I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2929
To amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974
to reform the budget process, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AUGUST 6, 1993
Mr. COX of California (for himself, Mr. STENHOLM, Mr. MICHEL, Mr.
PALLONE, Mr. GINGRICH, Mr. PENNY, Mr. CONDIT, Mr. ARMEY, Mr. JA-
COBS, Mr. KASICH, Mrs. LLOYD, Mr. CLINGER, Mr. DREIER, Ms. HAR-
MAN, Mr. ALLARD, Mr. ARCHER, Mr. BACHUS of Alabama, Mr. BAKER
of California, Mr. BAKER of Louisiana, Mr. BALLENGER, Mr. BARRETT
of Nebraska, Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland, Mr. BARTON of Texas, Mr.
BATEMAN, Mrs. BENTLEY, Mr. BEREUTER, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. BLILEY,
Mr. BLUTE, Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. BONILLA, Mr.
BUNNING, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. BUYER, Mr. CALLAHAN, Mr.
CALVERT, Mr. CAMP, Mr. CANADY, Mr. CASTLE, Mr. COBLE, Mr. COL-
LINS of Georgia, Mr. CRANE, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. CUNNINGHAM, Mr.
DELAY, Mr. DICKEY, Mr. DOOLITTLE, Mr. DORNAN, Mr. DUNCAN, Ms.
DUNN, Mr. EMERSON, Mr. EVERETT, Mr. EWING, Mr. FAWELL, Mr.
FIELDS of Texas, Mrs. FOWLER, Mr. FRANKS of New Jersey, Mr.
FRANKS of Connecticut, Mr. GALLEGLY, Mr. GALLO, Mr. GEKAS, Mr.
GILCHREST, Mr. GILLMOR, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr. GOSS, Mr. GRAMS, Mr.
GRANDY, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. GUNDERSON, Mr. HANCOCK, Mr. HAN-
SEN, Mr. HASTERT, Mr. HEFLEY, Mr. HERGER, Mr. HOEKSTRA, Mr.
HOKE, Mr. HORN, Mr. HOBSON, Mr. HOUGHTON, Mr. HUFFINGTON, Mr.
HUNTER, Mr. HUTCHINSON, Mr. HYDE, Mr. INGLIS of South Carolina,
Mr. INHOFE, Mr. ISTOOK, Mrs. JOHNSON OF CONNECTICUT, Mr. SAM
JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. KIM, Mr. KLUG, Mr. KNOLLENBERG, Mr.
KOLBE, Mr. KYL, Mr. LEVY, Mr. LEWIS of California, Mr. LEWIS of
Florida, 
Mr. 
LIGHTFOOT, 
Mr. 
LINDER, 
Mr. 
LIVINGSTON, 
Mr.
MACHTLEY, Mr. MANZULLO, Mr. MICA, Mr. MCCANDLESS, Mr. MCCOL-
LUM, Mr. MCCRERY, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. MCKEON, Mr. MCMILLAN, Mrs.
MEYERS of Kansas, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Ms. MOLINARI, Mr. MOOR-
HEAD, Mr. OXLEY, Mr. PACKARD, Mr. PAXON, Mr. POMBO, Mr. PETRI,
Mr. PORTER, Mr. PORTMAN, Ms. PRYCE of Ohio, Mr. QUINN, Mr.
RAMSTAD, Mr. RAVENEL, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Ms. ROS-
LEHTINEN, Mrs. ROUKEMA, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. SANTORUM, Mr. SAXTON,
Mr. SCHAEFER, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. SHAW, Mr.
SHAYS, Mr. SHUSTER, Mr. SMITH of Oregon, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey,
Mr. SMITH of Texas, Mr. SMITH of Michigan, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. SOLO-
MON, Mr. SPENCE, Mr. STEARNS, Mr. STUMP, Mr. SUNDQUIST, Mr. TAL-
ENT, Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina, Mr. THOMAS of California, Mr.
THOMAS of Wyoming, Mr. TORKILDSEN, Mr. UPTON, Mrs. VUCANOVICH,
Mr. WALKER, Mr. WALSH, Mr. WELDON, Mr. WOLF, Mr. ZELIFF and
Mr. ZIMMER) introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to
the Committees on Government Operations, Rules, Appropriations, and
Ways and Means
A BILL
To amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Con-
trol Act of 1974 to reform the budget process, 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. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Budget Process Reform Act’’.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE I—STATEMENT OF CONGRESSIONAL PURPOSE
Sec. 101. Improvement in decision-making process.
