Relief From Sequestration Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2110 To amend the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to eliminate the section 251A sequestrations, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 4, 2019 Mr. SMITH of Washington (for himself, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. NADLER, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. VAN DREW, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. GALLEGO, and Ms. SLOTKIN) introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on the Budget A BILL To amend the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Con- trol Act of 1985 to eliminate the section 251A sequestra- tions, 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 ‘‘Relief From Sequestra- 4 tion Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 7 (1) Sequestration was designed as a forcing 8 mechanism for an agreement on a comprehensive 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:19 Apr 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2110.IH H2110 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 2110 IH deficit reduction plan. It has failed to produce the 1 intended results. 2 (2) The Budget Control Act of 2011 was en- 3 acted to avert a default on Federal debt obligations. 4 (3) Because the Joint Select Committee on Def- 5 icit Reduction failed to recommend legislation pro- 6 viding an additional $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction, 7 Federal law mandates that the additional savings be 8 sequestered. 9 (4) Congress must enact a comprehensive, def- 10 icit reduction plan to solve the country’s fiscal chal- 11 lenges and to promote national security, economic 12 stability, and the continued growth and prosperity of 13 the United States. 14 (5) It no longer makes sense to rely on seques- 15 tration as a forcing mechanism for a balanced solu- 16 tion. The costs to our Government and to the econ- 17 omy are too great. 18 (6) Under sequestration, damaging cuts would 19 be applied, through fiscal year 2021, to a wide vari- 20 ety of discretionary spending programs to achieve 21 $1.2 trillion in savings, forestalling the sound plan- 22 ning needed for prudent and meaningful investments 23 in national security, the workforce, transportation 24 infrastructure, education, health care, public safety, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:19 Apr 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2110.IH H2110 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 2110 IH housing, innovation, small business development, and 1 many other facets of enduring national strength. 2 (7) Even the prospect of sequestration is dis- 3 ruptive to regular order and to the congressional ap- 4 propriations process, and it fosters damaging eco- 5 nomic uncertainty, while short-term solutions only 6 suspend the prospect and continue to undermine the 7 certainty needed for economic recovery. 8 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to— 9 (1) eliminate sequestration resulting from the 10 failure of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Re- 11 duction; and 12 (2) offer the Federal Government, industry, and 13 the American people the predictability that economic 14 recovery demands. 15 SEC. 3. REPEAL OF SECTION 251A SEQUESTRATIONS. 16 (a) REPEALER.—Section 251A of the Balanced 17 Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 is re- 18 pealed. 19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The item relating 20 to section 251A in the table of contents set forth in section 21 250(a) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 22 Control Act of 1985 is repealed. 23 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:19 Apr 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2110.IH H2110 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS