A bill to establish the Federal Rainy Day Fund to control emergency spending.

Bill: 118-s-718
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Braun, Mike [R-IN]
Introduced: 2023-03-08
Policy area: Economics and Public Finance
Latest action: action_date: 2023-03-08
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget.

Summaries:
action_date: 2023-03-08
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p>This bill establishes a Federal Rainy Day Fund to fund emergency spending. Under the bill, an <em>emergency </em> is any occasion or instance for which federal assistance is needed to supplement state and local efforts and capabilities to save lives and to protect property, public health, and safety or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in any part of the United States.</p> <p>The bill authorizes annual appropriations to the fund that are equal to 2% of the previous year's nonemergency discretionary spending. </p> <p>In addition, the bill modifies or establishes various budget enforcement procedures to address spending from the fund. For example, the bill </p> <ul> <li>establishes a point of order to prohibit the fund from being used for nonemergency spending,</li> <li>establishes a point of order against provisions that provide emergency spending from the general fund of the Treasury when unobligated funds are available in the rainy day fund, and </li> <li>repeals a provision that currently requires adjustments to discretionary spending limits to accommodate emergency spending. </li> </ul> <p>The bill also requires an affirmative vote of two-thirds (currently three-fifths) of the Senate to waive a budget point of order that is raised in the Senate against legislation because it would cause a committee's spending allocation to be exceeded. </p> <p>Finally, the bill requires the Government Accountability Office to report on the relationship between emergency, disaster, and wildfire spending, including any recommendations to modify the spending that qualifies as emergency spending. </p>

tv_txt: II 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 718 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 8, 2023 Mr. Braun introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget A BILL To establish the Federal Rainy Day Fund to control emergency spending.

