I
103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4434
To reform the concept of baseline budgeting, set forth strengthened proce-
dures for the consideration of rescissions, provide a mechanism for dedi-
cating savings from spending cuts to deficit reduction, and ensure that
only one emergency is included in any bill containing an emergency
designation.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 17, 1994
Mr. STENHOLM (for himself, Mr. PENNY, and Mr. KASICH) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred jointly to the Committees on Government
Operations and Rules
A BILL
To reform the concept of baseline budgeting, set forth
strengthened procedures for the consideration of rescis-
sions, provide a mechanism for dedicating savings from
spending cuts to deficit reduction, and ensure that only
one emergency is included in any bill containing an emer-
gency designation.
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 Cents Budget
Reform Act of 1994’’.
TITLE I—ELIMINATION OF
BASELINE BUDGETING
SEC. 101. THE BASELINE.
Except for purposes of adjusting the discretionary
spending limits set forth in section 601(a)(2) of the Con-
gressional Budget Act of 1974, section 257(c) of the Bal-
anced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985
is amended—
(1) in the second sentence of paragraph (1), by
striking ‘‘sequentially and cumulatively’’ and by
striking ‘‘for inflation as specified in paragraph
(5),’’; and
(2) and by redesignating paragraph (6) as
paragraph (5).
SEC. 102. THE PRESIDENT’S BUDGET.
(a) 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, estimated expenditures and appropriations
for the current year and estimated expenditures and
proposed appropriations the President decides are
necessary to support the Government in the fiscal
year for which the budget is submitted and the 4 fis-
cal years following that year;’’.
(b) Section 1105(a)(6) of title 31, United States
Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘current fiscal year and
the’’ before ‘‘fiscal year’’.
(c) Section 1105(a)(12) of title 31, United States
Code, is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (A), by striking the period and inserting ‘‘; and’’
at the end of subparagraph (B), and by adding at the end
the following new subparagraph:
‘‘(C) the estimated amount for the same activ-
ity (if any) in the current fiscal year.’’.
(d) Section 1105(a)(18) of title 31, United States
Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘new budget authority
and’’ before ‘‘budget outlays’’.
(e) Section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code,
is amended by adding at the end the following new para-
graph:
‘‘(30) a comparison of levels of estimated ex-
penditures and proposed appropriations for each
function and subfunction in the current fiscal year
and the fiscal year for which the budget is submit-
ted, along with the proposed increase or decrease of
spending in percentage terms for each function and
subfunction.’’.
(f) Section 1109(a) of title 31, United States Code,
is amended by adding after the first sentence the following
new sentence: ‘‘These estimates shall not include an ad-
justment for inflation for programs and activities subject
to discretionary appropriations.’’.
SEC. 103. 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.’’; and
(2) striking paragraph (8) and redesignating
paragraphs (9) and (10) as paragraphs (10) and
(11), respectively, and by inserting after paragraph
(7) the following new paragraphs:
‘‘(8) a comparison of levels for the current fis-
cal year with proposed spending and revenue levels
for the subsequent fiscal years along with the pro-
posed increase or decrease of spending in percentage
terms for each function and subfunction; and
‘‘(9) 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;’’.
SEC. 104. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE REPORT TO
COMMITTEES.
(a) 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) alternative levels of
total revenues, total new budget authority, and total out-
lays (including related surpluses and deficits) compared
to comparable levels for the current year and (B) 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.’’.
(b) Section 202(f)(1) of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974 is amended by inserting after the first sen-
tence the following new sentence: ‘‘That report shall also
include a table on sources of spending growth under cur-
rent law in total mandatory spending for the budget year
and the ensuing 4 fiscal years, which shall include changes
in outlays attributable to the following: cost-of-living ad-
justments; changes in the number of program recipients;
increases in medical care prices, utilization and intensity
of medical care; and residual factors.’’.
(c) Section 202(f)(3) of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974 is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ before ‘‘(B)’’
and inserting a comma, and by inserting before the period
at the end the following: ‘‘, and (C) all programs and ac-
tivities with permanent or indefinite spending authority or
that fall within section 401(c)(2)(C)’’.
(d) Section 308(a)(1) of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974 is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ‘‘, and
shall include a comparison of those levels to com-
parable levels for the current fiscal year’’ before ‘‘if
timely submitted’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (C), by striking the period and inserting ‘‘;
and’’ at the end of subparagraph (D), and by adding
at the end the following new subparagraph:
‘‘(E) comparing the levels in existing pro-
grams in such measure to the estimated levels
for the current fiscal year.’’