Sec. 102. Reform of fiscal management.
Sec. 103. Safeguards against delay and inaction.
TITLE II—BINDING BUDGET LAW
Sec. 201. Joint resolution establishing binding budget law.
Sec. 202. Budget required before spending bills may be considered.
Sec. 203. ‘‘Baseline’’ budgeting prohibited; unadjusted year-to-year compari-
sons required in budget law.
Sec. 204. President’s budget submissions.
TITLE III—ENFORCEMENT MECHANISMS
Subtitle A—Supermajority Required to Break Budget Law
Sec. 301. Two-thirds requirement for all spending bills in absence of budget
law.
Sec. 302. Two-thirds requirement for over-budget spending bills.
(a) Determination of budget effect of all proposed spending bills.
(b) CBO report required before consideration of spending bills.
(c) Two-thirds requirement for all over-budget spending bills.
(d) Determination of spending in a category.
Sec. 303. Two-thirds requirement for waiver of the act.
Subtitle B—Line Item Reduction
Sec. 304. President’s authority limited to spending above limits of congressional
budget law.
Sec. 305. Application.
Subtitle C—‘‘Blank Check’’ Appropriations Prohibited
Sec. 306. Intent of Congress.
Sec. 307. Fixed-dollar appropriations required.
Sec. 308. Agency-adjusted benefits.
Sec. 309. Budget authority and entitlement authority may cover only a single
fiscal period.
Subtitle D—‘‘Pay As You Go’’ Requirement for New Spending
Sec. 310. Spending offsets required.
Sec. 311. Two-thirds vote required to waive point of order.
TITLE IV—SUSTAINING MECHANISM
Sec. 401. Automatic continuing resolution.
Sec. 402. Contingency regulations.
Sec. 403. Unauthorized appropriations prohibited.
TITLE V—PROTECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY
Sec. 501. Benefits protected against deficit reduction.
Sec. 502. Conforming amendment.
TITLE VI—TIMETABLE
Sec. 601. Revision of timetable.
TITLE VII—CONFORMING AMENDMENTS
Sec. 701. Conforming and technical amendments changing ‘‘Concurrent’’ to
‘‘Joint’’ Resolutions.
Sec. 702. Further conforming and technical amendments.
Sec. 703. Conforming amendments to the Impoundment Control Act of 1974.
Sec. 704. Conforming amendment to title 31, United States Code.
TITLE VIII—DEFINITIONS AND RULES OF INTERPRETATION
Sec. 801. Definitions.
(a) Definition of budget law.
(b) Other definitions.
Sec. 802. Amendments to Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act
of 1974.
Sec. 803. Use of terms.
TITLE IX—EFFECTIVE DATE
Sec. 901. General provision.
Sec. 902. Fiscal year.
TITLE I—STATEMENT OF
CONGRESSIONAL PURPOSE
SEC. 101. IMPROVEMENT IN DECISION-MAKING PROCESS.
Because the Federal budget process is the principal
vehicle by which many of the most fundamental policy
choices in Government are made, the purpose of this Act
is to facilitate rational, informed, and timely decisions by
the Congress in the course of that process.
SEC. 102. REFORM OF FISCAL MANAGEMENT.
It is the sense of the Congress that a properly func-
tioning Federal budget process should focus the attention
of policymakers and the public on the aggregate impact
of Federal spending on the economy, and on the tradeoffs
that must be made among priorities in order to control
overall levels of spending. To this end, the Act is intended
to establish a budget process that, in each fiscal period—
(1) requires the adoption of a budget before,
not after, any spending begins;
(2) produces decisions on that budget early in
the budgeting cycle;
(3) encourages cooperation between Congress
and the President in adopting the budget;
(4) ties each subsequent spending decision to
an overall, binding budget total;
(5) requires regular, periodic decisions on ap-
propriate spending levels for all Federal programs,
not just those arbitrarily deemed ‘‘controllable’’; and
(6) produces a bias in favor of fiscal respon-
sibility that can be overcome only if the Congress ex-
pressly determines to do so.
SEC. 103. SAFEGUARDS AGAINST DELAY AND INACTION.
The Congress further finds that a properly function-
ing budget process should contain safeguards against
delay and inaction, so that temporary shut-downs of the
Federal Government may be avoided when the President
and the Congress fail to complete work on the budget prior
to the beginning of a fiscal period. Accordingly, this Act
is intended to provide an enforcement mechanism that
gives meaning and importance to the timely adoption of
a budget, and a sustaining mechanism that ensures a con-
tinuation of the Government should the political process
produce deadlock or a failure to act in a timely fashion.
