Unauthorized Spending Accountability Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2056 To provide for a reauthorizing schedule for unauthorized Federal programs, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 18, 2021 Mrs. RODGERS of Washington (for herself, Mr. PALMER, Mrs. LESKO, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. FERGUSON, Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania, Mr. BAIRD, Mr. CLOUD, Mr. BUDD, Mr. NORMAN, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mr. PERRY, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. STEWART, Mr. KELLER, Mr. ARRINGTON, Mr. OWENS, Mr. OBERNOLTE, Mr. MANN, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. LATURNER, Mr. DONALDS, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. HICE of Georgia, Ms. HERRELL, and Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota) introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and in addition to the Committees on Rules, and the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi- sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To provide for a reauthorizing schedule for unauthorized Federal programs, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Unauthorized Spending Accountability Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2056.IH H2056 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2056 IH (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 1 this Act is as follows: 2 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—SUNSET OF UNAUTHORIZED PROGRAMS Sec. 101. Establishment of budgetary level reduction schedule. Sec. 102. Reduction in budgetary level for unauthorized programs. Sec. 103. Termination of unauthorized programs after third unauthorized year. Sec. 104. Exemption from budgetary level reduction. Sec. 105. Offset of budgetary level reduction through reduction in direct spend- ing. Sec. 106. Sunset. TITLE II—SPENDING AND ACCOUNTABILITY COMMISSION Sec. 201. Establishment. Sec. 202. Duties of Commission. Sec. 203. Membership. Sec. 204. Powers of Commission. Sec. 205. Personnel and other administrative matters. Sec. 206. Funding. TITLE III—REAUTHORIZATION CYCLE FOR DISCRETIONARY PROGRAMS Sec. 301. Establishment of reauthorization schedule. TITLE I—SUNSET OF 3 UNAUTHORIZED PROGRAMS 4 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF BUDGETARY LEVEL REDUC- 5 TION SCHEDULE. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is hereby established a re- 7 occurring three-year budgetary level reduction cycle with 8 respect to any unauthorized program, to begin in fiscal 9 year 2021, consistent with the requirements of this Act. 10 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 11 (1) BUDGETARY LEVEL.—The term ‘‘budgetary 12 level’’ means the allocation made under section 13 302(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 14 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2056.IH H2056 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2056 IH U.S.C. 633(a)) to the Committee on Appropriations 1 of the House of Representatives or the Senate in a 2 concurrent resolution on the budget for a fiscal year, 3 and includes any such allocation made pursuant to 4 a deeming resolution. 5 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 6 means the Spending and Accountability Commission 7 established under title II. 8 (3) EXPIRING FISCAL YEAR.—The term ‘‘expir- 9 ing fiscal year’’ means, with respect to an unauthor- 10 ized program, the fiscal year during which author- 11 izations of appropriations will expire for such pro- 12 gram. 13 (4) UNAUTHORIZED PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘un- 14 authorized program’’ means any program or activity 15 listed in the annual report published by the Congres- 16 sional Budget Office, entitled ‘‘Expired and Expiring 17 Authorizations of Appropriations’’, or any successor 18 report, with respect to which authorizations of ap- 19 propriations will expire during the fiscal year in 20 which such report is published. 21 (c) APPLICATION TO PROGRAMS THAT EXPIRED BE- 22 FORE FISCAL YEAR 2021.—For purposes of applying this 23 Act to any unauthorized program funded during fiscal 24 year 2021 and for which authorizations of appropriations 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2056.IH H2056 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2056 IH expired before such fiscal year, such program shall be 1 deemed to be a program or activity listed in the report 2 referred to in subsection (b)(4) with respect to which au- 3 thorizations of appropriations will expire during fiscal year 4 2021. 5 SEC. 102. REDUCTION IN BUDGETARY LEVEL FOR UNAU- 6 THORIZED PROGRAMS. 7 (a) BUDGETARY LEVEL FOR FISCAL YEAR FOL- 8 LOWING EXPIRATION OF AUTHORIZATION.