Family Budget Protection Act of 2004

Bill: 108-s-2752
Sponsor: Sen. Hatch, Orrin G. [R-UT]
Introduced: 2004-07-22 in the Senate
Policy area: Economics and Public Finance
Subjects: Accounting
Annuities
Appropriations
Armed Forces and National Security
Atmosphere
Biennial budgets
Budget deficits
Budget resolutions
Budget surpluses
Central Intelligence Agency
Civil service retirement
Coast guard
Congress
Congressional budget
Congressional reporting requirements
Congressional voting
Debt limit
Department of Commerce
Department of Defense
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Homeland Security
Emergency Management
Entitlements
Families
Federal advisory bodies
Federal budget process
Federal budgets
Federal employees
Finance and Financial Sector
Foreign service
Fraud
Government Operations and Politics
Government employees' health insurance
Government insurance
Government spending reductions
Government trust funds
Health
House rules and procedure
Intelligence officers
International Affairs
Labor and Employment
Legislation
Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
Military medicine
Military pensions
Oceanographic research
Planning-programming-budgeting
Presidential commissions
Public health personnel
Rescission of appropriated funds
Retired military personnel
Retiree health benefits
Science, Technology, Communications
Senate rules and procedure
Social Welfare
Strategic planning
Sunset legislation
Survivors' benefits
Waste in government spending

Summary:
action_date: 2004-07-22
text: 
Family Budget Protection Act of 2004 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to eliminate the May 15 deadline for consideration of annual appropriations measures. Requires annual joint (currently, concurrent) budget resolutions signed by the President.
 
Provides for an amendment to change the statutory limit on the public debt. 
 
Requires consideration of budget-related legislation before the budget resolution becomes law. 
 
Sets forth provisions regarding the establishment of a reserve fund for emergencies.
 
Requires: (1) biennial (currently, annual) budget resolutions; (2) biennial appropriations Acts; and (3) biennial Government strategic and performance plans.
 
Provides spending caps on the growth of entitlements and mandatory budget outlays. Excludes benefits payable under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act (SSA), Tier 1 railroad retirement benefits, and benefits payable under part A of title XVIII (relating to part A Medicare hospital insurance benefits) of SSA and part C of such title (relating to the Medicare Advantage program) from required reductions under the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act, along with specified Government accounts and activities. Provides other exceptions, limitations, and special rules with respect to sequestration exemptions.
 
Directs the Chairman to maintain the Family Budget Protection Mandatory Account and the Family Budget Protection Discretionary Account.
 
Freezes at current levels spending authority for each unearned entitlement, high-cost discretionary spending program, and authorized and unauthorized discretionary spending programs.
 
Establishes the Commission to Eliminate Waste, Fraud, and Abuse.
 
Provides for accrual funding of the: (1) Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund; (2) Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System; and (3) Foreign Service Retirement and Disability System.
 
Establishes in the Treasury: (1) the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps Retirement Fund; (2) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Retirement System; and (3) the Coast Guard Military Retirement Fund.
 
 Changes the name of the Department of Defense Medicare-Eligible Retiree Health Care Fund to Uniformed Services Health Care Fund (thus, providing health care programs for all uniformed service retirees, under certain conditions). (Currently, such programs are for Department of Defense Medicare-eligible beneficiaries.)
 
Decreases the limit on the public debt from $6.4 trillion to $4.393 trillion.
 
Prohibits consideration of extraneous appropriations in omnibus appropriations measures.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2004-07-22
text: Read twice and referred jointly to the Committees on the Budget; Governmental Affairs pursuant to the order of August 4, 1977, with instructions that if one Committee reports, the other Committee have thirty days to report or be discharged.
action_date: 2004-07-22
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S8737-8738)
action_date: 2004-07-22
text: Introduced in Senate