TITLE II—BINDING BUDGET LAW
SEC. 201. JOINT RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING BINDING
BUDGET LAW.
To encourage early consultation and cooperation be-
tween the Congress and the President on decisions con-
cerning overall spending levels for all Federal programs,
the Congress shall enact a binding budget law, in the form
of a joint resolution, by April 15 of the calendar year be-
fore that in which the fiscal period commences. The tech-
nical amendments contained in title VI and section 701
of this Act are intended to assist in the establishment of
this requirement. The budget law itself shall fit on a single
page, which sets forth specific budget ceilings in the fol-
lowing 19 major functional categories, which together
comprise the entire Federal budget.
Function 050: National Defense
Function 150: International Affairs
Function 250: General Science, Space and
Technology
Function 270: Energy
Function 300: Natural Resources and Environ-
ment
Function 350: Agriculture
Function 400: Transportation
Function 450: Community and Regional Devel-
opment
Function 500: Education, Training, Employ-
ment and Social Services
Function 550: Health
Function 570: Medicare
Function 600: Income Security
Function 650: Social Security
Function 700: Veterans Benefits and Services
Function 750: Administration of Justice
Function 800: General Government
Function 900: Net Interest
Function 920: Allowances
Function 950: Undistributed Offsetting Re-
ceipts.
By thus requiring that the budget process begin with
highly generalized macroeconomic decisions about spend-
ing in 19 overall categories, this section is intended to fa-
cilitate agreement within Congress itself, and between
Congress and the President, on how much the Federal
Government should spend in the ensuing fiscal period.
SEC. 202. BUDGET REQUIRED BEFORE SPENDING BILLS
MAY BE CONSIDERED.
Unless and until a joint resolution on the budget is
enacted with respect to any major functional category for
a fiscal period, it shall not be in order in either the House
of Representatives or the Senate, or any committee or sub-
committee thereof, to consider any spending bill affecting
spending in that category, except as provided in Title III
of this Act. The purpose of this provision is to ensure that
until the budget is signed into law, no authorization or
appropriations bill shall be considered in the Congress.
SEC. 
203. 
‘‘BASELINE’’ 
BUDGETING 
PROHIBITED;
UNADJUSTED YEAR-TO-YEAR COMPARISONS
REQUIRED IN BUDGET LAW.
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
joint resolution on the budget for the next fiscal pe-
riod shall be the estimated level of outlays for the
current period in each function and subfunction.
Any increases or decreases in the Congressional
budget for the next fiscal period shall be from such
estimated levels.’’;
(2) striking paragraphs (2) and (3) and insert-
ing the following:
‘‘(2) a comparison of levels for the current fis-
cal period with proposed spending for the subse-
quent fiscal periods along with the proposed increase
or decrease 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 joint resolution, including information
on outlays for the current fiscal period and the deci-
sions reached to set funding for the subsequent fis-
cal years;’’;
(3) inserting ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in para-
graph (7);
(4) striking paragraph (8); and
(5) redesignating paragraph (9) as paragraph
(8).
The technical amendments contained in sections
702(g) and 704(b) of this Act are intended to apply the
same prohibition against ‘‘baseline’’ budgeting to the
budgets prepared by the President and the Congressional
Budget Office reports to the Budget Committees.
SEC. 204. PRESIDENT’S BUDGET SUBMISSIONS.
On or before the fifteenth day after a joint resolution
on the budget is enacted, the President shall submit to
the Congress a detailed budget for the fiscal period begin-
ning on October 1 of the current calendar year, including
all summaries and explanations required under section
1105(a) of title 31, United States Code.
TITLE III—ENFORCEMENT MECHANICS
Subtitle A—Supermajority Required to Break
Budget Law
SEC. 301. TWO–THIRDS REQUIREMENT FOR ALL SPENDING
BILLS IN ABSENCE OF BUDGET LAW.
Unless and until a joint resolution on the budget is
enacted with respect to any major functional category for
a fiscal period, it shall not be in order in either the House
of Representatives or the Senate or any committee or sub-
committee thereof, to consider any spending bill affecting
spending in that category unless it is approved by the af-
firmative vote of two-thirds of the Members voting, a
quorum being present.
SEC. 302. TWO–THIRDS REQUIREMENT FOR OVER–BUDGET
SPENDING BILLS.
