15 authority, and" in the item relating to section 311.
16 (f) The last sentence of clause 4(b) of rule XI of the
17 Rules of the House of Representatives is amended by in-
18 serting before the period at the end of the following: ";
19 nor shall it report any rule or order which would waive
20 any point of order set forth in title III of the Budget Proc-
21 ess Reform Act".
22 (g) The first sentence of section 202 (f) ( 1 ) of the Con-
23 gressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended to read as fol-
24 lows: "On or before February 15 of each year, the Direc-
25 tor shall submit to the Committees on the Budget of the
437
31
1 House of Representatives and the Senate a report, for the
2 fiscal year commencing on October 1 of that year, with
3 respect to fiscal policy, including (A) estimated budget
4 outlays in all functions and subfunctions for appropriated
5 accounts for the current fiscal year and estimated budget
6 outlays under current law for all entitlement programs for
7 the next fiscal year, (B) alternative levels of total reve-
8 nues, total new budget authority, and total outlays (in-
9 eluding related surpluses and deficits), and (C) the levels
10 of tax expenditures under existing law, taking into account
1 1 projected economic factors and any changes in such levels
12 based on proposals in the budget submitted by the Presi-
1 3 dent for such fiscal year, ' ' .
14 SEC. 703. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO THE IMPOUND-
15 MENT CONTROL ACT OF 1974.
16 (a) Section 1011(5) (2 U.S.C. 682(5)) is amended—
17 (1) by striking "1012, and" and inserting
18 "1012, the 20-day periods referred to in paragraphs
19 (l)(b) and (2)(A) of section 1013(c), the 45-day pe-
20 riod referred to in section 1013(b), and";
21 (2) by striking "1012 during" and inserting
22 "1012 or 1013 during";
23 (3) by striking "of 45" and inserting "of the
24 applicable number of; and
438
32
1 (4) by striking "45-day period referred to in
2 paragraph (3) of this section and in section 1012"
3 and inserting "period or periods, of time appHcable
4 under such section".
5 (b) Section 1011 is further amended —
6 (1) in paragraph (4) by striking "1013" and in-
7 serting "1014"; and
8 (2) in paragraph (5) —
9 (A) by striking "1016" and inserting
10 "1017"; and
11 (B) by striking "1017(b)(1)" and inserting
12 "1018(b)(1)".
13 (c) Section 1015 (as redesignated) is amended —
14 (1) by striking "1012 or 1013" each place it
15 appears and inserting "1012, 1013, or 1014";
16 (2) in subsection (b)(1) by striking "1012" and
17 inserting "1012 or 1013";
18 (3) in subsection (b)(2) by striking "1013" and
19 inserting "1014"; and
20- (4) in subsection (e)(1) —
21 (A) by striking "and" at the end of sub-
22 paragraph (A),
23 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as
24 subparagraph (C),
439
33
1 (C) by striking "1013" in subparagraph
2 (C) (as redesignated), and
3 (D) by inserting after subparagraph (A)
4 the following new subparagraph:
5 "(B) he has transmitted a special message
6 under section 1013 ^\^th respect to a proposed
7 rescission; and".
8 (d) Section 1016 (as redesignated) is amended by
9 striking "1012 or 1013" each place it appears and insert-
10 ing"1012, 1013, or 1014".
11 (e) Section 1012(b) is amended by inserting before
12 the last sentence the following new sentence: "The preced-
1 3 ing sentence shall not apply to any item of budget author-
14 ity proposed by the President to be rescinded under this
15 section that the President has also proposed to rescind
16 under section 1013 and with respect to which the 45-day
17 period referred to in subsection (e) of such section has
18 not expired.".
19 (f) The table of sections set forth in section 1(b) is
20 amended —
21 (1) by redesignating the items relating to sec-
22 tions 1013 through 1017 as items relating to sec-
23 tions through 1018, respectively; and
24 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec-
25 tion 1012 the following new item:
"Sec. 1013. Rescission of spending above limits of congressional budget law.".
440
34
1 SEC. 704. CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO TITLE 31, UNITED
2 STATES CODE.
3 (a) The analysis of chapter 13 of title 31, United
4 States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relat-
5 ing to section 1310 the following new items:
"Sec. 1311. Continuing appropriation.
"Sec. 1312. Contingency regulations.