TITLE II—CHANGES IN DISCRE-
TIONARY SPENDING LIMITS
SEC. 201. DOWNWARD ADJUSTMENTS OF DISCRETIONARY
SPENDING LIMITS.
(a) DOWNWARD ADJUSTMENTS.—The discretionary
spending limit for new budget authority for any fiscal year
set forth in section 601(a)(2) of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974, as adjusted in strict conformance with sec-
tion 251 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985, shall be reduced by the amount in
the Deficit Reduction Account set forth in each appropria-
tion bill (or changed in the case of a rescission bill pursu-
ant to section 1012 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974), as calculated by the Director of the Office of Man-
agement and Budget. The adjusted discretionary spending
limit for outlays for that fiscal year and each outyear as
set forth in such section 601(a)(2) shall be reduced as a
result of the reduction of such budget authority, as cal-
culated by the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget based upon programmatic and other assumptions
set forth in the joint explanatory statement of managers
accompanying the conference report on that bill. Reduc-
tions (if any) shall occur on the day that each such appro-
priation bill is enacted into law. For purposes of the Bal-
anced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985
and the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, amounts in
Deficit Reduction Accounts shall only be used to make the
adjustments specified in this subsection.
(b) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the term
‘‘appropriation bill’’ means any general or special appro-
priation bill, and any bill or joint resolution making sup-
plemental, deficiency, or continuing appropriations.
SEC. 202. DEFICIT REDUCTION ACCOUNTS IN APPROPRIA-
TION MEASURES AND IN RESCISSION BILLS.
(a) DEFICIT REDUCTION ACCOUNTS.—Title III of
the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended by add-
ing at the end the following new section:
‘‘DEFICIT REDUCTION ACCOUNTS IN APPROPRIATION
BILLS AND RESCISSION BILLS
‘‘SEC. 314. (a) Any appropriation bill or rescission
bill that is being marked up by the Committee on Appro-
priations (or a subcommittee thereof) of either House shall
contain a line item entitled ‘Deficit Reduction Account’.
‘‘(b) Whenever the Committee on Appropriations of
either House reports an appropriation bill, that bill shall
contain a line item entitled ‘Deficit Reduction Account’
comprised of the following:
‘‘(1) Only in the case of any general appropria-
tion bill containing the appropriations for Treasury
and Postal Service (or resolution making continuing
appropriations (if applicable)), an amount equal to
the amounts by which the discretionary spending
limit for new budget authority and outlays set forth
in the most recent OMB sequestration preview re-
port pursuant to section 601(a)(2) exceed the sec-
tion 602(a) allocation for the fiscal year covered by
that bill.
‘‘(2) Only in the case of any general appropria-
tion bill (or resolution making continuing appropria-
tions (if applicable)), an amount not to exceed the
amount by which the appropriate section 602(b) al-
location of new budget authority exceeds the amount
of new budget authority provided by that bill (as re-
ported by that committee).
‘‘(3) Only in the case of any bill making supple-
mental appropriations following enactment of all
general appropriation bills for the same fiscal year,
an amount not to exceed the amount by which the
section 602(a) allocation of new budget authority ex-
ceeds the sum of all new budget authority provided
by appropriation bills enacted for that fiscal year
‘‘(d)(1) Any amendment pursuant to subsection
(c)(1) shall be in order even if amending portions of the
bill not yet read for amendment with respect to the Deficit
Reduction Account and shall not be subject to a demand
for a division of the question in the House of Representa-
tives (or in the Committee of the Whole) or in the Senate.
It shall be in order to further amend the amount placed
in the Deficit Reduction Account after that amount has
been changed by amendment. It shall not be in order to
reduce the amount placed in the Deficit Reduction Ac-
count unless it is pursuant to a motion to strike any pro-
posed rescission under section 1012(c)(1)(C) or section
1012(c)(3)(B). It shall not be in order to offer an amend-
ment increasing a Deficit Reduction Account unless the
amendment increases rescissions or reduces appropria-
tions by an equivalent amount.