(a) DETERMINATION OF BUDGET EFFECT OF ALL
PROPOSED SPENDING BILLS.—The Congressional Budget
Office shall provide to either House of Congress (or the
appropriate committee, subcommittee, or conference
thereof) as soon as practicable after the introduction of
any spending bill, its estimate of the costs in each major
functional category attributable to that bill during the fis-
cal period in which it is to become effective and in each
of the next 4 fiscal years, together with the basis for such
estimate. The Congressional Budget Office report shall
not be required, however, if the Congressional Budget Of-
fice certifies that a spending bill will likely result in appli-
cable costs of less than $10,000,000. For purposes of esti-
mating the costs attributable to any spending bill that in-
cludes new credit authority, the report shall deem the mar-
ket value of any loan (if it were sold by the Federal Gov-
ernment) or the assumption cost of any guarantee (if it
were assumed at market rates) to be the costs attributable
to such loan or guarantee in the fiscal period in which
it is made.
(b) CBO REPORT REQUIRED BEFORE CONSIDER-
ATION OF SPENDING BILLS.—It shall not be in order in
either the House of Representatives or the Senate, or in
any committee thereof, to consider any spending bill, un-
less and until the report referred to in subsection (a) has
been made available to that House of Congress or the ap-
propriate committee or subcommittee thereof.
(c) TWO-THIRDS REQUIREMENT
FOR ALL OVER-
BUDGET SPENDING BILLS.—It shall not be in order in
either the House of Representatives or the Senate (or in
any committee, subcommittee, or conference) to consider
any spending bill for a fiscal period that the report re-
ferred to in subsection (a) indicates would in such fiscal
period exceed a budget ceiling, unless such bill is approved
by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Members vot-
ing, a quorum being present.
(d) DETERMINATION
OF
SPENDING
IN
A
CAT-
EGORY.—A spending bill shall be deemed to break a budg-
et ceiling if—
(1) its cost in any major functional category as
estimated in the report referred to in subsection (a);
and
(2) all other budget authority, budget outlays,
and entitlement authority, if any, in that major
functional category for the relevant fiscal period con-
tained in any previously enacted legislation for the
fiscal period; and
(3) to the extent that new budget authority or
entitlement authority for the relevant fiscal period
has not been granted (or modified from the level of
the previous fiscal period) in any other enacted legis-
lation for any program within such major functional
category, the amounts of budget authority and enti-
tlement authority for such major functional category
(or part thereof) for the previous fiscal period;
exceed the budget ceiling for such major functional cat-
egory.
SEC. 303. TWO–THIRDS REQUIREMENT FOR WAIVER OF
THIS ACT.
No waiver of any provision of this Act, including the
calendar deadlines for completion of Congressional action
and the provisions concerning over-budget spending, shall
be effective unless approved by the affirmative vote of two-
thirds of the Members of the House of Representatives
or the Senate, as the case may be, a quorum being
present. No committee of either the House of Representa-
tives or the Senate shall have jurisdiction to report a rule
governing procedures for consideration of spending bills
covered by this Act, if such rule would violate the provi-
sions of this section. Nothing in this provision shall be
deemed to require a supermajority vote to amend this Act.
Subtitle B—Line Item Reduction
SEC. 304. PRESIDENT’S AUTHORITY LIMITED TO SPENDING
ABOVE LIMITS OF CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET
LAW.
The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C.
681 et seq.) is amended by redesignating sections 1013
through 1017 as sections 1014 through 1018, respectively,
and inserting after section 1012 the following new section:
‘‘PRESIDENTIAL LINE-ITEM REDUCTION OF SPENDING
ABOVE LIMITS OF CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET LAW
‘‘SEC. 1013. (a) TRANSMITTAL OF SPECIAL MES-
SAGE.—The President may transmit to both Houses of
Congress for consideration in accordance with this section
one or more special messages detailing his use of line item
reduction authority to rescind (in whole or in part) items
of budget authority or entitlement authority sufficient to
ensure that the levels of budget authority, entitlement au-
thority, and outlays in a functional category do not exceed
the levels stated in the budget law for the applicable fiscal
period (or, in the absence of a budget law, do not exceed
such levels in the previous fiscal period).
‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.—For purposes of this section—
‘‘(1) continuing appropriations made pursuant
to section 1311 of title 31, United States Code, shall
be treated as continuing appropriations for an entire
fiscal period; and
‘‘(2) the levels of budget authority, entitlement
authority, and outlays shall be determined on the
basis of the reports made by the Congressional
Budget Office pursuant to section 202 of the Budget
Process Reform Act of 1990.
