I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 457
To amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to provide for budgeting
for emergencies through the establishment of a budget reserve account,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 21, 1997
Mr. CASTLE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Commit-
tee on the Budget, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a pe-
riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con-
sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the commit-
tee concerned
A BILL
To amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to provide
for budgeting for emergencies through the establishment
of a budget reserve account, 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. ESTABLISHMENT OF BUDGET RESERVE AC-
COUNT.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—A budget reserve account
(hereinafter in this section referred to as the ‘‘account’’)
shall be established for the purpose of setting aside ade-
quate funding for natural disasters and national security
emergencies.
(b) PRIOR APPROPRIATION REQUIRED.—The ac-
count shall consist of such sums as may be provided in
advance in appropriation Acts for a particular fiscal year.
(c) RESTRICTION ON USE OF FUNDS.—(1) Notwith-
standing any other provision of law, the amounts in the
account shall not be available for other than emergency
funding requirements for particular natural disasters or
national security emergencies so designated by Acts of
Congress.
(2) Funds in the account that are not obligated dur-
ing the fiscal year for which they are appropriated may
only be used for deficit reduction purposes.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET PROCESS CHANGES.
(a) CONTENTS OF CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS ON
THE BUDGET.—Section 301(a) of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974 is amended by redesignating para-
graphs (6) and (7) as paragraphs (7) and (8), respectively,
and by inserting after paragraph (5) the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(6) total new budget authority and total
budget outlays for emergency funding requirements
for natural disasters and national security emer-
gencies to be included in a budget reserve account;’’.
(b) SECTION 602 ALLOCATIONS.—(1) Section 602 of
the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended by add-
ing at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(f) COMMITTEE SPENDING ALLOCATIONS AND SUB-
ALLOCATIONS FOR BUDGET RESERVE ACCOUNT.—
‘‘(1) ALLOCATIONS.—The joint explanatory
statement accompanying a conference report on a
budget resolution shall include allocations, consistent
with the resolution recommended in the conference
report, of the appropriate levels (for each fiscal year
covered by that resolution) of total new budget au-
thority and outlays to the Committee on Appropria-
tions of each House for emergency funding require-
ments for natural disasters and national security
emergencies to be included in a budget reserve
account.
‘‘(2) SUBALLOCATIONS.—As soon as practicable
after a budget resolution is agreed to, the Commit-
tee on Appropriations of each House (after consult-
ing with the Committee on Appropriations of the
other House) shall suballocate each amount allocated
to it for the budget year under paragraph (1) among
its subcommittees. Each Committee on Appropria-
tions shall promptly report to its House suballoca-
tions made or revised under this paragraph.’’.
(2) Section 602(c) of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974 is amended by inserting ‘‘or subsection (f)(1)’’
after ‘‘subsection (a)’’ and by inserting ‘‘or subsection
(f)(2)’’ after ‘‘subsection (b)’’.
SEC. 3. REPEAL OF ADJUSTMENT FOR EMERGENCY APPRO-
PRIATIONS.
Section 251(b)(2)(D) of the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 is repealed.
SEC. 4. REPORTING.
Not later than November 30, 1998, and at annual
intervals thereafter, the Director of the Office of Manage-
ment and Budget shall submit a report to each House of
Congress listing the amounts of money expended from the
budget reserve account established under section 1 for the
fiscal year ending during that calendar year for each natu-
ral disaster and national security emergency.
SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act and the amendments made by it shall apply
to fiscal year 1998 and subsequent fiscal years.
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