‘‘(2) During consideration of such an amendment to
an appropriation bill in the House of Representatives, if
the original motion offered by the floor manager proposed
to place an amount in the Deficit Reduction Account that
is less than the lower of the level in the House or Senate
bill, then pending such original motion and before debate
thereon, a motion to insist on disagreement to the amend-
ment proposed by the Senate shall be preferential to any
other motion to dispose of that amendment. Such a pref-
erential motion shall be separately debatable for one hour
equally divided between its opponents and the proponents
of the original motion. The previous question shall be con-
sidered as ordered on such a preferential motion to its
adoption without an intervening motion.
‘‘(3) The committee report accompanying any appro-
priation bill or rescission bill in the House of Representa-
tives or Senate and the joint statement of the managers
accompanying the conference report on that bill shall set
forth—
‘‘(A) for any general appropriation bill, the
amount of new budget authority and outlays derived
from the difference between the section 602(b) allo-
cations and the appropriation bills;
‘‘(B) for any appropriation bill (except a gen-
eral appropriation bill) but only if all 13 general ap-
propriation bills have been enacted for that fiscal
year, the amount of new budget authority and out-
lays to be derived from the difference between the
section 602(a) allocations and the sum of appropria-
tion bills for the current year and that bill; and
‘‘(C) for any amendment described in sub-
section (c)(1) changing the amount in a Deficit Re-
duction Account, the program, project, or account
assumptions;
for amounts in the Deficit Reduction Account.
‘‘(e) As used in this section—
‘‘(1) the term ‘appropriation bill’ means any
general or special appropriation bill, and any bill or
joint resolution making supplemental, deficiency, or
continuing appropriations; and
‘‘(2) the term ‘rescission bill’ means any bill
which rescinds budget authority, including a bill re-
ferred to by section 1012.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con-
tents set forth in section 1(b) of the Congressional Budget
and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is amended by in-
serting after the item relating to section 313 the following
new item:
‘‘Sec. 314. Deficit reduction accounts in appropriation bills.’’.
TITLE III—EXPEDITED RESCIS-
SIONS AND TARGETED TAX
BENEFITS
SEC. 301. EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN PRO-
POSED RESCISSIONS AND TARGETED TAX
BENEFITS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1012 of the Congressional
Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C.
683) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN PROPOSED
RESCISSIONS
‘‘SEC. 1012. (a) PROPOSED RESCISSION OF BUDGET
AUTHORITY OR REPEAL OF TARGETED TAX BENEFITS.—
The President may propose, at the time and in the manner
provided in subsection (b), the rescission of any budget
authority provided in an appropriation Act or repeal of
any targeted tax benefit provided in any revenue Act.
Funds made available for obligation under this procedure
may not be proposed for rescission again under this sec-
tion.
‘‘(b) TRANSMITTAL OF SPECIAL MESSAGE.—
‘‘(1) The President may transmit to Congress a
special message proposing to rescind amounts of
budget authority or to repeal any targeted tax bene-
fit and include with that special message a draft bill
that, if enacted, would only rescind that budget au-
thority or repeal that targeted tax benefit. That bill
shall clearly identify the amount of budget authority
that is proposed to be rescinded for each program,
project, or activity to which that budget authority
relates or the targeted tax benefit proposed to be re-
pealed, as the case may be. It shall include a Deficit
Reduction Account. The President may place in the
Deficit Reduction Account an amount not to exceed
the total rescissions in that bill. A targeted tax bene-
fit may only be proposed to be repealed under this
section during the 10-calendar-day period (excluding
Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) commencing
on the day after the date of enactment of the provi-
sion proposed to be repealed.
‘‘(2) In the case of an appropriation Act that
includes accounts within the jurisdiction of more
than one subcommittee of the Committee on Appro-
priations, the President in proposing to rescind
budget authority under this section shall send a sep-
arate special message and accompanying draft bill
for accounts within the jurisdiction of each such sub-
committee.
‘‘(3) Each special message shall specify, with
respect to the budget authority proposed to be re-
scinded, the following:
‘‘(A) The amount of budget authority
which he proposes to be rescinded.
‘‘(B) Any account, department, or estab-
lishment of the Government to which such
budget authority is available for obligation, and
the specific project or governmental functions
involved.
‘‘(C) The reasons why the budget authority
should be rescinded.
‘‘(D) To the maximum extent practicable,
the estimated fiscal, economic, and budgetary
effect (including the effect on outlays in each
fiscal year) of the proposed rescission.
