IV
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. RES. 486
Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to establish a
discretionary spending ledger and a mandatory spending ledger.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 15, 2002
Mr. SULLIVAN (for himself, Mr. OTTER, Mr. BRADY of Texas, Mr. RYUN of
Kansas, and Mr. POMBO) submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on Rules
RESOLUTION
Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to
establish a discretionary spending ledger and a manda-
tory spending ledger.
Resolved, The Rules of the House of Representatives
are amended by redesignating rule XXVII as rule XXIX
and by inserting after rule XXVI the following new rules:
‘‘RULE XXVII
‘‘DISCRETIONARY SPENDING LEDGER.
‘‘1. (a) The chairman of the Committee on the Budg-
et shall maintain a ledger to be known as the ‘Discre-
tionary Spending Ledger’. The Ledger shall be divided
into entries corresponding to the subcommittees of the
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Committee on Appropriations and each entry shall consist
of the ‘Deficit Reduction Safeguard Balance’.
‘‘(b) Each entry shall consist only of amounts cred-
ited to it under paragraph (c). No entry of a negative
amount shall be made.
‘‘(c) Whenever a Member offers an amendment to an
appropriation bill to reduce new budget authority in any
account, that Member may state the portion of such reduc-
tion that shall be—
‘‘(1) credited to the Deficit Reduction Safe-
guard Balance; or
‘‘(2) used to offset an increase in new budget
authority in any other account;
‘‘(3) allowed to remain within the applicable
section 302(b) suballocation.
If no such statement is made, the amount of reduction
in new budget authority resulting from the amendment
shall be credited to the Deficit Reduction Safeguard Bal-
ance, as applicable, if the amendment is agreed to.
‘‘2. (a) Except as provided by paragraph (b), the
chairman of the Committee on the Budget shall, upon the
engrossment of any appropriation bill by the House of
Representatives, credit to the entry balance amounts of
new budget authority and outlays equal to the net
amounts of reductions in new budget authority and in out-
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lays resulting from amendments agreed to by the House
to that bill.
‘‘(b) When computing the net amounts of reductions
in new budget authority and in outlays resulting from
amendments agreed to by the House to an appropriation
bill, the chairman of the Committee on the Budget shall
only count those portions of such amendments agreed to
that were so designated by the Members offering such
amendments as amounts to be credited to the Deficit Re-
duction Safeguard Balance, or that fall within the last
sentence of clause 1.
‘‘3. The chairman of the Committee on the Budget
shall maintain a running tally of the amendments adopted
reflecting increases and decreases of budget authority in
the bill as reported. This tally shall be available to Mem-
bers during consideration of any appropriation bill by the
House.
‘‘4. (a) For purposes of enforcing section 302(a) of
the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, upon the engross-
ment of any appropriation bill by the House, the amount
of budget authority and outlays calculated pursuant to
clause 2(b) shall be counted against the 302(a) allocation
provided to the Committee on Appropriations as if the
amount calculated pursuant to such clause was included
in the bill just engrossed.
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‘‘(b) For purposes of enforcing section 302(b) of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, upon the engrossment
of any appropriation bill by the House, the 302(b) alloca-
tion provided to the subcommittee for the bill just en-
grossed shall be deemed to have been reduced by the
amount of budget authority and outlays calculated, pursu-
ant to clause 2(b).
‘‘5. As used in this rule, the term ‘appropriation bill’
means any general or special appropriation bill, and any
bill or joint resolution making supplemental, deficiency, or
continuing appropriations through the end of a fiscal year.
‘‘6. For purposes of enforcing this rule during the
second session of this Congress and pending the adoption
of a concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year
2003, the provisions of House Concurrent Resolution 353,
as passed the House, shall have force and effect in the
House as though Congress has adopted such concurrent
resolution.
‘‘MANDATORY SPENDING LEDGER.
‘‘1. (a) The chairman of the Committee on the Budg-
et shall maintain a ledger to be known as the ‘Mandatory
Spending Ledger’. The Ledger shall be divided into entries
corresponding to the House committees that received allo-
cations under section 302(a) of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974 in the most recently adopted concurrent reso-
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lution on the budget, except that it shall not include the
Committee on Appropriations and each entry shall consist
of the ‘First Year Deficit Reduction Safeguard Balance’
and the ‘Five Year Deficit Reduction Safeguard Balance’.
‘‘(b) Each entry shall consist only of amounts cred-
ited to it under paragraph (c). No entry of a negative
amount shall be made.
‘‘(c) Whenever a Member offers an amendment to a
bill that reduces the amount of mandatory budget author-
ity provided either under current law or proposed to be
provided by the bill under consideration, that Member may
state the portion of such reduction achieved in the first
year covered by the most recently adopted concurrent reso-
lution on the budget and in addition the portion of such
reduction achieved in the first five years covered by the
most recently adopted concurrent resolution on the budget
that shall be—
‘‘(1) credited to the First Year Deficit Reduc-
tion Safeguard Balance and the Five Year Deficit
Reduction Safeguard Balance; or
‘‘(2) used to offset an increase in other new
budget authority;
‘‘(3) allowed to remain within the applicable
section 302(a) allocation.
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If no such statement is made, the amount of reduction
in new budget authority resulting from the amendment
shall be credited to the First Year Deficit Reduction Safe-
guard Balance and the Five Year Deficit Reduction Safe-
guard Balance, as applicable, if the amendment is agreed
to.
‘‘2. (a) Except as provided by paragraph (b), the
chairman of the Committee on the Budget shall, upon the
engrossment of any bill, other than an appropriation bill,
by the House, credit to the applicable entry balances
amounts of new budget authority and outlays equal to the
net amounts of reductions in budget authority and in out-
lays resulting from amendments agreed to by the House
to that bill.
‘‘(b) When computing the net amounts of reductions
in budget authority and in outlays resulting from amend-
ments agreed to by the House to a bill, the chairman of
the Committee on the Budget shall only count those por-
tions of such amendments agreed to that were so des-
ignated by the Members offering such amendments as
amounts to be credited to the First Year Deficit Reduction
Safeguard Balance and the Five Year Deficit Reduction
Safeguard Balance, or that fall within the last sentence
of clause 1.
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‘‘3. The chairman of the Committee on the Budget
shall maintain a running tally of the amendments adopted
reflecting increases and decreases of budget authority in
the bill as reported. This tally shall be available to Mem-
bers during consideration of any bill by the House.
‘‘4. For the purposes of enforcing section 302(a) of
the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, upon the engross-
ment of any bill, other than an appropriation bill, by the
House, the amount of budget authority and outlays cal-
culated pursuant to paragraph 2(b) shall be counted
against the 302(a) allocation provided to the applicable
committee or committees which reported the bill as if the
amount calculated pursuant to clause 2(b) was included
in the bill just engrossed.
‘‘5. As used in this rule, the term ‘appropriation bill’
means any general or special appropriation bill, and any
bill or joint resolution making supplemental, deficiency, or
continuing appropriations through the end of a fiscal year.
‘‘6. For purposes of enforcing this rule during the
second session of this Congress and pending the adoption
of a concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year
2003, the provisions of House Concurrent Resolution 353,
as passed the House, shall have force and effect in the
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House as though Congress has adopted such concurrent
resolution.’’.
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