‘‘(c) CONTENTS OF SPECIAL MESSAGE.—Each spe-
cial message transmitted under subsection (a) shall speci-
fy, with respect to each item of budget authority to be
rescinded under the President’s line-item reduction au-
thority the matters referred to in paragraphs (1) through
(5) of section 1012(a).
tified, and transmitted to the other House of the
Congress on the same calendar day on which the bill
is agreed to.
‘‘(2)(A) A line-item reduction bill transmitted
to the House of Representatives or the Senate pur-
suant to paragraph (1)(C) shall be referred to the
Committee on Appropriations of such House. The
committee shall report the line-item reduction bill
without substantive revision (and with or without
recommendation) not later than 10 calendar days of
continuous session of the Congress after the bill is
transmitted to such House. A committee failing to
report the line-item reduction bill within the 10-day
period referred to in the preceding sentence shall be
automatically discharged from consideration of the
bill and the bill shall be placed upon the appropriate
calendar.
‘‘(B) A vote on the final passage of a line-item
reduction bill transmitted to a House of the Con-
gress pursuant to paragraph (1)(C) shall be taken
on or before the close of the 10th calendar day of
continuous session of the Congress after the date on
which the bill is transmitted to such House. If the
line-item reduction bill is agreed to in such House,
the Clerk of the House of Representatives (in the
case of a bill agreed to in the House of Representa-
tives) or the Secretary of the Senate (in the case of
a bill agreed to in the Senate) shall cause the en-
grossed bill to be returned to the House in which the
bill originated, together with a statement of the ac-
tion taken by the House acting under this para-
graph.
‘‘(3)(A) A motion in the House of Representa-
tives to proceed to the consideration of a line-item
reduction bill under this section shall be highly privi-
leged and not debatable. An amendment to the mo-
tion 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 House of Representatives
on a line-item reduction bill under this section shall
be limited to not more than 2 hours, which shall be
divided equally between those favoring and those op-
posing the bill. A motion further to limit debate
shall not be debatable and shall require an affirma-
tive vote of two-thirds of the Members voting, a
quorum being present. It shall not be in order to
move to recommit a line-item reduction bill under
this section or to move to reconsider the vote by
which the line-item reduction bill is agreed to or dis-
agreed to.
‘‘(C) All appeals from the decisions of the Chair
relating to the application of the Rules of the House
of Representatives to the procedure relating to a
line-item reduction 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 line-item reduction bill under this
section shall be governed by the Rules of the House
of Representatives applicable to other bills in similar
circumstances.
‘‘(4)(A) A motion in the Senate to proceed to
the consideration of a line-item reduction 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 line-item reduc-
tion bill under this section, and all debatable mo-
tions and appeals in connection therewith, shall be
limited to not more than 2 hours. The time shall be
equally divided between, and controlled by, the ma-
jority leader and the minority leader or their des-
ignees.
‘‘(C) Debate in the Senate on any debatable
motion or appeal in connection with a line-item re-
duction 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 thereto shall be controlled by the mi-
nority leader or his designee. Such leaders, or either
of them, may, from time under their control on the
passage of a line-item reduction bill, allot additional
time to any Senator during the consideration of any
debatable motion or appeal.
‘‘(D) A motion in the Senate to further limit
debate on a line-item reduction bill under this sec-
tion is not debatable. A motion to recommit a line-
item reduction bill under this section is not in order.
‘‘(f) AMENDMENTS PROHIBITED.—No amendment to
a line-item reduction bill considered under this section
shall be in order in either the House of Representatives
or 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 for the presiding officer to
entertain a request to suspend the application of this sub-
section by unanimous consent.’’.
SEC. 305. APPLICATION.
The amendments made by section 304 shall apply to
items of budget authority (as defined in subsection (g)(1)
of section 1013, as added by section 103(b) of this Act)
provided by appropriation Acts (as defined in subsection
(g)(3) of such section) that become law after the date of
enactment of this Act.
Subtitle C—‘‘Blank Check’’ Appropriations
Prohibited
SEC. 306. INTENT OF CONGRESS.
It is the intent of Congress, by this provision, to put
an end to open-ended, ‘‘blank check’’ appropriations,
which typically authorize the spending of ‘‘such sums as
may be necessary.’’ By requiring explicit decisions con-
cerning the desired level of spending for each federal pro-
gram (except Social Security and interest on the debt),
it is intended that currently uncontrolled programs will be
brought within the discipline of an overall budget.
SEC. 307. FIXED-DOLLAR APPROPRIATIONS REQUIRED.
