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(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the
Congress that baseline budgeting should be replaced with
a form of budgeting that requires full justification and
analysis of budget proposals and maximizes congressional
accountability for public spending.
SEC. 9. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON EMERGENCIES.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that:
(1) The Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 ex-
empted from the discretionary spending limits and
the Pay-As-You-Go requirements for entitlement and
tax legislation funding requirements that are des-
ignated by Congress and the President as an emer-
gency.
(2) Congress and the President have increas-
ingly misused the emergency designation by—
(A) designating funding as an emergency
that is neither unforeseen nor a genuine emer-
gency, and
(B) circumventing spending limits or pass-
ing controversial items that would not pass
scrutiny in a free-standing bill.
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that Congress should study alternative approaches
to budgeting for emergencies, including codifying the defi-
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nition of an emergency and establishing contingency funds
to pay for emergencies.
SEC. 10. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING PRIVATIZATION
OF THE STUDENT LOAN MARKETING ASSO-
CIATION (SALLIE MAE).
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that:
(1) The Student Loan Marketing Association
was established in 1972 as a government-sponsored
corporation dedicated to ensuring adequate private
sector funding for federally guaranteed education
loans.
(2) Since 1972, student loan volume has grown
from $1,000,000,000 a year to $25,000,000,000 a
year. The Student Loan Marketing Association was
instrumental in fostering this expansion of the stu-
dent loan program.
(3) With securitization and 42 secondary mar-
kets, there currently exist numerous alternatives for
lenders wishing to sell or liquidate their portfolios of
student loans.
(4) Maintaining Student Loan Marketing Asso-
ciation as a Government-sponsored enterprise ex-
poses taxpayers to an unnecessary liability.
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(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense Congress
that the Student Loan Marketing Association should be
restructured as a private corporation.
SEC. 11. SENSE OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES REGARD-
ING DEBT REPAYMENT.
It is the sense of the House of Representatives that—
(1) the Congress has a basic moral and ethical
responsibility to future generations to repay the
Federal debt;
(2) the Congress should enact a plan that bal-
ances the budget, and then also develops a regimen
for paying off the Federal debt;
(3) after the budget is balanced, a surplus
should be created, which can be used to begin paying
off the debt; and
(4) such a plan should be formulated and im-
plemented so that this generation can save future
generations from the crushing burdens of the Fed-
eral debt.
SEC. 12. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING REPEAL OF
HOUSE RULE XLIX AND THE LEGAL LIMIT ON
THE PUBLIC DEBT.
It is the sense of Congress that—
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(1) rule XLIX of the Rules of House of Rep-
resentatives (popularly known as the Gephardt rule)
should be repealed;
(2) the fiscal year 1996 reconciliation bill
should be enacted into law before passage of the
debt limit extension; and
(3) the debt limit should only be set at levels,
and for durations, that help assure a balanced budg-
et by fiscal year 2002 or sooner.
SEC. 13. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING THE BUDG-
ETARY TREATMENT OF THE ADMINISTRA-
TIVE COSTS FOR DIRECT LOANS.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that the Federal
Credit Reform Act of 1990 understates the cost to the
Government of direct loans because administrative costs
are not included in the net present value calculation of
Federal direct loan subsidy costs.
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the
Congress that the cost of a direct loan should be the net
present value, at the time the direct loan is disbursed, of
the following cash flows for the estimated life of the loan:
(1) Loan disbursement.
(2) Repayments of principal.
(3) Interest costs and other payments by or to
the Government over the life of the loan after ad-
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justing for estimated defaults, prepayments, fees,
penalties, and other recoveries.
(4) In the case of a direct loan made pursuant
to a program for which the Congressional Budget
Office estimates that for the coming fiscal year (or
any prior fiscal year) loan commitments will equal or
exceed $5,000,000,000, direct expenses, including
expenses arising from—
(A) activities related to credit extension,
loan origination, and loan servicing;
(B) payments to contractors, other Govern-
ment entities, and program participants;
(C) management of contractors;
(D) collection of delinquents loans; and
(E) write-off and close-out of loans.
SEC. 14. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING COMMIS-
SION ON THE SOLVENCY OF THE FEDERAL
MILITARY AND CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT
FUNDS.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that the Federal
retirement system, for both military and civil service retir-
ees, currently has liabilities of $1.1 trillion, while holding
assets worth $340 billion and anticipating employee con-
tributions of $220 billion, which leaves an unfunded liabil-
ity of $540 billion.
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(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the
Congress that a high-level commission should be convened
to study the problems associated with the Federal retire-
ment system and make recommendations that will ensure
the long-term solvency of the military and civil service re-
tirement funds.
Passed the House of Representatives May 18, 1995.
Attest:
ROBIN H. CARLE,
Clerk.
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