Bipartisan Congressional Budget Reform Act

II Calendar No. 306 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2765 To improve Federal fiscal controls and the congressional budget process. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES OCTOBER 31, 2019 Mr. ENZI (for himself, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. KAINE, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. KING, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. COONS, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. PERDUE, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. BRAUN, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Mr. WARNER, and Mr. CORNYN) intro- duced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- mittee on the Budget NOVEMBER 13, 2019 Reported by Mr. ENZI, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To improve Federal fiscal controls and the congressional budget process. 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 ‘‘Bipartisan Congres- 4 sional Budget Reform Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:03 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2765.RS S2765 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2765 RS SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 2 Sec. 1. Short title. Sec. 2. Table of contents. TITLE I—BUDGET TIMELINE AND INFORMATION Sec. 101. Revision of timetable. Sec. 102. Budget submissions by the President. Sec. 103. Baseline construction. Sec. 104. Report on debt to GDP targets. TITLE II—BIENNIAL BUDGETING, CONTENTS OF BUDGET RESOLUTION, AND BIPARTISAN BUDGETS Sec. 201. Biennial budgeting generally. Sec. 202. Contents of concurrent resolution on the budget. Sec. 203. Additional matters relating to concurrent resolution. Sec. 204. Committee allocations. Sec. 205. Section 303 point of order. Sec. 206. Permissible revisions of concurrent resolutions on the budget. Sec. 207. Procedures for consideration of budget resolutions. Sec. 208. Completion of House action on appropriation bills. Sec. 209. Reconciliation process. Sec. 210. Section 311 point of order. Sec. 211. Maximum deficit amount point of order. TITLE III—COMMITTEE ON FISCAL CONTROL AND THE BUDGET Sec. 301. Committee on Fiscal Control and the Budget of the Senate. Sec. 302. Technical and conforming amendments. Sec. 303. References. TITLE IV—SPECIAL RECONCILIATION INSTRUCTIONS Sec. 401. Special reconciliation instructions. TITLE V—CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET ENFORCEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY Sec. 501. Up-to-date tabulations of congressional budget action. Sec. 502. Surgical strike point of order relating to legislation dealing with the congressional budget. Sec. 503. Global waiver for general budget points of order. Sec. 504. Effective date. TITLE VI—REPORTS Sec. 601. Reports to the Committee on Fiscal Control and the Budget of the Senate and the Committee on the Budget of the House of Rep- resentatives. Sec. 602. Reporting on interest effects and budgetary effects. Sec. 603. Portfolio budgeting. Sec. 604. Budget contents and submission to Congress. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:03 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6411 E:\BILLS\S2765.RS S2765 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2765 RS TITLE VII—MODIFICATION OF CONSIDERATION OF BUDGET RESOLUTION Sec. 701. Modification of consideration of budget resolution. TITLE VIII—EFFECTIVE DATE Sec. 801. Effective date; applicability. TITLE I—BUDGET TIMELINE AND 1 INFORMATION 2 SEC. 101. REVISION OF TIMETABLE. 3 Section 300 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 4 (2 U.S.C. 631) is amended to read as follows: 5 ‘‘SEC. 300. TIMETABLE. 6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 7 (b), the timetable with respect to the congressional budget 8 process for any Congress is as follows: 9 ‘‘First Session On or before: Action to be completed: First Monday in February ........ President submits budget recommendations. February 15 ............................... Congressional Budget Office submits report to the Committee on the Budget of the House of Representatives and the Com- mittee on Fiscal Control and the Budget of the Senate. March 1 ..................................... Committees submit views and estimates to the Committee on the Budget of the House of Representatives and the Com- mittee on Fiscal Control and the Budget of the Senate. April 1 ....................................... Committee on Fiscal Control and the Budget of the Senate reports concurrent resolution on the biennial budget. May 15 ....................................... Congress completes action on concurrent res- olution on the biennial budget. May 15 ....................................... Appropriation bills may be considered in the House of Representatives. June 10 ...................................... Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives reports last appropria- tion bill. June 30 ...................................... House of Representatives completes action on appropriation bills. October 1 ................................... First fiscal year of biennium begins. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:03 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2765.RS S2765 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2765 RS ‘‘First Session—Continued December 1 ................................ President submits an administrative budget. ‘‘Second Session On or before: Action to be completed: February 15 ............................... Congressional Budget Office submits report to the Committee on the Budget of the House of Representatives and the Com- mittee on Fiscal Control and the Budget of the Senate. February 15 ............................... Congressional Budget Office releases report on achieving debt to GDP ratio. March 15 ................................... President submits budget update for the sec- ond fiscal year of the biennium. April 15 ..................................... Committee on Fiscal Control and the Budget of the Senate reports a special reconcili- ation resolution. May 15 ....................................... Committees submit recommendations for spe- cial reconciliation bill. May 15 ....................................... Appropriation bills may be considered in the House of Representatives. June 10 ...................................... Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives reports last appropria- tion bill. June 30 ...................................... House of Representatives completes action on appropriation bills. July 30 ....................................... Congress completes action on special rec- onciliation bill. October 1 ................................... Second fiscal year of biennium begins December 1 ................................ President submits an administrative budget. ‘‘(b) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN FIRST SES- 1 SIONS.—In the case of any first session of Congress that 2 begins in any year immediately following a leap year and 3 during which the term of a President (except a President 4 who succeeds himself or herself) begins, the following 5 dates shall supersede those set forth in subsection (a): 6 ‘‘First Session On or before: Action to be completed: First Monday in April ............... President submits budget recommendations. April 15 ..................................... Congressional Budget Office submits report to the Committee on the Budget of the House of Representatives and the Com- mittee on Fiscal Control and the Budget of the Senate. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:03 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2765.RS S2765 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2765 RS ‘‘First Session—Continued May 1 ......................................... Committees submit views and estimates to the Committee on the Budget of the House of Representatives and the Com- mittee on Fiscal Control and the Budget of the Senate. June 1 ........................................ Committee on Fiscal Control and the Budget of the Senate reports concurrent resolution on the biennial budget. June 15 ...................................... Congress completes action on concurrent res- olution on the biennial budget. June 15 ...................................... Appropriation bills may be considered in the House of Representatives. June 30 ...................................... Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives reports last appropria- tion bill. July 15 ....................................... House of Representatives completes action on appropriation bills. October 1 ................................... First fiscal year of biennium begins. December 1 ................................ President submits an administrative budg- et.’’. SEC. 102. BUDGET SUBMISSIONS BY THE PRESIDENT. 1 (a) DEFINITION.—Section 1101 of title 31, United 2 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 3 lowing: 4 ‘‘(3) ‘biennium’ has the meaning given that 5 term in paragraph (12) of section 3 of the Congres- 6 sional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 7 1974 (2 U.S.C. 622).’’. 8 (b) BUDGET CONTENTS AND SUBMISSION TO THE 9 CONGRESS.— 10 (1) SCHEDULE.—The matter preceding para- 11 graph (1) in section 1105(a) of title 31, United 12 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 13 ‘‘(a) On or before the first Monday in February of 14 each odd-numbered year (or, if applicable under section 15 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:03 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2765.RS S2765 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2765 RS 300(b) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 1 631(b)), the first Monday in April of an odd-numbered 2 year), the President shall transmit to the Congress, the 3 budget for the biennium beginning on October 1 of such 4 calendar year. The budget of the United States Govern- 5 ment transmitted under this subsection shall include a 6 budget message and summary and supporting informa- 7 tion. The President shall include in each budget the fol- 8 lowing:’’. 