(a) FIXED-DOLLAR APPROPRIATIONS.—For every ac-
count except Social Security and interest on the debt,
every appropriation for a fiscal period for any program,
project, or activity (including claims, judgments, and relief
acts) shall be for a specific, fixed dollar amount. Any ap-
propriations of ‘‘such sums as may be necessary’’ (except
with respect to the automatic continuing resolution pro-
vided for by section 401 of this Act) are hereby prohibited.
(b) POINT OF ORDER.—It shall not be in order in
either the House of Representatives or the Senate (or in
any committee, subcommittee, or conference) to consider
any appropriation that is in violation of subsection (a).
SEC. 308. AGENCY AUTHORITY TO ADJUST EXPENDITURES
TO APPROPRIATED AMOUNTS.
(a) The head of each Executive agency that admin-
isters any entitlement program is authorized to adjust
benefit levels and eligibility requirements, or both, with re-
spect to the program such that aggregate outlays for a
fiscal period do not exceed the fixed-dollar appropriation
provided pursuant to this title for such fiscal period. Such
adjustment shall be made by rule or, pending adoption of
appropriate rules, informal guideline. The purpose of any
such rule or guideline shall be to ensure that the fixed-
dollar appropriations for the program authorized by Con-
gress are not exceeded.
(b) In the event that any claim or judgment against
the United States exceeds the amount available therefor,
the aggregate appropriations for claims, judgments, and
relief for the current fiscal period, then the excess shall
‘‘(1) enacted on or after the date of enactment
of this section shall be effective for more than one
fiscal period; or
‘‘(2) enacted before the date of enactment of
this section shall continue in effect beyond the end
of the first fiscal period beginning after the date of
enactment of this section.
‘‘(b) Subsection (a) does not apply with respect to
appropriations for the repayment of indebtedness incurred
under chapter 31 or benefits payable under the old-age,
survivors, and disability insurance program established
under title II of the Social Security Act.’’.
Subtitle D—‘‘Pay As You Go’’ Requirement for
New Spending
SEC. 310. SPENDING OFFSETS REQUIRED.
It shall not be in order in either the House of Rep-
resentatives or the Senate to consider any supplemental
appropriation measure, or any other bill, resolution, or
amendment which authorizes, requires, or provides new
entitlements/mandatory spending as defined in section 3
(12)(A) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment
Control Act of 1974, or which authorizes spending for a
fiscal period that the report referred to in section 302(a)
of this Act indicates would in such fiscal period exceed
a budget ceiling, unless any such increased spending called
for therein is offset fully in each such fiscal period in such
measure, bill, resolution or amendment by an equal
amount of reductions in existing spending.
SEC. 311. TWO-THIRDS VOTE REQUIRED TO WAIVE POINT
OF ORDER.
The point of order established by this subtitle may
be waived or suspended in the Senate or in the House of
Representatives, and an appeal of the ruling of the Chair
on a point of order raised under this section may be sus-
tained, only by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the
Members voting, a quorum being present.
TITLE IV—SUSTAINING MECHANISM
SEC. 401. AUTOMATIC CONTINUING RESOLUTION.
Chapter 13 of title 31, United States Code, is amend-
ed by inserting after section 1310 the following new sec-
tion:
‘‘§ 1311. Continuing appropriation
‘‘(a) If for any account an appropriation for a fiscal
period does not become law before the beginning of such
fiscal period, there are hereby appropriated, out of any
moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, and
out of applicable corporate or other revenues, receipts, and
funds, such sums as may be necessary to continue any
program, project, or activity provide for in the most recent
appropriation Act at a rate of operations not in excess of
the rate of operations provided for such program, project,
or activity in such Act. In no case shall the total dollar
amount of appropriations for any program, project or ac-
tivity pursuant to this section exceed the appropriation for
such program, project, or activity in the most recent ap-
propriation Act, determined on a fiscal-period basis.
‘‘(b) Amounts appropriated pursuant to subsection
(a) for a program, project, or activity shall be available
during a fiscal period until the earlier of—
‘‘(1) the day on which the appropriation bill for
such fiscal period which would include the program,
project, or activity takes effect; or
‘‘(2) the last day of such fiscal period.’’.
SEC. 402. CONTINGENCY REGULATIONS.