—With respect 9 to any unauthorized program, on the date that a budg- 10 etary level is established for the fiscal year immediately 11 following the expiring fiscal year, such level shall imme- 12 diately be reduced by an amount equal to 10 percent of 13 the funds appropriated for such program in the expiring 14 fiscal year. 15 (b) BUDGETARY LEVEL FOR SECOND AND THIRD 16 FISCAL YEARS FOLLOWING EXPIRATION OF AUTHORIZA- 17 TION.—With respect to any unauthorized program that re- 18 sults in a budgetary level reduction under subsection (a) 19 that remains an unauthorized program in the second or 20 third fiscal year following the expiring fiscal year, on the 21 date that a budgetary level is established for either such 22 second or third fiscal year, the budgetary level for either 23 such fiscal year shall be reduced by an amount equal to 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2056.IH H2056 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2056 IH 15 percent of the funds appropriated for such program 1 in the expiring fiscal year. 2 (c) TRANSMITTAL OF NEW BUDGETARY LEVEL.— 3 Upon the reduction of a budgetary level (if any) under 4 subsection (a) or (b), the chair of the Committee on the 5 Budget of the House of Representatives and the Senate 6 shall submit the revised budgetary level to the chair of 7 the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep- 8 resentatives and the Senate, respectively. 9 SEC. 103. TERMINATION OF UNAUTHORIZED PROGRAMS 10 AFTER THIRD UNAUTHORIZED YEAR. 11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any unauthorized program that 12 causes a budgetary level reduction under section 102(b) 13 applicable to the third fiscal year following the expiring 14 fiscal year shall, effective immediately on October 1 of the 15 fiscal year immediately following such third fiscal year, be 16 terminated, except that any unobligated amounts available 17 for such program after the date of termination shall re- 18 main available for recording, adjusting, and liquidating 19 valid obligations of such program issued before such ter- 20 mination date. 21 (b) OBLIGATION OF FUNDS PROHIBITED WITHOUT 22 REAUTHORIZATION.—No funds may be obligated for any 23 program terminated pursuant to subsection (a) in any fis- 24 cal year without an express reauthorization of the program 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2056.IH H2056 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2056 IH by Congress containing an authorization of appropriations 1 period not to exceed three years. 2 SEC. 104. EXEMPTION FROM BUDGETARY LEVEL REDUC- 3 TION. 4 (a) REAUTHORIZATION.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Consistent with paragraph 6 (2)— 7 (A) any unauthorized program that causes 8 a budgetary level reduction applicable to a fiscal 9 year under section 102 that is expressly reau- 10 thorized during the fiscal year in which such 11 level is established shall not be subject to the 12 requirements of this title; and 13 (B) upon the date of such reauthorization, 14 any such reduction shall be restored. 15 (2) LIMITATION.—Paragraph (1) shall only 16 apply if the reauthorization contains a sunset provi- 17 sion applicable to such program providing for an au- 18 thorization of appropriations period of not more 19 than three years. 20 (b) OFFSET BY REDUCTION IN DIRECT SPENDING.— 21 Any budgetary level reduction provided for in this title 22 shall not apply if, before the fiscal year during which such 23 reduction will occur, a bill is enacted into law as described 24 in section 105. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2056.IH H2056 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2056 IH SEC. 105. OFFSET OF BUDGETARY LEVEL REDUCTION 1 THROUGH REDUCTION IN DIRECT SPENDING. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 3 end of fiscal year 2021 and any subsequent fiscal year 4 during which this title remains applicable pursuant to sec- 5 tion 106, the Commission shall review Federal programs 6 funded by direct spending. 7 (b) REDUCTION IN DIRECT SPENDING.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning in fiscal year 9 2021, during any fiscal year that a budgetary level 10 reduction under section 102 is expected to occur 11 during the subsequent fiscal year by operation of 12 this title, the Commission may submit to Congress 13 a legislative proposal providing for reductions in di- 14 rect spending, to occur over a period of time not to 15 exceed the next ten fiscal years, in an amount equal 16 to the total amount of such reduction, as determined 17 by the Commission. 18 (2) EFFECT OF ENACTMENT.—If the proposal 19 described under paragraph (1) is enacted into law 20 before such subsequent fiscal year begins, the budg- 21 etary level reduction that would occur during such 22 fiscal year as a result of this title shall have no force 23 or effect during that fiscal year. 24 (c) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘direct 25 spending’’ has the meaning given such term in section 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2056.IH H2056 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2056 IH 250(c)(8) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 1 Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 900(c)(8)). 