‘‘(E) All facts, circumstances, and consid-
erations relating to or bearing upon the pro-
posed rescission and the decision to effect the
proposed rescission, and to the maximum extent
practicable, the estimated effect of the proposed
rescission upon the objects, purposes, and pro-
grams for which the budget authority is pro-
vided.
Each special message shall specify, with respect to
the proposed repeal of targeted tax benefits, the in-
formation required by subparagraphs (C), (D), and
(E), as it relates to the proposed repeal.
‘‘(c) PROCEDURES
FOR
EXPEDITED
CONSIDER-
ATION.—
‘‘(1)(A) Before the close of the second legisla-
tive day of the House of Representatives after the
date of receipt of a special message transmitted to
Congress under subsection (b), the majority leader
or minority leader of the House of Representatives
shall introduce (by request) the draft bill accom-
panying that special message. If the bill is not intro-
duced as provided in the preceding sentence, then,
on the third legislative day of the House of Rep-
resentatives after the date of receipt of that special
message, any Member of that House may introduce
the bill.
‘‘(B) The bill shall be referred to the Commit-
tee on Appropriations or the Committee on Ways
and Means of the House of Representatives, as ap-
plicable. The committee shall report the bill without
substantive revision and with or without rec-
ommendation. The bill shall be reported not later
than the seventh legislative day of that House after
the date of receipt of that special message. If that
committee fails to report the bill within that period,
that committee shall be automatically discharged
from consideration of the bill, and the bill shall be
placed on the appropriate calendar.
‘‘(C)(i) During consideration under this para-
graph, any Member of the House of Representatives
may move to strike any proposed rescission or re-
scissions of budget authority or any proposed repeal
of a targeted tax benefit, as applicable, if supported
by 49 other Members.
‘‘(ii) It shall not be in order for a Member of
the House of Representatives to move to strike any
proposed rescission under clause (i) unless the
amendment reduces the appropriate Deficit Reduc-
tion Account (pursuant to section 314) if the pro-
gram, project, or account to which the proposed re-
scission applies was identified in the Deficit Reduc-
tion Account in the special message under subsection
(b).
‘‘(D) A vote on final passage of the bill shall be
taken in the House of Representatives on or before
the close of the 10th legislative day of that House
after the date of the introduction of the bill in that
House. If the bill is passed, the Clerk of the House
of Representatives shall cause the bill to be en-
grossed, certified, and transmitted to the Senate
within one calendar day of the day on which the bill
is passed.
‘‘(2)(A) A motion in the House of Representa-
tives to proceed to the consideration of a bill under
this section shall be highly privileged and not debat-
able. An amendment to the motion shall not be in
order, nor shall it be in order to move to reconsider
the vote by which the motion is agreed to or dis-
agreed to.
‘‘(B) Debate in the House of Representatives
on a bill under this section shall not exceed 4 hours,
which shall be divided equally between those favoring
and those opposing the bill. A motion further to
limit debate shall not be debatable. It shall not be
in order to move to recommit a bill under this sec-
tion or to move to reconsider the vote by which the
bill is agreed to or disagreed to.
‘‘(C) Appeals from decisions of the Chair relat-
ing to the application of the Rules of the House of
Representatives to the procedure relating to a bill
under this section shall be decided without debate.
‘‘(D) Except to the extent specifically provided
in the preceding provisions of this subsection, con-
sideration of a bill under this section shall be gov-
erned by the Rules of the House of Representatives.
‘‘(3)(A) A bill transmitted to the Senate pursu-
ant to paragraph (1)(D) shall be referred to its
Committee on Appropriations or Committee on Fi-
nance, as applicable. That committee shall report
the bill without substantive revision and with or
without recommendation. The bill shall be reported
not later than the seventh legislative day of the Sen-
ate after it receives the bill. A committee failing to
report the bill within such period shall be automati-
cally discharged from consideration of the bill, and
the bill shall be placed upon the appropriate cal-
endar.
‘‘(B)(i) During consideration under this para-
graph, any Member of the Senate may move to
strike any proposed rescission or rescissions of budg-
et authority or any proposed repeal of a targeted tax
benefit, as applicable, if supported by 14 other Mem-
bers.
