Legislative Performance Review Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1592 To limit the period of authorization of new budget authority provided in appropriation Acts, to require analysis, appraisal, and evaluation of exist- ing programs for which continued new budget authority is proposed to be authorized by committees of Congress, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 12, 2021 Mr. PAUL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To limit the period of authorization of new budget authority provided in appropriation Acts, to require analysis, ap- praisal, and evaluation of existing programs for which continued new budget authority is proposed to be author- ized by committees of Congress, 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Legislative Perform- 4 ance Review Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 For purposes of this Act— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1592.IS S1592 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1592 IS (1) the term ‘‘agency’’ has the meaning given 1 the term Executive agency under section 105 of title 2 5, United States Code; 3 (2) the term ‘‘appropriation Act’’ means an Act 4 referred to in section 105 of title 1, United States 5 Code; 6 (3) the term ‘‘authorization’’ means an Act au- 7 thorizing new budget authority to be provided in ap- 8 propriation Acts; 9 (4) the term ‘‘new budget authority’’ means 10 budget authority (as defined in section 3(2)(A) of 11 the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 12 622(2)(A))) which is provided in an appropriation 13 Act; and 14 (5) the term ‘‘program’’ means any activities or 15 purposes for which there is a separate authorization 16 of new budget authority. 17 SEC. 3. BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS SUBJECT TO POINT OF 18 ORDER. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—It shall not be in order in either 20 the Senate or the House of Representatives to consider— 21 (1) any bill or resolution which authorizes the 22 enactment of new budget authority for a period of 23 more than 4 fiscal years, except as provided in sec- 24 tion 4; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1592.IS S1592 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1592 IS (2) any bill or resolution which authorizes the 1 enactment of an unlimited amount of new budget 2 authority for any purpose or purposes. 3 (b) POINT OF ORDER.—In the Senate, a point of 4 order under this section may be raised by a Senator as 5 provided in section 313(e) of the Congressional Budget 6 Act of 1974. A point of order under this section may be 7 waived in accordance with the procedures under section 8 313(e) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 upon an 9 affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members duly chosen 10 and sworn. 11 (c) CONFERENCE REPORTS.—When the Senate is 12 considering a conference report on, or an amendment be- 13 tween the Houses in relation to, a bill or joint resolution, 14 upon a point of order being made by any Senator pursuant 15 to subsection (b), and such point of order being sustained, 16 such material contained in such conference report or 17 House amendment shall be stricken, and the Senate shall 18 proceed to consider the question of whether the Senate 19 shall recede from its amendment and concur with a fur- 20 ther amendment, or concur in the House amendment with 21 a further amendment, as the case may be, which further 22 amendment shall consist of only that portion of the con- 23 ference report or House amendment, as the case may be, 24 not so stricken. Any such motion in the Senate shall be 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1592.IS S1592 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1592 IS debatable. In any case in which such point of order is sus- 1 tained against a conference report (or Senate amendment 2 derived from such conference report by operation of this 3 paragraph), no further amendment shall be in order. 4 SEC. 4. WAIVER OF TIME LIMIT ON AUTHORIZATIONS. 5 (a) IN THE SENATE.— 6 (1) COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION.—If any com- 7 mittee of the Senate determines that an authoriza- 8 tion the enactment of new budget authority for a pe- 9 riod of more than 4 fiscal years is necessary to ac- 10 complish the purposes for which the authorization is 11 made, the committee may report a bill or resolution 12 containing an authorization for such longer period. 13 At the same time or later, the committee shall report 14 a resolution to the Senate providing for a waiver of 15 the 4-fiscal-year limit contained in section 3(a)(1) 16 (in this subsection referred to as a ‘‘waiver resolu- 17 tion’’) and stating the reasons why such a waiver is 18 necessary. The resolution shall be referred to the 19 Committee on the Budget of the Senate. 