I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4730 
To provide for a congressional reauthorizing schedule for unauthorized 
Federal programs, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 14, 2016 
Mrs. MCMORRIS RODGERS (for herself, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mr. BRAT, Mr. 
BUCK, Mr. BYRNE, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. 
FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. HUDSON, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mr. MESSER, Mr. 
MULLIN, Mr. OLSON, Mr. PALMER, Mr. TOM PRICE of Georgia, Mr. 
RIBBLE, Mrs. WAGNER, Mr. WALKER, Mr. WESTERMAN, and Mr. 
FARENTHOLD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the 
Committees on Rules, Appropriations, and the Budget, 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 con-
cerned 
A BILL 
To provide for a congressional reauthorizing schedule for 
unauthorized Federal programs, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Unauthorized Spending Accountability Act’’. 
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(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
TITLE I—SEQUESTER AND SUNSET OF UNAUTHORIZED 
PROGRAMS 
Sec. 101. Establishment of sequester and sunset schedule. 
Sec. 102. Reduction in funding for unauthorized programs. 
Sec. 103. Termination of unauthorized programs after third unauthorized year. 
Sec. 104. Exemption from obligation limitation, rescission, and termination. 
Sec. 105. Offset of rescissions through reductions in direct spending. 
Sec. 106. Sunset. 
TITLE II—SPENDING ACCOUNTABILITY COMMISSION 
Sec. 201. Establishment. 
Sec. 202. Duties of Commission. 
Sec. 203. Membership. 
Sec. 204. Powers of Commission. 
Sec. 205. Personnel and other administrative matters. 
Sec. 206. Funding. 
TITLE III—REAUTHORIZATION CYCLE FOR DISCRETIONARY 
PROGRAMS 
Sec. 301. Establishment of reauthorization schedule. 
TITLE I—SEQUESTER AND SUN-
SET OF UNAUTHORIZED PRO-
GRAMS 
SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF SEQUESTER AND SUNSET 
SCHEDULE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—There is hereby established a re-
occurring three-year rescission and sunset schedule with 
respect to any unauthorized program, to begin in fiscal 
year 2016, consistent with the requirements of this Act. 
(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this title— 
(1) the term ‘‘unauthorized program’’ means 
any program or activity listed in the annual report 
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published by the Congressional Budget Office, enti-
tled ‘‘Unauthorized Appropriations and Expiring 
Authorizations’’, or any successor report, with re-
spect to which authorizations of appropriations will 
expire during the fiscal year in which such report is 
published; and 
(2) the term ‘‘expiring fiscal year’’ means, with 
respect to an unauthorized program, the fiscal year 
during which authorizations of appropriations will 
expire for such program. 
(c) APPLICATION TO PROGRAMS THAT EXPIRED BE-
FORE FISCAL YEAR 2016.—For purposes of applying this 
Act to any unauthorized program funded during fiscal 
year 2016 and for which authorizations of appropriations 
expired before such fiscal year, such program shall be 
deemed to be a program or activity listed in the report 
referred to in subsection (b)(1) with respect to which au-
thorizations of appropriations will expire during fiscal year 
2016. 
SEC. 102. REDUCTION IN FUNDING FOR UNAUTHORIZED 
PROGRAMS. 
(a) OBLIGATION LIMITATION.— 
(1) FIRST FISCAL YEAR FOLLOWING EXPIRA-
TION OF AUTHORIZATION.—With respect to any un-
authorized program, during the fiscal year imme-
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diately following the expiring fiscal year, not more 
than an amount equal to 90 percent of the funds ap-
propriated for such program in the expiring fiscal 
year may be obligated. 
(2) SECOND AND THIRD FISCAL YEARS FOL-
LOWING EXPIRATION OF AUTHORIZATION.—With re-
spect to any unauthorized program subject to an ob-
ligation limitation under paragraph (1) that remains 
unauthorized in the second or third fiscal year fol-
lowing the expiring fiscal year, during any such sec-
ond or third fiscal year, an amount equal to not 
more than 85 percent of the funds appropriated for 
such program in the expiring fiscal year may be obli-
gated. 
(b) RESCISSION OF FUNDS.— 
(1) FIRST FISCAL YEAR FOLLOWING EXPIRA-
TION
OF
AUTHORIZATION.—With respect to any 
funds made available for an unauthorized program 
subject to an obligation limitation under subsection 
(a)(1) in the fiscal year during which such limitation 
is applicable, on the first day of such fiscal year 
there is rescinded an amount necessary to reduce 
such funds to a level equal to 90 percent of the 
funds appropriated for such program in the expiring 
fiscal year. 
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(2) SECOND AND THIRD FISCAL YEARS FOL-
LOWING EXPIRATION OF AUTHORIZATION.—With re-
spect to any funds made available for an unauthor-
ized program subject to an obligation limitation 
under subsection (a)(2), on the first day of the sec-
ond or third fiscal year (as the case may be) there 
is rescinded an amount necessary to reduce such 
funds to a level equal to 85 percent of the funds ap-
propriated for such program in the expiring fiscal 
year. 
(c) DISCRETIONARY
SPENDING
LIMIT
ADJUST-
MENT.—Effective upon the date of any rescission under 
subsection (b), the Director of the Office of Management 
and Budget shall reduce the revised security category or 
revised nonsecurity category (as the case may be) for the 
applicable fiscal year under section 251(c) of the Balanced 
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 by 
a dollar amount equal to such rescission. 
