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Subtitle B—Additional Surpluses
Reserved for Debt Reduction
SEC. 211. CONTINGENCY FUND FOR ADDITIONAL SUR-
PLUSES.
In the House, if after the release of the report pursu-
ant to section 202(e)(2) of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974 entitled the Budget and Economic Outlook: Up-
date (for fiscal years 2003 through 2012), the chairman
of the Committee on the Budget determines, in consulta-
tion with the Directors of the Congressional Budget Office
and of the Office of Management and Budget, that the
estimated unified surplus for fiscal year 2003 and for the
period of fiscal years 2003 through 2007 exceeds the esti-
mated unified surplus for fiscal year 2003 and for that
period as set forth in the report of the Committee on the
Budget for this resolution, then the chairman of that com-
mittee may increase the surplus or reduce the deficit, as
applicable, and reduce the level of the public debt and debt
held by the public by the difference between such esti-
mates for that period.
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Subtitle C—Contingency Funds for
Accounting Changes
SEC. 221. CONTINGENCY FUND FOR ACCRUAL ACCOUNT-
ING.
In the House, the chairman of the Committee on the
Budget may make the appropriate changes in section
302(a) allocations of the Committee on Appropriations,
the Committee on Armed Services, and the Committee on
Government Reform and aggregates, if appropriate, to ef-
fectuate and implement the necessary authorizing and ap-
propriation measures to charge Federal agencies for the
full cost of accrued Federal retirement and health benefits.
SEC. 222. CONTINGENCY FUND FOR RECLASSIFICATION OF
STUDENT AID ACCOUNTS.
In the House, if a bill or joint resolution is enacted
that amends the Higher Education Act to make student
aid administration subject to annual appropriations, the
chairman of the Committee on the Budget may—
(1) increase the section 302(a) allocation for
the Committee on Appropriations by the amount of
new budget authority provided by that measure but
not to exceed $797,000,000 for fiscal year 2003 and
the outlays flowing therefrom; and
(2) make the appropriate adjustment in the sec-
tion 302(a) allocation for the Committee on Edu-
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cation and the Workforce resulting from the enact-
ment of the bill or joint resolution making the stu-
dent aid administration subject to annual appropria-
tions.
Subtitle D—Implementation of
Reserve and Contingency Funds
SEC. 231. APPLICATION AND EFFECT OF CHANGES IN ALLO-
CATIONS AND AGGREGATES.
(a) APPLICATION.—Any adjustments of allocations
and aggregates made pursuant to this resolution shall—
(1) apply while that measure is under consider-
ation;
(2) take effect upon the enactment of that
measure; and
(3) be published in the Congressional Record as
soon as practicable.
(b) EFFECT OF CHANGED ALLOCATIONS AND AG-
GREGATES.—Revised allocations and aggregates resulting
from these adjustments shall be considered for the pur-
poses of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 as alloca-
tions and aggregates contained in this resolution.
(c) BUDGET COMMITTEE DETERMINATIONS.—For
purposes of this resolution—
(1) the levels of new budget authority, outlays,
direct spending, new entitlement authority, revenues,
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deficits, and surpluses for a fiscal year or period of
fiscal years shall be determined on the basis of esti-
mates made by the Committee on the Budget; and
(2) such chairman may make any other nec-
essary adjustments to such levels to carry out this
resolution.
(d) SPECIAL RULE.—In the House, there shall be a
separate section 302(a) allocation to the appropriate com-
mittees for medicare. For purposes of enforcing such sepa-
rate allocation under section 302(f) of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974, the ‘‘first fiscal year’’ and the ‘‘total
of fiscal years’’ shall be deemed to refer to fiscal year 2003
and the total of fiscal years 2003 through 2012 included
in the joint explanatory statement of managers accom-
panying this resolution, respectively. Such separate alloca-
tion shall be the exclusive allocation for medicare under
section 302(a).
TITLE III—BUDGET
ENFORCEMENT
SEC. 301. RESTRICTIONS ON ADVANCE APPROPRIATIONS IN
THE HOUSE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) In the House, except as pro-
vided in subsection (b), an advance appropriation may not
be reported in a bill or joint resolution making a general
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appropriation or continuing appropriation, and may not
be in order as an amendment thereto.
(2) Managers on the part of the House may not agree
to a Senate amendment that would violate paragraph (1)
unless specific authority to agree to the amendment first
is given by the House by a separate vote with respect
thereto.