"Sec. 1313. Budget authority and entitlement authority must cover single fiscal
period.
"Sec. 1314. Protection of Social Security from budget deficit reduction meas-
ures.".
6 (b) Paragraph (5) of section 1105(a) of title 31,
7 United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
8 "(5) except as provided in subsection (b) of this
9 section —
10 "(A) estimated expenditures and proposed
11 appropriations for each function and
12 subfunction in the current fiscal vear;
13 "(B) estimated expenditures and proposed
14 appropriations the President decides are nec-
15 essary to support the Government for each
16 function and subfunction in the fiscal year for
17 which the budget is submitted; and
18 "(C) a comparison of levels of estimated
19 expenditures and proposed appropriations for
20 each function and subfunction in the current
21 fiscal year and the fiscal year for which the
22 budget is submitted, along with the proposed
441
35
1 increase or decrease of spending in percentage
2 terms for each function and subfunction;".
3 (c) Section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code,
4 is amended —
5 (1) in the first sentence, by inserting "on a sin-
6 gle page, which sets forth specific budget ceihngs for
7 that fiscal period in the nineteen major functional
8 categories described in section 201 of the Budget
9 Process Reform Act" before the period; and
10 (2) by repealing the secohd sentence and all of
1 1 the third sentence preceding the colon and inserting
12 the follo\\ing: "On or before the fifteenth day after
13 a joint resolution on the budget for that budget pe-
14 riod is enacted, the President shall submit a detailed
15 budget for that fiscal period, including a budget
16 message and summary and supporting information,
17 as follows".
18 TITLE VIII— DEFINITIONS AND
19 RULES OF INTERPRETATION
20 SEC. 801. DEFINITIONS.
21 (a) Definition of Budget Law. — Section 3(4) (2
22 U.S.C. 622(4)), containing general definitions under the
23 Budget Act is amended to read as follows:
24 "(4) The term 'budget law' or 'joint resolution
25 on the budget' means —
442
36
1 "(A) a joint resolution setting forth the
2 simplified budget for the United States Govem-
3 ment for a fiscal period as provided in section
4 301; and
5 "(B) any other joint resolution revising the
6 budget for the United States Government for a
7 fiscal period as described in section 304.".
8 (b) Other Definitions.— Section 3 (2 U.S.C. 622)
9 is further amended by adding at the end the follo^\^ng new
10 paragraphs:
11 "(11) The term 'major functional categor}'^' re-
12 fers to the groupings of budget authority, budget
13 outlays, and credit authority (including continuing
14 appropriations pursuant to section 1331 of title 31,
15 United States Code) into any one of the following:
16 "Function 050: National Defense
17 "Function 150: International Affairs
18 "Function 250: General Science, Space
19 and Technology
20 "Function 270: Energy
21 "Function 300: Natural Resources and
22 Environment
23 "Function 350: Agriculture
24 "Function 400: Transportation
443
37
1 "Function 450: Community and Regional
2 Development
3 "Function 500: Education, Training, Em-
4 ployment and Social Services
5 "Function 550: Health
6 "Function 570: Medicare
7 "Function 600: Income Security
8 "Function 650: Social Security
9 "Function 700: Veterans Benefits and
10 Services
11 "Function 750: Administration of Justice
12 "Function 800: General Government
13 "Function 900: Net Interest
14 "Function 920: Allowances
15 "Function 950: Undistributed Offsetting
16 Receipts.".
17 "(12) The term 'budget ceiling' means the dol-
18 lar amount set forth in a budget law for a major
19 functional category.
20 "(13) The term 'spending bill' means any bill or
21 resolution, or amendment thereto or conference re-
22 port thereon, which provides budget authority,
23 spending authority, credit authority, or outlays.
24 "(14) The term 'fiscal period' means the twelve-
25 month fiscal year beginning October 1 currently in
444
38
1 use, or any other fiscal period (such as a biennial
2 period) that may subsequently be adopted for the
3 management of the budget of the United States.".
4 SEC. 802. AMENDMENTS TO CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET AND
5 IMPOUNDMENT CONTROL ACT OF 1974.
6 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever any
7 provision of this Act is expressed as an amendment to a
8 section or other provision, the reference shall be deemed
9 to be made to a section or other provision of the Congres-
10 sional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974.
