I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 323
To require the Congress and the President to use the spending levels for
the current fiscal year (without adjustment for inflation) in the prepara-
tion of the budget for each new fiscal year in order to clearly identify
spending increases from one fiscal year to the next fiscal year.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 5, 1993
Mr. RAMSTAD introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the
Committees on Government Operations and Rules
A BILL
To require the Congress and the President to use the spend-
ing levels for the current fiscal year (without adjustment
for inflation) in the preparation of the budget for each
new fiscal year in order to clearly identify spending in-
creases from one fiscal year to the next fiscal year.
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 ‘‘Common Sense Budget
Act of 1993’’.
SEC. 2. THE PRESIDENT’S BUDGET.
Paragraph (5) of section 1105(a) of title 31, United
States Code, is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(5) except as provided in subsection (b) of this
section—
‘‘(A) estimated expenditures and proposed
appropriations 
for 
each 
function 
and
subfunction in the current fiscal year;
‘‘(B) estimated expenditures and proposed
appropriations the President decides are nec-
essary to support the Government for each
function and subfunction in the fiscal year for
which the budget is submitted; and
‘‘(C) a comparison of levels of estimated
expenditures and proposed appropriations for
each function and subfunction in the current
fiscal year and the fiscal year for which the
budget is submitted, along with the proposed
increase or decrease of spending in percentage
terms for each function and subfunction;’’.
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET.
Section 301(e) of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974 is amended by—
(1) inserting after the second sentence the fol-
lowing: ‘‘The starting point for any deliberations in
the Committee on the Budget of each House on the
concurrent resolution on the budget for the next fis-
cal year shall be the estimated level of outlays for
the current year in each function and subfunction.
Any increases or decreases in the Congressional
budget for the next fiscal year shall be from such es-
timated levels.’’;
(2) striking paragraphs (2) and (3) and insert-
ing the following:
‘‘(2) a comparison of levels for the current fis-
cal year with proposed spending for the subsequent
fiscal years along with the proposed increase or de-
crease of spending in percentage terms for each
function and subfunction;
‘‘(3) information, data, and comparisons indi-
cating the manner in which and the basis on which,
the committee determined each of the matters set
forth in the concurrent resolution, including infor-
mation on outlays for the current fiscal year and the
decisions reached to set funding for the subsequent
fiscal years;’’;
(3) inserting ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in para-
graph (7);
(4) striking paragraph (8); and
(5) redesignating paragraph (9) as paragraph
(8).
SEC. 4. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE REPORT TO
COMMITTEES.
The first sentence of section 202(f)(1) of the Con-
gressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended to read as fol-
lows: ‘‘On or before February 15 of each year, the Direc-
tor shall submit to the Committees on the Budget of the
House of Representatives and the Senate a report, for the
fiscal year commencing on October 1 of that year, with
respect to fiscal policy, including (A) estimated budget
outlays in all functions and subfunctions for appropriated
accounts for the current fiscal year and estimated budget
outlays under current law for all entitlement programs for
the next fiscal year, (B) alternative levels of total reve-
nues, total new budget authority, and total outlays (in-
cluding related surpluses and deficits), and (C) the levels
of tax expenditures under existing law, taking into account
projected economic factors and any changes in such levels
based on proposals in the budget submitted by the Presi-
dent for such fiscal year.’’.
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