2 SEC. 106. SUNSET. 3 This title shall sunset on the date that the legislative 4 proposal described under section 301 is enacted into law. 5 The previous sentence shall not apply if such proposal, as 6 enacted, does not include budgetary level reductions with 7 respect to unauthorized programs in the amounts provided 8 in section 102. 9 TITLE II—SPENDING AND 10 ACCOUNTABILITY COMMISSION 11 SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT. 12 There is established in the legislature a permanent 13 commission, to be known as the ‘‘Spending and Account- 14 ability Commission’’, in order to carry out section 105 and 15 title III of this Act. 16 SEC. 202. DUTIES OF COMMISSION. 17 The Commission shall— 18 (1) as described in section 105, conduct com- 19 prehensive reviews of all Federal programs funded 20 through direct spending; and 21 (2) as described in title III, provide a legislative 22 proposal for an authorization cycle for Federal pro- 23 grams funded by discretionary spending. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2056.IH H2056 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2056 IH SEC. 203. MEMBERSHIP. 1 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission 2 shall be composed of 14 members, as follows: 3 (1) Seven members shall be appointed by the 4 Speaker of the House of Representatives, of whom 5 three shall be appointed in consultation with the mi- 6 nority leader of the House of Representatives. 7 (2) Seven members shall be appointed by the 8 majority leader of the Senate, of whom three shall 9 be appointed in consultation with the minority leader 10 of the Senate. 11 (b) MEMBER POWERS AND CRITERIA.—Any indi- 12 vidual appointed pursuant to subsection (a) shall be a vot- 13 ing member of the Commission and must be a Member 14 of Congress (as defined in section 2106 of title 5, United 15 States Code, but not including the Vice President). 16 (c) CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP RE- 17 QUIREMENTS.—Each committee listed under paragraphs 18 (1) through (7) shall have at least one Member on such 19 committee appointed under subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2): 20 (1) The Committee on Appropriations of the 21 House of Representatives. 22 (2) The Committee on Appropriations of the 23 Senate. 24 (3) The Committee on the Budget of the House 25 of Representatives. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2056.IH H2056 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2056 IH (4) The Committee on the Budget of the Sen- 1 ate. 2 (5) The Committee on Ways and Means of the 3 House of Representatives. 4 (6) The Committee on Finance of the Senate. 5 (7) The Joint Economic Committee. 6 (d) CHAIR; VICE CHAIR.—The chair and vice chair 7 of the Commission shall be selected by the Speaker of the 8 House of Representatives and the majority leader of the 9 Senate. 10 (e) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy on the Commission 11 shall be filled in the same manner in which the original 12 appointment was made. 13 SEC. 204. POWERS OF COMMISSION. 14 (a) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commission 15 may, for the purpose of carrying out this title, hold such 16 hearings, sit and act at such times and places, take such 17 testimony, and receive such evidence as the Commission 18 considers appropriate. The Commission may administer 19 oaths to witnesses appearing before it. 20 (b) OBTAINING INFORMATION.—The Commission 21 may secure directly from any agency information nec- 22 essary to enable it to carry out its duties under this title. 23 Upon request of the chair, the head of that agency shall 24 furnish that information to the Commission in a full and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2056.IH H2056 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2056 IH timely manner. In carrying out the duties assigned under 1 this title, the Commission may use any report or other 2 information prepared by the Government Accountability 3 Office, the Congressional Budget Office, or the Congres- 4 sional Research Service. 5 (c) SUBPOENA POWER.— 6 (1) AUTHORITY TO ISSUE SUBPOENA.—The 7 Commission may issue a subpoena to require the at- 8 tendance and testimony of witnesses and the produc- 9 tion of evidence relating to any matter under inves- 10 tigation by the Commission. 11 (2) COMPLIANCE WITH SUBPOENA.—If a person 12 refuses to obey an order or subpoena of the Commis- 13 sion that is issued in connection with a Commission 14 proceeding, the Commission may apply to the United 15 States district court in the judicial district in which 16 the proceeding is held for an order requiring the per- 17 son to compl [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]