1 1 SEC. 803. USE OF TERMS.
12 Whenever any term is used in this Act which is de-
13 fined in section 3 of the Congressional Budget Impound-
14 ment Control Act of 1974, the term shall have the mean-
15 ing given to such term in that Act.
16 TITLE IX— EFFECTIVE DATE
17 SEC. 901. GENERAL PROVISION.
18 Except as provided in section 902, this Act and the
19 amendments made by it shall become effective January 1,
20 1995, and shall apply to fiscal periods beginning after
21 September 30, 1995.
22 SEC. 902. FISCAL YEAR 1993.
23 Notwithstanding subsection (a), the provisions of —
24 (1) the Congressional Budget Impoundment
25 Control Act of 1974,
445
39
1 (2) title 31, United States Code, and
2 (3) the Balanced Budget and Emergency Defi-
3 eit Control Act of 1985, (as such provisions were in
4 effect on the day before the effective date of this
5 Act) shall apply to the fiscal year beginning on Octo-
6 ber 1, 1994.
446
[From the Congressional Record pages S3452-3453]
Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, next year, we will pay close to $300
billion just on interest on the national debt — $300 billion. Mr.
President. That is about one-fifth of the budget for 1995.
Because we will spend so much on our budget in 1995 on just
financing our national debt, just paying the interest alone, not pay-
ing an5^hing off, I remain unconvinced that we are on the right
track, that we are doing what we need to do to address our chronic
deficit and national debt problems.
While CBO's recent projection of the 1995 deficit is lower than
originally expected, it does not speak to our long-term deficit and
debt future, because we have not changed the way we spend money
around here. Our system has not changed; yet, our problems are
systemic.
Indeed, Mr. President, although deficit reduction was the jus-
tification for last year's tax bill, which raised over $230 billion in
new taxes. Federal spending continues to increase at a progressive
rate through the next 5 years. From 1994 through 1998, spending
will continue to increase from $1.5 trillion to $1.8 trillion.
So, Mr. President, in reality, at the same time Congress was rais-
ing new taxes, it was also increasing spending.
Mr. President, I ask you: Is this fiscal restraint? Is this a sign
of a Grovernment on a diet? It would not appear so. Rather, it looks
more like the kind of diet that ends up putting 10 pounds on you
instead of taking 10 pounds off.
Let us not forget spending cuts. The President claims over 300
specific program cuts in the fiscal 1995 budget, and several propos-
als have been offered over the past few months which would have
similarly made specific program cuts in order to lower the deficit.
The fact is, however, Mr. President, that many of these proposals
had nothing to do with lowering the deficit. Instead, they would
only have authorized a shift in spending. These proposals would
not only have had no affect on shrinking the size of the Federal pie,
but, in fact, even with the proposed cuts, the Federal pie would
continue to get larger through Federal spending.
So, Mr. President, I submit that while we may be slowing the
growth of the debt, we are still accelerating toward fiscal disaster.
Mr. President, if we want to put the brakes on excess Federal
spending, we need to change how we go about spending the Federal
dollar. We need to reform our annual budget process.
What role does our budget process play today if we have to wait
to pass a 5-year budget agreement locking in spending levels before
we can address spending cut proposals? And why should it be nec-
essary for Congress to always promise spending cuts in the future,
or as we say, in the "outyears," and deliver tax increases today or —
or in the case of the 1994 tax bill — ^yesterday? You will recall that
it was retroactive taxes.
The reason is because Congress is unaccountable — unaccountable
by choice as well as by nature. Congress has no real incentives and
faces no threatened penalties to encourage fiscally responsible be-
havior here.
Thus far, Mr. President, Congress has sought and approved sim-
ple, politically expedient solutions to our complex deficit and debt
problems. In fact, the rallying call for deficit reduction that started
447
this past summer may have proved to be more of a cloak than a
standard in combating the deficit and our national debt.
Our current budget process favors increased Federal spending,
not less spending. It is impotent in enforcing current budget ceil-
ings and remains hostile to cuts in Federal programs. In short, Mr.
President, the budget process that we have today itself is imper-
vious to efforts to cut the Federal deficit and national debt.
Indeed, Mr. President, the budget process can strengthen or
weaken Congress' ability and Congress' resolve to gain control over
its excessive spending habits.