(b) EXCEPTION.—In the House, an advance appro-
priation may be provided—
(1) for fiscal year 2004 for programs, projects,
activities or accounts identified in the joint explana-
tory statement of managers accompanying this reso-
lution under the heading ‘‘Accounts Identified for
Advance Appropriations’’ in an aggregate amount
not to exceed $23,178,000,000 in new budget au-
thority; and
(2) for the Corporation for Public Broad-
casting.
(c) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘advance
appropriation’’ means any discretionary new budget au-
thority in a bill or joint resolution making general appro-
priations or continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2003
that first becomes available for any fiscal year after 2003.
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SEC. 302. COMPLIANCE WITH SECTION 13301 OF THE BUDG-
ET ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 1990.
(a) IN GENERAL.—In the House, notwithstanding
section 302(a)(1) of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974 and section 13301 of the Budget Enforcement Act
of 1990, the joint explanatory statement accompanying
the conference report on any concurrent resolution on the
budget shall include in its allocation under section 302(a)
of such Act to the Committee on Appropriations amounts
for the discretionary administrative expenses of the Social
Security Administration.
(b) SPECIAL RULE.—In the House, for purposes of
applying section 302(f) of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974, estimates of the level of total new budget author-
ity and total outlays provided by a measure shall include
any discretionary amounts provided for the Social Security
Administration.
SEC. 303. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR THE CONGRES-
SIONAL BUDGET OFFICE.
The report submitted by the Director of the Congres-
sional Budget Office on or before February 15 of each
year pursuant to section 202(e)(1) of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974 shall include the following information
for the preceding fiscal year—
(1) a comparison of the different impact be-
tween forecasted economic variables used to model
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projections for that fiscal year and what actually
happens;
(2) an identification of the technical factors
that contributed to the forecasting inaccuracies for
that fiscal year;
(3) a variance analysis between forecasted and
actual budget results for that fiscal year; and
(4) recommendations on how to improve fore-
casting accuracies.
TITLE IV—SENSE OF CONGRESS
AND SENSE OF HOUSE PROVI-
SIONS
SEC. 401. COMBATING INFECTIOUS DISEASES.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
(1) the United States has historically taken an
unparalleled leadership role in providing humani-
tarian assistance and relief to the world’s poorest
people;
(2) that role has included initiatives to expand
trade, relieve debt of countries pursuing structural
economic reforms, and provide medical technology to
improve health and life expectancy around the globe;
and
(3) good governance and continued economic re-
forms are essential to eliminating poverty, encour-
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aging economic growth, and ensuring stability in de-
veloping countries.
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that the United States should continue to assist,
through expanded international trade, debt relief, and
medical assistance to combat infectious diseases, those
countries that reform their economies, promote democratic
institutions, and respect basic human rights.
SEC. 402. ASSET BUILDING FOR THE WORKING POOR.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:
(1) For the vast majority of United States
households, the pathway to the economic main-
stream and financial security is not through spend-
ing and consumption, but through savings, investing,
and the accumulation of assets.
(2) One-third of all Americans have no assets
available for investment and another 20 percent
have only negligible assets. The situation is even
more serious for minority households; for example,
60 percent of African-American households have no
or negative financial assets.
(3) Nearly 50 percent of all children in America
live in households that have no assets available for
investment, including 40 percent of Caucasian chil-
dren and 73 percent of African-American children.
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(4) Up to 20 percent of all United States
households do not deposit their savings in financial
institutions and, thus, do not have access to the
basic financial tools that make asset accumulation
possible.
(5) Public policy can have either a positive or
a negative impact on asset accumulation. Traditional
public assistance programs based on income and
consumption have rarely been successful in sup-
porting the transition to economic self-sufficiency.
Tax policy, through $288,000,000,000 in annual tax
incentives, has helped lay the foundation for the
great middle class.
(6) Lacking an income tax liability, low-income
working families cannot take advantage of asset de-
velopment incentives available through the Federal
tax code.
(7) Individual Development Accounts have prov-
en to be successful in helping low-income working
families save and accumulate assets. Individual De-
velopment Accounts have been used to purchase
long-term, high-return assets, including homes, post-
secondary education and training, and small busi-
nesses.
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(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that the Federal tax code should support a signifi-
cant expansion of Individual Development Accounts so
that millions of low-income, working families can save,
build assets, and move their lives forward; thus, making
positive contributions to the economic and social well-
being of the United States, as well as to its future.
SEC. 403. FEDERAL EMPLOYEE PAY.
(a) FINDINGS.—The House finds the following:
(1) Members of the uniformed services and ci-
vilian employees of the United States make signifi-
cant contributions to the general welfare of the Na-
tion.