‘‘(ii) It shall not be in order for a Member of
the House or Senate to move to strike any proposed
rescission under clause (i) unless the amendment re-
duces the appropriate Deficit Reduction Account
(pursuant to section 314) if the program, project, or
account to which the proposed rescission applies was
identified in the Deficit Reduction Account in the
special message under subsection (b).
‘‘(4)(A) A motion in the Senate to proceed to
the consideration of a bill under this section shall be
privileged and not debatable. An amendment to the
motion shall not be in order, nor shall it be in order
to move to reconsider the vote by which the motion
is agreed to or disagreed to.
‘‘(B) Debate in the Senate on a bill under this
section, and all debatable motions and appeals in
connection therewith (including debate pursuant to
subparagraph (C)), shall not exceed 10 hours. The
time shall be equally divided between, and controlled
by, the majority leader and the minority leader or
their designees.
‘‘(C) Debate in the Senate on any debatable
motion or appeal in connection with a bill under this
section shall be limited to not more than 1 hour, to
be equally divided between, and controlled by, the
mover and the manager of the bill, except that in
the event the manager of the bill is in favor of any
such motion or appeal, the time in opposition there-
to, shall be controlled by the minority leader or his
designee. Such leaders, or either of them, may, from
time under their control on the passage of a bill,
allot additional time to any Senator during the con-
sideration of any debatable motion or appeal.
‘‘(D) A motion in the Senate to further limit
debate on a bill under this section is not debatable.
A motion to recommit a bill under this section is not
in order.
‘‘(d) AMENDMENTS AND DIVISIONS PROHIBITED.—
Except as otherwise provided by this section, no amend-
ment to a bill considered under this section shall be in
order in either the House of Representatives or the Sen-
ate. It shall not be in order to demand a division of the
question in the House of Representatives (or in a Commit-
tee of the Whole) or in the Senate. No motion to suspend
the application of this subsection shall be in order in either
House, nor shall it be in order in either House to suspend
the application of this subsection by unanimous consent.
‘‘(e) REQUIREMENT TO MAKE AVAILABLE FOR OBLI-
GATION.—(1) Any amount of budget authority proposed
to be rescinded in a special message transmitted to Con-
gress under subsection (b) shall be made available for obli-
gation on the day after the date on which either House
rejects the bill transmitted with that special message.
‘‘(2) Any targeted tax benefit proposed to be repealed
under this section as set forth in a special message trans-
mitted to Congress under subsection (b) shall be deemed
repealed unless, during the period described in that sub-
section, either House rejects the bill transmitted with that
special message.
‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—
‘‘(1) the term ‘appropriation Act’ means any
general or special appropriation Act, and any Act or
joint resolution making supplemental, deficiency, or
continuing appropriations;
‘‘(2) the term ‘legislative day’ means, with re-
spect to either House of Congress, any day of ses-
sion; and
‘‘(3) The term ‘targeted tax benefit’ means any
provision which has the practical effect of providing
a benefit in the form of a differential treatment to
a particular taxpayer or a limited class of taxpayers,
whether or not such provision is limited by its terms
to a particular taxpayer or a class of taxpayers.
Such term does not include any benefit provided to
a class of taxpayers distinguished on the basis of
general demographic conditions such as income,
number of dependents, or marital status.’’.
(b) EXERCISE OF RULEMAKING POWERS.—Section
904 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C.
621 note) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘and 1017’’
and inserting ‘‘1012, and 1017’’; and
(2) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘section
1017’’ and inserting ‘‘sections 1012 and 1017’’; and
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(1) Section 1011 of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 682(5)) is amended by re-
pealing paragraphs (3) and (5) and by redesignating
paragraph (4) as paragraph (3).
(2) Section 1014 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 685) is
amended—
(A) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘or
the reservation’’; and
(B) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ‘‘or a
reservation’’ and by striking ‘‘or each such res-
ervation’’.
(3) Section 1015(a) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 686)
is amended by striking ‘‘is to establish a reserve or’’,
by striking ‘‘the establishment of such a reserve or’’,
and by striking ‘‘reserve or’’ each other place it ap-
pears.
(4) Section 1017 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 687) is
amended—
(A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘rescis-
sion bill introduced with respect to a special
message or’’;
(B) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘re-
scission bill or’’, by striking ‘‘bill or’’ the second
place it appears, by striking ‘‘rescission bill with
respect to the same special message or’’, and by
striking ‘‘, and the case may be,’’;
(C) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ‘‘bill
or’’ each place it appears;