Chapter 13 of title 31, United States Code, is amend-
ed by inserting after section 1311 the following new sec-
tion:
‘‘§ 1312. Contingency regulations
‘‘(a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law and
except as provided by subsection (b), the head of each Ex-
ecutive agency that administers any entitlement program
shall, by rule (or informal guideline, pending adoption of
appropriate rules), provide for the adjustments of benefit
levels or eligibility requirements, or both, with respect to
the program such that aggregate outlays for a fiscal period
do not exceed the fixed-dollar appropriation provided pur-
suant to section 307? (requiring fixed-dollar appropria-
tions) or section 401 (providing for an Automatic Continu-
ing Resolution) of this Act for such fiscal period.
‘‘(b) In the case of social safety net programs, the
rules shall provide each State the option of receiving an
aggregate amount for the fiscal period for such programs
equal to the amount it received for the preceding fiscal
period for such programs (in which case such State could,
in its discretion, allocate the benefits among such pro-
grams to best meet the needs of recipients in its State)
or the amounts it received for each such program for such
preceding fiscal period.
‘‘(c) As used in this section—
‘‘(1) the term ‘Executive agency’ has the mean-
ing given such term in section 105 of title 5, United
States Code;
‘‘(2) the term ‘entitlement program’ means any
spending 
authority 
as 
defined 
in 
section
401(c)(2)(C) of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974; and
‘‘(3) the term ‘social safety net programs’
means the following programs: family support pay-
ments, adoption assistance, child support enforce-
ment, food stamps, foster care, Medicaid, child nu-
trition programs, social services block grant, and
supplemental security income (SSI).’’.
SEC. 403. UNAUTHORIZED APPROPRIATIONS PROHIBITED.
Section 401(b) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(b) CONTROLS ON LEGISLATION PROVIDING FUND-
ING.—(1) It shall not be in order in either the House of
Representatives or the Senate to consider any bill, resolu-
tion, or conference report that provides budget authority
or spending authority described in subsection (c)(2)(C) ex-
cept a bill or resolution reported by the Committee on Ap-
propriations of that House or a conference report made
by a committee or conference all of whose conferees are
member of the Committee on Appropriations.
‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to benefits pay-
able under the old-age, survivors, and disability insurance
program established under title II of the Social Security
Act.’’.
TITLE V—PROTECTION OF SOCIAL
SECURITY
SEC. 501. BENEFITS PROTECTED AGAINST DEFICIT REDUC-
TION.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require or
permit reductions in Social Security benefits otherwise
payable pursuant to applicable law or regulations.
SEC. 502. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.
Chapter 13 of title 31, United States Code, is amend-
ed by inserting after section 1313 the following new sec-
tion:
‘‘§ 1314. Protection of social security from budget def-
icit reduction measures
‘‘No reductions in benefits payable under the old-age,
survivors, and disability insurance program established
under title II of the Social Security Act shall be made as
a consequence of the Budget Process Reform Act’’.
TITLE VI—TIMETABLE
SEC. 601. REVISION OF TIMETABLE.
Section 300 (2 U.S.C. 631) is amended to read as
follows:
‘‘TIMETABLE
‘‘SEC. 300. The timetable with respect to the Con-
gressional budget process for any Congress (beginning
with the One Hundred Fourth Congress) is as follows:
‘‘On or before:
Action to be completed:
First Monday in February ............
President submits short-form budget
recommendations.
February 15 ...................................
Congressional Budget Office submits
report to Budget Committees.
February 25 ...................................
Committees submit views and esti-
mates to Budget Committees.
March 31 .......................................
Budget Committees report joint reso-
lution on the budget.
April 15 .........................................
Congress completes action on joint
resolution on the budget and trans-
mits it to the President for signa-
ture or veto.
President signs joint resolution, or
Congress overrides veto.
Authorization and appropriations bills
may be considered in the Congress.
‘‘On or before:
Action to be completed:
15th day after enactment of joint
budget resolution.
President submits complete budget
and support documents.
June 10 .........................................
Appropriations 
Committees 
report
last of annual appropriation bills.
September 30 .................................
Congress completes action on rec-
onciliation legislation and annual
appropriation bills.
October 1 .......................................
Fiscal period begins. Congress com-
pletes all necessary action on budg-
et, authorizations and appropria-
tions, or automatic continuing reso-
lution takes effect.’’.
TITLE VII—CONFORMING AMENDMENTS
SEC. 701. CONFORMING AND TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS
CHANGING ‘‘CONCURRENT’’ TO ‘‘JOINT’’ RESO-
LUTIONS.
(a) Sections 300, 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 308, 310,
and 311 (2 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) are amended by striking
‘‘concurrent resolutions’’ each place it appears and by in-
serting ‘‘joint resolution’’.