(2) Increases in the pay of members of the uni-
formed services and of civilian employees of the
United States have not kept pace with increases in
the overall pay levels of workers in the private sec-
tor, so that there now exists (A) a 32 percent gap
between compensation levels of Federal civilian em-
ployees and compensation levels of private sector
workers, and (B) an estimated 10 percent gap be-
tween compensation levels of members of the uni-
formed services and compensation levels of private
sector workers.
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(3) The President’s budget proposal for fiscal
year 2003 includes a 4.1 percent pay raise for mili-
tary personnel.
(4) The Office of Management and Budget has
requested that federal agencies plan their fiscal year
2003 budgets with a 2.6 percent pay raise for civil-
ian Federal employees.
(5) In almost every year during the past two
decades, there have been equal adjustments in the
compensation of members of the uniformed services
and the compensation of civilian employees of the
United States.
(b) SENSE OF THE HOUSE.—It is the sense of the
House that rates of compensation for civilian employees
of the United States should be adjusted at the same time,
and in the same proportion, as are rates of compensation
for members of the uniformed services.
SEC. 404. SENSE OF THE HOUSE ON MEDICARE+CHOICE RE-
GIONAL DISPARITIES.
(a) FINDINGS.—The House finds that—
(1) one of the goals of the Balanced Budget Act
of 1997 was to expand options for Medicare bene-
ficiaries under the Medicare+Choice program;
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(2) the funding formula in that Act was in-
tended to make these choices available to all Ameri-
cans; and
(3) despite attempts by Congress to equalize re-
gional disparities in Medicare+Choice payments in
the Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 and
the medicare, medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits and
Improvement and Protection Act of 2000, rural and
other low-payment areas have continued to lag sig-
nificantly behind their higher-payment counterparts
in average adjusted per capita (AAPCC) reimburse-
ments.
(b) SENSE OF THE HOUSE.—It is the sense of the
House that if the Committee on Ways and Means reports
a bill to reform medicare, it should apply all new funds
directed to the Medicare+Choice program to increase
funding to counties receiving floor or blended rates relative
to counties receiving the minimum update.
SEC. 405. BORDER SECURITY AND ANTI-TERRORISM.
It is the sense of the House that this resolution as-
sumes $380 million in new budget authority and a cor-
responding level of outlays in functional category 750 (Ad-
ministration of Justice) for the Immigration and Natu-
ralization Service to implement a visa tracking system as
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part of a comprehensive plan to protect the United States
and its territories from threats of terrorist attack.
SEC. 406. PACIFIC NORTHWEST SALMON RECOVERY.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
(1) Pacific Salmon are historically, culturally,
and economically important to the people of the
Northwest;
(2) the United States Government has nego-
tiated treaties with the Columbia River Indian
tribes;
(3) the National Marine Fisheries Service in
December 2000 issued a biological opinion on the
Federal Columbia River Power System calling for
greater efforts by the Federal Government, to satisfy
the ESA standards of section 7(a)(2) of the Endan-
gered Species Act; and
(4) the citizens of the Pacific Northwest are
committed to salmon recovery and their hard work
in communities throughout the region to advance
local solutions deserves Federal assistance.
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that this resolution assumes that the Pacific North-
west salmon recovery program, administered by Federal
agencies on the Federal Columbia River Power System
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and Pacific coast, should be made a high-priority item for
funding.
SEC. 407. FEDERAL FIRE PREVENTION ASSISTANCE.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:
(1) Increased demands on firefighting and
emergency medical personnel have made it difficult
for local governments to adequately fund necessary
fire safety precautions.
(2) The Government has an obligation to pro-
tect the health and safety of the firefighting and
emergency medical personnel of the United States
and to ensure that they have the financial resources
to protect the public.
(3) The high rates in the United States of
death, injury, and property damage caused by fires
demonstrates a critical need for Federal investment
in support of firefighting and emergency medical
personnel.
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that—
(1) the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Pro-
gram, administered by the Federal Emergency Man-
agement Agency, has successfully provided financial
resources for basic firefighting needs since its incep-
tion; and
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(2) in the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sep-
tember 11, 2001, the ultimate sacrifice paid by over
300 firefighters, that as Congress makes funding de-
cisions regarding the proposed grants for first re-
sponders, local firefighters receive at least as much
funding as they did under the Assistance to Fire-
fighters Grant Program.
Passed the House of Representatives March 20,
2002.
Attest:
Clerk.
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 353
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Establishing the congressional budget for the
United States Government for fiscal year 2003
and setting forth appropriate budgetary levels for
each of fiscal years 2004 through 2007.