Senator Lott and I have joined the efforts of Representatives
Cox and Stenholm in trying to create a budgetary framework that
is receptive to efforts to curb Federal spending and facilitate fiscal
responsibility here.
The Budget Process Reform Act seeks to take Federal spending
off of automatic pilot and put it under stricter fiscal controls. It
proposes to reform the process to provide greater budget discipline
and stronger budget enforcement mechanisms.
The act would require that a legally binding budget resolution be
in place prior to the consideration of any appropriations or author-
ization bills. Such a budget would fit on one page, setting aggregate
spending totals for each of the 19 spending categories we deal with.
The bill would eliminate baseline budgeting and require that all
entitlements, expecting Social Security and interest on the debt,
are given fixed-sum appropriations.
In addition, in order to have effective enforcement, the bill would
require a three-fifths supermajority to spend overbudget and would
grant the President enhanced rescission authority when a budget
category exceeds its allowable spending level.
Mr. President, this is effective legislation. It contains no gim-
micks. Rather, the bill establishes a process for spending Federal
dollars that imposes discipline and order while providing the flexi-
bility to prioritize Federal spending without draconian measures
such as across-the board cuts or unlimited line-item veto authority.
While many may seek solace in the fact that the annual deficit
is less than predicted for this year, it is a hollow promise for our
future and for our children's future.
Without doubt, Mr. President, Congress must reform its budget
process if it is ever to effectively address this country's sinister
deficits and heavy debt — and ensure its citizens of a bright eco-
nomic future.
I ask my colleagues in the Senate to join Senator LoTT and me
in cosponsoring this important piece of legislation.
September 22, 1994
[From the Congressional Record pages S 13302-13304]
By Mr. CRAIG (for himself, Mr. Campbell, Mr. Lugar, Mr.
Shelby, Mr. Brown, Mr. Roth, Mr. Kempthorne, Mrs.
Kassebaum, Mr. Burns, Mr. Gorton, Mr. Lott, and Mr.
ExoN):
S. 2458. A bill to reform the concept of baseline budgeting, set
forth strengthened procedures for the consideration of rescissions,
provide a mechanism for dedicating savings from spending cuts to
448
deficit reduction, and to ensure that only one emergency is included
in any bill containing an emergency designation; to the Committee
on the Budget and the Committee on Government Affairs, jointly,
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.
THE COMMON CENTS BUDGET REFORM ACT OF 1994
Mr. CRAIG. Madam President, today, I and my colleague, Ben
NiGHTHORSE CAMPBELL of Colorado, introduce a package of budget
reform measures that we hope the Budget Committee will begin to
look at as early as October 5, when the chairman of that committee
had agreed to hold hearings on the budget reform process here in
the U.S. Senate and the Congress as a whole.
Yesterday, I had the privilege of meeting with three of our col-
leagues from the House, Congressman Charles Stenholm, of
Texas; Congressman JOHN Kasich; and Congressman TiM Penny.
At that time, they presented to me a letter that they had sent
to our leader, Senator Mitchell, including three provisions that
the House has passed by overwhelming numbers in the course of
the last several months:
Expedited rescission, where the Congress would require a vote
promptly by a majority on a proposal that would be rescinded by
the President in budget matters brought before him. That passed
on July 14 in the House by 342 votes.
A provision maintaining the integrity of emergency appropria-
tions where they do not get wrapped into other appropriations but
are dealt with separately and timely as relates to emergencies that
occur in this country and need the Congress and their Government
to respond to them.
And the simple matter of baseline budgeting.
Madam President, that is an issue that has been around for a
long time; that we do not constantly roll into our budget's inflation
and natural growth and then cut a portion of that and say our
budgets have been cut, but actually look at rock-solid baseline
budgeting and talk about if we want to increase it over last year.
We think that is responsible.
Those three items are a part of a package that Senator CAMP-
BELL and I are introducing.
We have also introduced another measure guaranteeing that a
cut is a cut. Amendments to cut appropriation bills would apply
savings directly to deficit reduction rather than to be spun off into
other spending as it often-times the case.
I think the American people have recognized that something is
clearly wrong here with the Congress of the United States that
cannot deal with its budgets.
Since the Budget Impoundment Act of now well over two decades
ago, when we said to the American people we were going to bring
to the budget process strong and decisive action that would control
our budgets and control our deficits, well, two decades later and
trillions of dollars added to our national debt, the American people
no longer believe us.