SEC. 103. TERMINATION OF UNAUTHORIZED PROGRAMS 
AFTER THIRD UNAUTHORIZED YEAR. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Any unauthorized program sub-
ject to an obligation limitation under section 102(a)(2) 
during the third fiscal year following the expiring fiscal 
year shall, effective immediately on October 1 of the fiscal 
year immediately following such third fiscal year, be termi-
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nated. Any unobligated amounts available for such pro-
gram after the date of termination shall remain available 
for recording, adjusting, and liquidating valid obligations 
of such program issued before such termination date. 
(b) OBLIGATION OF FUNDS PROHIBITED WITHOUT 
REAUTHORIZATION.—No funds may be obligated for any 
program terminated pursuant to subsection (a) in any fis-
cal year without an express reauthorization of the program 
by Congress containing an authorization of appropriations 
period not to exceed three years. 
SEC. 104. EXEMPTION FROM OBLIGATION LIMITATION, RE-
SCISSION, AND TERMINATION. 
(a) REAUTHORIZATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Any unauthorized program 
subject to a rescission under section 102 for any fis-
cal year that is expressly reauthorized during such 
fiscal year shall not be subject to the requirements 
of this title with respect to that fiscal year or any 
subsequent second or third fiscal year (as the case 
may be). 
(2) RESTORATION OF BUDGET AUTHORITY.— 
Any budget authority rescinded during the fiscal 
year of reauthorization shall be restored, and the ap-
plicable reduction in the discretionary spending limit 
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for that fiscal year under section 102(c) shall have 
no force or effect. 
(3) LIMITATION.—Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall 
only apply if the reauthorization contains a sunset 
provision applicable to such program providing for 
an authorization of appropriations period of not 
more than three years. 
(b) RESCISSION OFFSET BY REDUCTION IN DIRECT 
SPENDING.—Any obligation limitation and rescission 
under section 102 shall not apply if, before the fiscal year 
during which such limitation and rescission will occur, a 
bill is enacted into law as described in section 105. 
SEC. 105. OFFSET OF RESCISSIONS THROUGH REDUCTIONS 
IN DIRECT SPENDING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 
end of fiscal year 2017 and any subsequent fiscal year 
during which this title remains applicable pursuant to sec-
tion 106, the Commission shall review Federal programs 
funded by direct spending. 
(b) REDUCTION IN DIRECT SPENDING.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Beginning in fiscal year 
2016, during any fiscal year that an obligation limi-
tation and rescission will occur during the subse-
quent fiscal year by operation of this title, the Com-
mission may submit to Congress a legislative pro-
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posal providing for reductions in direct spending, to 
occur over a period of time not to exceed the next 
ten fiscal years, in an amount equal to the total 
amount of discretionary funds that will be so re-
scinded, as determined by the Commission. 
(2) EFFECT OF ENACTMENT.—If the proposal 
described under paragraph (1) is enacted into law 
before such subsequent fiscal year begins, the obliga-
tion limitation and rescissions that would occur dur-
ing such fiscal year as a result of this title shall have 
no force or effect during that fiscal year. 
(c) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘direct 
spending’’ has the meaning given such term in section 
250(c)(8) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 
Control Act of 1985. 
SEC. 106. SUNSET. 
This title shall sunset on the date that the legislative 
proposal described under section 301 is enacted into law. 
The previous sentence shall not apply if such proposal, as 
enacted, does not include obligation limitations and rescis-
sions with respect to unauthorized programs in the 
amounts and percentages as provided in section 102. 
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TITLE II—SPENDING 
ACCOUNTABILITY COMMISSION 
SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT. 
There is established in the legislature a permanent 
commission, to be known as the ‘‘Spending and Account-
ability Commission’’ (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Com-
mission’’), in order to carry out section 105 and title III 
of this Act. 
SEC. 202. DUTIES OF COMMISSION. 
The Commission shall— 
(1) as described in section 105, conduct com-
prehensive reviews of all Federal programs funded 
through direct spending; and 
(2) as described in title III, provide a legislative 
proposal for an authorization cycle for Federal pro-
grams funded by discretionary spending. 
SEC. 203. MEMBERSHIP. 
(a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission 
shall be composed of 17 members, as follows: 
(1) Seven members shall be appointed by the 
Speaker of the House of Representatives, of whom 
three shall be appointed in consultation with the mi-
nority leader of the House of Representatives. 
(2) Seven members shall be appointed by the 
majority leader of the Senate, of whom three shall 
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be appointed in consultation with the minority leader 
of the Senate. 
(3) The Comptroller General of the United 
States. 
(4) The Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office. 
(5) The Director of the Congressional Research 
Service. 
(b) MEMBER POWERS
AND CRITERIA.—Any indi-
vidual appointed pursuant to— 
(1) subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2) shall be a voting 
member of the Commission and must be a Member 
of Congress (as defined in section 2106 of title 5, 
United States Code, but not including the Vice 
President); and 
(2) subsection (a)(3), (a)(4), or (a)(5), shall be 
a nonvoting member of the Commission. 
(c) CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP RE-
QUIREMENTS.—Each committee listed under paragraphs 
(1) through (7) shall have at least one Member on such 
committee appointed under subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2): 
(1) The Committee on Appropriations of the 
House of Representatives. 
(2) The Committee on Appropriations of the 
Senate. 
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