(b) The table of contents set forth in section 1(b) is
amended by striking ‘‘Concurrent’’ in the items relating
to sections 301, 303, and 304 and inserting ‘‘Joint’’.
(c) Clauses 4(a)(2), 4(b)(2), 4(g), and 4(h) of rule
X, clause 8 of rule XXIII, and rule XLIX of the Rules
of the House of Representatives are amended by striking
‘‘concurrent’’ and by inserting in its place ‘‘joint’’.
(d) Section 258C(b)(1) of the Deficit Control Action
of 1985 is amended by striking ‘‘concurrent’’ and by in-
serting ‘‘joint’’.
SEC. 702. FURTHER CONFORMING AND TECHNICAL AMEND-
MENTS.
(a) Section 302(f) (2 U.S.C. 633(f)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘(1) IN THE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—’’, by striking ‘‘new
budget authority for such fiscal year, new entitle-
ment authority effective during such fiscal year, or’’
and by striking ‘‘new discretionary budget authority,
new entitlement authority, or’’; and
(2) by striking paragraph (2).
(b) Section 303 is amended—
(1) in its heading by striking ‘‘NEW BUDGET
AUTHORITY, NEW SPENDING AUTHORITY,’’ and the
comma before ‘‘OR CHANGES’’;
(2) in subsection (a) by striking paragraphs
(1), (4) and (5) and by redesignating paragraphs
(2), (3), and (6) as paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), re-
spectively; and
(3) in subsection (b) by striking paragraph
(1)(A), by striking ‘‘(B)’’, by striking the dash after
‘‘resolution’’, and by striking the last sentence.
(c) The table of contents set forth in section 1(b) is
amended by striking ‘‘new budget authority, new spending
authority,’’ and the comma before ‘‘or changes’’ in the
item relating to section 303.
(d) Section 311 is amended—
(1) in its heading by striking ‘‘NEW BUDGET
AUTHORITY, NEW SPENDING AUTHORITY, AND’’;
(2) in subsection (a)(1) by striking ‘‘providing
new budget authority for such fiscal year, providing
new entitlement authority effective during such fis-
cal year, or’’; by striking ‘‘the appropriate level of
total new budget authority or total budget outlays
set forth in the most recently agreed to concurrent
resolution on the budget to be exceeded, or’’;
(3) by repealing subsection (b); and
(4) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub-
section (b), and by striking ‘‘new budget authority,
budget outlays, new entitlement authority, and’’ in
subsection (c) (as redesignated).
(e) The table of contents set forth in section 1(b) is
amended by striking ‘‘new budget authority, new spending
authority, and’’ in the item relating to section 311.
(f) The last sentence of clause 4(b) of rule XI of the
Rules of the House of Representatives is amended by in-
serting before the period at the end of the following: ‘‘;
nor shall it report any rule or order which would waive
any point of order set forth in title III of the Budget Proc-
ess Reform Act’’.
(g) 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.’’.
SEC. 703. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO THE IMPOUND-
MENT CONTROL ACT OF 1974.
(a) Section 1011(5) (2 U.S.C. 682(5)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘1012, and’’ and inserting
‘‘1012, the 20-day periods referred to in paragraphs
(1)(b) and (2)(A) of section 1013(c), the 45-day pe-
riod referred to in section 1013(b), and’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘1012 during’’ and inserting
‘‘1012 or 1013 during’’;
(3) by striking ‘‘of 45’’ and inserting ‘‘of the
applicable number of’’; and
(4) by striking ‘‘45-day period referred to in
paragraph (3) of this section and in section 1012’’
and inserting ‘‘period or periods of time applicable
under such section’’.
(b) Section 1011 is further amended—
(1) in paragraph (4) by striking ‘‘1013’’ and in-
serting ‘‘1014’’; and
(2) in paragraph (5)—
(A) by striking ‘‘1016’’ and inserting
‘‘1017’’; and
(B) by striking ‘‘1017(b)(1)’’ and inserting
‘‘1018(b)(1)’’.
(c) Section 1015 (as redesignated) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘1012 or 1013’’ each place it
appears and inserting ‘‘1012, 1013, or 1014’’;
(2) in subsection (b)(1) by striking ‘‘1012’’ and
inserting ‘‘1012 or 1013’’;
(3) in subsection (b)(2) by striking ‘‘1013’’ and
inserting ‘‘1014’’; and
(4) in subsection (e)(1)—
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub-
paragraph (A),