1. Limitations on emergency spending (a) Definitions In this section— (1) the term discretionary spending limit has the meaning given that term in section 250(c) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 ( 2 U.S.C. 900(c) ); (2) the term emergency means any occasion or instance for which Federal assistance is needed to supplement State and local efforts and capabilities to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in any part of the United States; (3) the term Fund means the Federal Rainy Day Fund established under subsection (c)(1); and (4) the term previous year's nonemergency discretionary spending means the amount of the discretionary spending limit for all categories for the most recent previous fiscal year for which there was a discretionary spending limit, excluding any adjustment for the fiscal year for amounts designated as being for an emergency requirement under section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 ( 2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(A)(i) ), as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act. (b) Sense of the Senate It is the sense of the Senate that saving for a rainy day should be accompanied by offsets in other programs so that the Federal Government does not live beyond its means. (c) Federal Rainy Day Fund (1) Establishment There is established in the Treasury an account to be known as the Federal Rainy Day Fund . (2) Funding For fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year thereafter, there is authorized to be appropriated to the Fund an amount equal to 2 percent of the amount of previous year's nonemergency discretionary spending. (3) Availability Amounts in the Fund shall remain available until expended, in accordance with subsection (d). (d) Use of Federal Rainy Day Fund (1) Prohibition on using Federal Rainy Day Fund for nonemergencies (A) Point of order against use for nonemergencies (i) In general In the Senate, it shall not be in order to consider a provision in a bill, joint resolution, motion, amendment, amendment between the Houses, or conference report that appropriates funds from the Federal Rainy Day Fund for any program, project, or activity that is not an emergency. (ii) Point of order sustained If a point of order is made by a Senator against a provision described in clause (i), and the point of order is sustained by the Chair, that provision shall be stricken from the measure and may not be offered as an amendment from the floor. (B) Form of the point of order A point of order under subparagraph (A)(i) may be raised by a Senator as provided in section 313(e) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 ( 2 U.S.C. 644(e) ). (C) Conference reports When the Senate is considering a conference report on, or an amendment between the Houses in relation to, a bill or joint resolution, upon a point of order being made by any Senator pursuant to subparagraph (A)(i), and such point of order being sustained, such material contained in such conference report or House amendment shall be stricken, and the Senate shall proceed to consider the question of whether the Senate shall recede from its amendment and concur with a further amendment, or concur in the House amendment with a further amendment, as the case may be, which further amendment shall consist of only that portion of the conference report or House amendment, as the case may be, not so stricken. Any such motion in the Senate shall be debatable. In any case in which such point of order is sustained against a conference report (or Senate amendment derived from such conference report by operation of this subparagraph), no further amendment shall be in order. (D) No waiver or suspension In the Senate, it shall not be in order to move to waive or suspend subparagraph (A). (2) Use of Federal Rainy Day Fund first (A) Point of order against regular appropriations for emergencies (i) In general In the Senate, it shall not be in order to consider a provision in a bill, joint resolution, motion, amendment, amendment between the Houses, or conference report that appropriates funds from the General Fund of the Treasury for an emergency, unless there are no unobligated funds in the Federal Rainy Day Fund. (ii) Point of order sustained If a point of order is made by a Senator against a provision described in clause (i), and the point of order is sustained by the Chair, that provision shall be stricken from the measure and may not be offered as an amendment from the floor. (B) Form of the point of order A point of order under subparagraph (A)(i) may be raised by a Senator as provided in section 313(e) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 ( 2 U.S.C. 644(e) ). (C) Conference reports When the Senate is considering a conference report on, or an amendment between the Houses in relation to, a bill or joint resolution, upon a point of order being made by any Senator pursuant to subparagraph (A)(i), and such point of order being sustained, such material contained in such conference report or House amendment shall be stricken, and the Senate shall proceed to consider the question of whether the Senate shall recede from its amendment and concur with a further amendment, or concur in the House amendment with a further amendment, as the case may be, which further amendment shall consist of only that portion of the conference report or House amendment, as the case may be, not so stricken. Any such motion in the Senate shall be debatable. In any case in which such point of order is sustained against a conference report (or Senate amendment derived from such conference report by operation of this subparagraph), no further amendment shall be in order. (D) No waiver or suspension In the Senate, it shall not be in order to move to waive or suspend subparagraph (A). (3) Point of order against emergency spending Section 314 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 ( 2 U.S.C. 645 ) is amended— (A) in subsection (d)— (i) in paragraph (1), by striking contains a provision providing new budget authority and outlays or reducing revenue, and a designation of such provision as an emergency requirement pursuant to 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 and inserting contains an appropriation from the Federal Rainy Day Fund for an emergency (as defined in section __ of the ___ Act) ; and (ii) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking a designation and inserting an appropriation ; and (B) in subsection (e)— (i) in the subsection heading, by striking designation and inserting appropriation ; (ii) in paragraph (1), by striking an emergency designation in that measure, that provision making such a designation and inserting a provision containing an appropriation from the Federal Rainy Day Fund for an emergency (as defined in section __ of the ___ Act, that provision ; (iii) in paragraph (2), by striking three-fifths each place it appears and inserting two-thirds ; (iv) by striking paragraph (3); and (v) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively. (e) Increased threshold for allocation points of order Notwithstanding section 904 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 ( 2 U.S.C. 621 note), in the Senate— (1) section 302(f) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 ( 2 U.S.C. 633(f) ) may only be waived or suspended upon the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Members, duly chosen and sworn; and (2) an appeal of the ruling of the Chair on a point of order raised under section 302(f) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 ( 2 U.S.C. 633(f) ) shall only be sustained upon the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Members, duly chosen and sworn. (f) GAO study The Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress a report assessing the relationship between emergency, disaster, and wildfire spending, which shall include recommendations, if any, to modify the spending that qualifies as emergency spending. (g) Repeal of adjustment for emergency spending Section 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 ( 2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(A) ) is amended— (1) in the subparagraph heading, by striking Emergency appropriations; overseas and inserting Overseas ; (2) by striking that— and all that follows through (ii) the Congress and inserting that the Congress ; (3) by striking designates, and all that follows through the adjustment and inserting designates, the adjustment ; and (4) by striking designated as emergency requirements or for and inserting designated for . (h) Effective date This section and the amendments made by this section shall— (1) take effect on the date of enactment of this Act; and (2) apply with respect to fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year thereafter.