official budget sur-
plus/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 TRUST FUNDS.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the re-
ceipts and disbursements of the Federal Old-Age and Sur-
vivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability
Insurance Trust Fund shall not be counted as new budget
authority, outlays, receipts, or deficit or surplus for pur-
poses 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 Defi-
cit Control Act of 1985.
SEC. 4. REMOVING SOCIAL SECURITY FROM BUDGET SUR-
PLUS/DEFICIT PRONOUNCEMENTS.
(a) REMOVING SOCIAL SECURITY 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 FROM BUDGET SURPLUS/
DEFICIT PRONOUNCEMENTS
‘‘SEC. 316. (a) SURPLUS OR DEFICIT TOTALS.—Any
official statement issues 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. The Office of Management and
Budget and the Congressional Budget Office shall issue
separate reports on the outlays and revenues of the Social
Security trust funds.
(b) PRESENTATION OF BUDGETARY AGGREGATES.—
For purposes of chapter 11 of title 31, United States
Code, or the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, tables and
other displays of budgetary aggregates for the United
States Government of the Director of the Office of Man-
agement and Budget or the Director of the Congressional
Budget Office shall not include receipts or disbursements
referred to in subsection (a).
(c) 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 from budget surplus/deficit pronounce-
ments.’’.
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