Clearly, if we are to get our budget under control, it is us here
in the Senate and in the U.S. House of Representatives that are
449
going to have to deal with it. We cannot ask for magic and we can-
not wish it away. We are going to have to make the tough decisions
and the provisions that we have brought about in what we are call-
ing the Common Cents Budget Reform Act of 1994, puts before the
Congress a process that, if implemented in law, both for the House
and the Senate would bring these kinds of tough tests and meas-
ures to the budget process.
And I think the American people could observe us in our actions
and say, "Yes, cuts are cuts. There is not any funny inflationary
business inside budgets." Every year, we consciously decide that a
budget is going to be increased or decreased, that we would also
provide for the integrity of emergency appropriations, and that we
would have a line-item veto in a modified rescission form in it.
Those are the combination of real reform that I think most Ameri-
cans expect and want to deal with and that will be found in our
Common Cents Budget Reform Act that we introduce today.
I would encourage all of my colleagues, in the "Deal Colleague"
letter that both Senator Campbell and I sent out this week, to look
at it and to join with us. Because the Budget Committee will on
the 5th hold hearings and we know that this is an issue whose
time is coming.
Next year we will be back before the Budget Committee dealing
with a very responsible process of budget reform measures. I have
talked with the ranking Republican, Pete Domenici, who has time
and time again brought to this floor with his colleagues responsible
reform measures. It is now time we get it done.
We are going to be back next year debating one of the issues that
I have championed now for over a decade here in the Congress and
that is a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. If we
pass that — and I think we will — next year, we are also going to
have to follow it up with a process that brings the budget down to
balance within a 4- to 5-year period.
So it is going to take provisions of the kind that I am introducing
today, along with my colleague from Colorado, in this Common
Cents Budget Reform Act.
We can no longer hide. Madam President. The American people
are demanding that we get the budget under control, that we deal
with deficits and that we be responsible with bringing our debt
under control, and the bill that we introduce today that we will
hopefully be able to have heard before the Budget Committee on
the 5th and will reintroduce it again next year; a bill that three
of the four provisions have already passed the House by almost
unanimous votes, is the kind of issue that is a bipartisan balance
to a very difficult process.
I hope my colleagues will join in co-sponsoring this legislation to
build the bipartisan momentum that we will need to push it into
law.
Mr. President, the 103d Congress, the "Reform Congress" came
in like a lion and is about to go out like a lamb.
Even out of the few surviving proposals of the Joint Committee
on the Organization of Congress, we may see no more than con-
gressional coverage, considered in the Senate — if that.
The most important reforms that Congress could enact would be
budget reforms.
450
In the two decades since the Budget and Impoundment Control
Act was enacted, Congress progressively has lost control of Federal
spending. This repeated failure to manage the taxpayers' money
has become a threat not only to our Nation's economic future and
our children's standard of living, but also to the credibility of Con-
gress. We must act to help restore a sense of order, discipline, and
accountability to the process by which spending decisions are made.
Yet, earlier this year, both Houses of Congress failed by narrow
margins to pass the balanced budget amendment to the Constitu-
tion. In both bodies, reforms have remained buried in committee.
Finally, some of our House colleagues have broken through the
logjam in that body and created the opportunity for the Senate, as
well, to pass meaningful budget reforms.
In May of this year. Representatives Stenholm, Penny, and Ka-
SICH introduced the Common Cents Budget Reform Act, H.R. 4434,
which included budget reforms in four major areas. These are:
Baseline budgeting reform: Presidential and congressional budg-
ets and CBO cost estimates would compare proposed spending to
current actual spending, not an inflated baseline.
Guaranteeing a cut is a cut: Amendments to cut appropriations
bills could apply savings directly to deficit reduction, rather than
to other spending; discretionary spending caps would be adjusted
to reflect the savings in spending-cut amendments. This would be
carried out by creation of a deficit reduction account, or lockbox, in
each appropriations bill.
Modified line-item veto expedited rescissions: Congress would be
required to vote promptly on Presidential proposals to rescind ap-
propriations or strike narrowly targeted tax benefits.
Maintaining the integrity of emergency appropriations: Action on
genuine emergencies would be expedited by barring the addition of