9 (2) EXPENDITURES.—Section 1105(a)(5) of 10 title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking 11 ‘‘the fiscal year for which the budget is submitted 12 and the 4 fiscal years after that year’’ and inserting 13 ‘‘each fiscal year in the biennium for which the 14 budget is submitted and in the succeeding 4 fiscal 15 years’’. 16 (3) RECEIPTS.—Section 1105(a)(6) of title 31, 17 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘the fis- 18 cal year for which the budget is submitted and the 19 4 fiscal years after that year’’ and inserting ‘‘each 20 fiscal year in the biennium for which the budget is 21 submitted and in the succeeding 4 years’’. 22 (4) BALANCE STATEMENTS.—Section 23 1105(a)(9)(C) of title 31, United States Code, is 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:03 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2765.RS S2765 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 2765 RS amended by striking ‘‘the fiscal year’’ and inserting 1 ‘‘each fiscal year in the biennium’’. 2 (5) FUNCTIONS AND ACTIVITIES.—Section 3 1105(a)(12) of title 31, United States Code, is 4 amended— 5 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘the 6 fiscal year’’ and inserting ‘‘each fiscal year in 7 the biennium’’; and 8 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘that 9 year’’ and inserting ‘‘that biennium’’. 10 (6) ALLOWANCES.—Section 1105(a)(13) of title 11 31, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘the 12 fiscal year’’ and inserting ‘‘each fiscal year in the bi- 13 ennium’’. 14 (7) ALLOWANCES FOR UNCONTROLLED EX- 15 PENDITURES.—Section 1105(a)(14) of title 31, 16 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘that 17 year’’ and inserting ‘‘each fiscal year in the bien- 18 nium for which the budget is submitted’’. 19 (8) TAX EXPENDITURES.—Section 1105(a)(16) 20 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by strik- 21 ing ‘‘the fiscal year’’ and inserting ‘‘each fiscal year 22 in the biennium’’. 23 (9) FUTURE YEARS.—Section 1105(a)(17) of 24 title 31, United States Code, is amended— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:03 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2765.RS S2765 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 2765 RS (A) by striking ‘‘the fiscal year following 1 the fiscal year’’ and inserting ‘‘each fiscal year 2 in the biennium following the biennium’’; 3 (B) by striking ‘‘that following fiscal year’’ 4 and inserting ‘‘each such fiscal year’’; and 5 (C) by striking ‘‘fiscal year before the fis- 6 cal year’’ and inserting ‘‘biennium before the bi- 7 ennium’’. 8 (10) PRIOR YEAR OUTLAYS.—Section 9 1105(a)(18) of title 31, United States Code, is 10 amended— 11 (A) by striking ‘‘the prior fiscal year’’ and 12 inserting ‘‘each of the 2 most recently com- 13 pleted fiscal years’’; 14 (B) by striking ‘‘for that year’’ and insert- 15 ing ‘‘with respect to those fiscal years’’; and 16 (C) by striking ‘‘in that year’’ and insert- 17 ing ‘‘in those fiscal years’’. 18 (11) PRIOR YEAR RECEIPTS.—Section 19 1105(a)(19) of title 31, United States Code, is 20 amended— 21 (A) by striking ‘‘the prior fiscal year’’ and 22 inserting ‘‘each of the 2 most recently com- 23 pleted fiscal years’’; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:03 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2765.RS S2765 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 2765 RS (B) by striking ‘‘for that year’’ and insert- 1 ing ‘‘with respect to those fiscal years’’; and 2 (C) by striking ‘‘in that year’’ each place 3 it appears and inserting ‘‘in those fiscal years’’. 4 (12) HOMELAND SECURITY.—Section 5 1105(a)(35)(A)(i) of title 31, United States Code, is 6 amended, in the matter preceding subclause (I), by 7 striking ‘‘the fiscal years for which the budget is 8 submitted’’ and inserting ‘‘each fiscal year in the bi- 9 ennium for which the budget is submitted’’. 10 (13) EESA.—Section 1105(a)(36) of title 31, 11 United States Code, is amended, in the matter pre- 12 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘the fiscal year 13 for which the budget is submitted’’ and inserting 14 ‘‘each fiscal year in the biennium for which the 15 budget is submitted’’. 16 (14) VETERANS HEALTH.—Section 1105(a)(37) 17 of title 31, United States Code, is amended, in the 18 matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘the 19 fiscal year for which the budget is submitted’’ and 20 inserting ‘‘each fiscal year in the biennium for which 21 the budget is submitted’’. 22 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS TO MEET ESTIMATED DEFI- 23 CIENCIES.—Section 1105(c) of title 31, United States 24 Code, is amended— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:03 Nov 13, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2765.RS S2765 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 2765 RS (1) by striking ‘‘the fiscal year for’’ the first 1 place it appears and inserting ‘‘each fiscal year in 2 the biennium for’’; 3 (2) by strik [Text truncated for display. 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