20 (2) REPORTING.—The Committee on the Budg- 21 et of the Senate may not amend a waiver resolution, 22 may order the waiver resolution reported favorably, 23 unfavorably, or without recommendation, as it re- 24 lates to the effect of the waiver on the ability of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1592.IS S1592 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1592 IS Committee on the Budget of the Senate to execute 1 its duties under section 703(a)(3) of the Congres- 2 sional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 623(a)(3)), 3 and shall report a waiver resolution referred under 4 paragraph (1) to the Senate not later than 10 days 5 after the waiver resolution is referred to the com- 6 mittee (not counting any day on which the Senate 7 is not in session) beginning with the day following 8 the day on which the waiver resolution is so referred, 9 accompanied by the committee’s recommendations 10 and reasons for the recommendations with respect to 11 the waiver resolution. If the Committee on the 12 Budget of the Senate does not report a waiver reso- 13 lution within the 10-day period under this para- 14 graph, the committee shall automatically be dis- 15 charged from further consideration of the waiver 16 resolution and the waiver resolution shall be placed 17 on the calendar. 18 (3) DEBATE RESTRICTIONS.—During the con- 19 sideration of any waiver resolution, debate shall be 20 limited to 1 hour, to be equally divided between, and 21 controlled by, the majority leader and minority lead- 22 er or their designees, and the time on any debatable 23 motion or appeal shall be limited to 20 minutes, to 24 be equally divided between, and controlled by the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1592.IS S1592 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1592 IS mover and the manager of the waiver resolution. In 1 the event the manager of the waiver resolution is in 2 favor of any such motion or appeal, the time in op- 3 position shall be controlled by the minority leader or 4 a designee. The leaders, or either of them, may, 5 from the time under their control on the passage of 6 the waiver resolution, allot additional time to any 7 Senator during the consideration of the debatable 8 motion or appeal. 9 (4) VOTING.—If a waiver resolution is agreed 10 to by the Senate, section 3(a)(1) shall not apply with 11 respect to the bill or resolution to which the waiver 12 resolution relates. 13 (5) OVERSIGHT HEARING.—Whenever any bill 14 or resolution is reported by a committee under para- 15 graph (1), the report accompanying the bill or reso- 16 lution shall contain a schedule of oversight hearings 17 by the committee to determine progress being made 18 toward the intended objectives of the program for 19 which the authorization is being made. 20 (b) IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.— 21 (1) COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION.—If any com- 22 mittee of the House of Representatives determines 23 that an authorization the enactment of new budget 24 authority for a period of more than 4 fiscal years is 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1592.IS S1592 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1592 IS necessary to accomplish the purposes for which the 1 authorization is made, the committee may report a 2 bill or resolution containing an authorization for 3 such longer period. At the same time or later, the 4 committee shall report a resolution to the House of 5 Representatives providing for a waiver of the 4-fis- 6 cal-year limit contained in section 3(a)(1) (in this 7 subsection referred to as a ‘‘waiver resolution’’) and 8 stating the reasons why such a waiver is necessary. 9 The resolution shall be referred to the Committee on 10 the Budget of the House of Representatives. 11 (2) REPORTING.—The Committee on the Budg- 12 et of the House of Representatives may not amend 13 a waiver resolution, may order the waiver resolution 14 reported favorably, unfavorably, or without rec- 15 ommendation, as it relates to the effect of the waiver 16 on the ability of the Committee on the Budget of the 17 House of Representatives to execute its duties under 18 section 703(a)(3) of the Congressional Budget Act 19 of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 623(a)(3)), and shall report a 20 waiver resolution referred under paragraph (1) to 21 the House of Representatives not later than 10 days 22 after the waiver resolution is referred to the com- 23 mittee (not counting any day on which the House of 24 Representatives is not in session) beginning with the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1592.IS S1592 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1592 IS day following the day on which the waiver resolution 1 is so referred, accompanied by the committee’s rec- 2 ommendations and reasons for the recommendations 3 with respect to the waiver resolution. If the Com- 4 mittee on the Budget of the House of Representa- 5 tives does not report a waiver resolution within the 6 10-day period under this paragraph, the committee 7 shall automatically be discharged from further con- 8 sideration of the waiver resolution and the waiver 9 resolution shall be placed on the calendar. 10 (3) DEBATE RESTRICTIONS.—During the con- 11 sideration of any waiver resolution, debate shall be 12 limited to 1 hour, to be equally divided between, and 13 controlled by, the Speaker of the House of Rep- 14 resentatives and minority leader of the House of 15 Representatives or their designees, and the time on 16 any debatable motion or appeal shall be limited to 17 20 minutes, to be equally divided between, and con- 18 trolled by the mover and the manager of the waiver 19 resolution. In the event the manager of the waiver 20 resolution is in favor of any such motion or appeal, 21 the time in opposition shall be controlled by the mi- 22 nority leader or a designee. The leaders, or either of 23 them, may, from the time under their control on the 24 passage of the waiver resolution, allot additional 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1592.IS S1592 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1592 IS time to any Representative during the consideration 1 of the debatable motion or appeal. 2 (4) VOTING.—If a waiver resolution is agreed 3 to by the House of Representatives, section 3(a)(1) 4 shall not apply with respect to the bill or resolution 5 to which the waiver resolution relates. 6 (5) OVERSIGHT HEARING.—Whenever any bill 7 or resolution is reported by a committee under para- 8 graph (1), the report accompanying the bill or reso- 9 lution shall contain a schedule of oversight hearings 10 by the committee to determine progress being made 11 toward the intended objectives of the program for 12 which the authorization is being made. 13 SEC. 5. ANALYSIS, APPRAISAL, AND EVALUATION OF EXIST- 14 ING PROGRAMS. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—No committee of the Senate or 16 the House of Representatives may report a bill or resolu- 17 tion authorizing the enactment of new budget authority 18 for a program for which an authorization of new budget 19 authority has previously been enacted until the committee 20 has conducted an analysis, appraisal, and evaluation of the 21 program for which continued new budget authority is pro- 22 posed to be authorized. If the authorization of the enact- 23 ment of new budget authority for any program is enacted 24 for a period of less than 4 fiscal years, the analysis, ap- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1592.IS S1592 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1592 IS praisal, and evaluation of that program required by this 1 section is only required before reporting legislation that 2 would extend the authorization of the enactment of new 3 budget authority for the fifth fiscal year commencing after 4 the effective date of this Act and every 4 years thereafter. 5 (b) COMMITTEE REPORT.—The results of the anal- 6 ysis, appraisal, and evaluation under subsection (a) shall 7 be included in the committee report on the bill or resolu- 8 tion. 9 (c) AGENCY REPORT.—Whenever a committee of the 10 Senate or the House of Representatives is conducting an 11 analysis, appraisal, and evaluation of a program, the head 12 of the agency which administers the program, or any part 13 thereof, shall submit to the committee, upon request of 14 the chairman or ranking member of the committee, an 15 analysis, appraisal, and evaluation of the program. 16 (d) JOINT HEARING.—The committees of the Senate 17 and the House of Representatives having jurisdiction of 18 a program may conduct jointly the analysis, appraisal, and 19 evaluation required by this section and may conduct joint 20 hearings. 21 (e) COMMITTEE REPORT.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The report of a committee 23 on the analysis, appraisal, and evaluation of a pro- 24 gram shall be sufficiently complete to permit a de- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1592.IS S1592 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1592 IS termination as to whether the program should be 1 terminated, modified, or continued without change, 2 and shall include— 3 (A) an identification of the objectives in- 4 tended for the program and the problem or 5 need which the program was intended to ad- 6 dress; 7 (B) whether the program objectives are 8 still relevant; 9 (C) whether the program has adhered to 10 the original and intended purpose; 11 (D) whether the program has made any 12 substantial progress toward mee [Text truncated for display. 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