RAFT Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 5178 To amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to provide for procedures to meet a target ratio of public debt to gross domestic product, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOVEMBER 19, 2019 Mr. BURCHETT (for himself, Mr. CASE, and Mr. WOMACK) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Rules, and in addi- tion to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently de- termined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to provide for procedures to meet a target ratio of public debt to gross domestic product, 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 ‘‘Reforming America’s 4 Fiscal Toolkit Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘RAFT Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 Nov 30, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5178.IH H5178 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 5178 IH SEC. 2. RATIO OF PUBLIC DEBT TO GDP INCLUDED IN CON- 1 CURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 301(a) of the Congres- 3 sional Budget Act of 1974 is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ 4 at the end of paragraph (6), by striking the period and 5 inserting ‘‘; and’’ at the end of paragraph (7), and by add- 6 ing after paragraph (7) the following: 7 ‘‘(8) the recommended ratio of the public debt 8 to the estimated gross domestic product.’’. 9 (b) DEFINITION OF GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT.— 10 Section 3 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment 11 Control Act of 1974 is amended by adding at the end the 12 following new paragraph: 13 ‘‘(12) The term ‘gross domestic product’ means 14 the gross domestic product of the United States, as 15 determined by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of 16 the Department of Commerce.’’. 17 SEC. 3. INSTRUCTIONS TO COMMITTEES ON MEETING TAR- 18 GET RATIO OF PUBLIC DEBT TO GDP IN- 19 CLUDED IN CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON 20 THE BUDGET. 21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Congressional 22 Budget Act of 1974 is amended by adding at the end the 23 following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 Nov 30, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5178.IH H5178 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 5178 IH ‘‘INSTRUCTIONS FOR RATIO OF THE PUBLIC DEBT TO 1 THE ESTIMATED GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT 2 ‘‘SEC. 316. (a) IN GENERAL.—A concurrent resolu- 3 tion on the budget for an even-numbered fiscal year shall 4 either— 5 ‘‘(1) include instructions to one or more committees 6 to determine and recommend changes in existing law nec- 7 essary to achieve the ratio of the public debt to the esti- 8 mated gross domestic product as set forth in that resolu- 9 tion; or 10 ‘‘(2) request that the Speaker and the minority leader 11 of the House of Representatives and majority and minor- 12 ity leaders of the Senate publish a statement in the Con- 13 gressional Record establishing the Joint Select Committee 14 on Fiscal Responsibility under section 317. 15 ‘‘(b) COMPLIANCE.—The committee or committees 16 (as the case may be) receiving instructions as described 17 in subsection (a) shall be deemed to have complied with 18 the required net reduction in the public debt set forth in 19 such instructions, as required by subsection (a), if— 20 ‘‘(1) the amount of changes are not less than 21 80 percent of the total amount of changes assigned 22 to the committee or committees (as the case may be) 23 in such instructions necessary to achieve the reduc- 24 tion in the debt; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 Nov 30, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5178.IH H5178 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 5178 IH ‘‘(2) the chair of the Committees on the Budget 1 of the House of Representatives or the Senate, as 2 applicable, submits a statement to the Congressional 3 Record certifying that paragraph (1) has been com- 4 plied with. 5 ‘‘(c) FAILURE TO COMPLY.—The Committee on the 6 Budget of the House of Representatives or the Senate 7 shall recommend changes in existing law necessary to 8 achieve changes specified by directives described in sub- 9 section (a) contained in a concurrent resolution on the 10 budget if a minority of the committees so instructed fail 11 to submit recommended changes to its Committee on the 12 Budget pursuant to its instruction. 13 ‘‘(d) CBO ESTIMATES.—The Congressional Budget 14 Office shall provide estimates of the legislative text consid- 15 ered under this section in accordance with sections 308(a) 16 and 201(f). 17 ‘‘(e) LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURE.—If a concurrent 18 resolution containing directives to one or more committees 19 to determine and recommend changes in laws, bills, or res- 20 olutions is agreed to in accordance with subsection (a), 21 and— 22 ‘‘(1) only one committee of the House or the 23 Senate is directed to determine and recommend 24 changes, that committee shall promptly make such 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 Nov 30, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5178.IH H5178 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 5178 IH determination and recommendations and report to 1 its House legislation containing such recommenda- 2 tions; or 3 ‘‘(2) more than one committee of the House or 4 the Senate is directed to determine and recommend 5 changes, each such committee so directed shall 6 promptly make such determination and rec- 7 ommendations and submit such recommendations to 8 the Committee on the Budget of its House, which 9 upon receiving all such recommendations, shall re- 10 port to its House legislation carrying out all such 11 recommendations. 12 ‘‘(f) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION IN THE SENATE.— 13 ‘‘(1) MOTION TO PROCEED.—Notwithstanding 14 Rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, it 15 is in order, not later than 3 days of session after the 16 date on which a bill is reported pursuant to sub- 17 section (e) from all committees to which it was re- 18 ferred, for the majority leader of the Senate or the 19 majority leader’s designee to move to proceed to the 20 consideration of the bill. It shall also be in order for 21 any Member of the Senate to move to proceed to the 22 consideration of the bill at any time after the conclu- 23 sion of such 2-day period. A motion to proceed is in 24 order even though a previous motion to the same ef- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 Nov 30, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5178.IH H5178 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 5178 IH fect has been disagreed to. All points of order 1 against the motion to proceed to the bill are waived. 2 The motion to proceed is not debatable. The motion 3 is not subject to a motion to postpone. A motion to 4 reconsider the vote by which the motion is agreed to 5 or disagreed to shall not be in order. If a motion to 6 proceed to the consideration of the bill is agreed to, 7 the bill shall remain the unfinished business until 8 disposed of. 9 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATION.—All points of order 10 against the bill and against consideration of the bill 11 are waived. Consideration of the bill and of all de- 12 batable motions and appeals in connection therewith 13 shall not exceed a total of 20 hours which shall be 14 divided equally between the majority and minority 15 leaders or their designees. A motion further to limit 16 debate on the bill is in order, shall require an af- 17 firmative vote of three-fifths of the Members duly 18 chosen and sworn, and is not debatable. Any debat- 19 able motion or appeal is debatable for not to exceed 20 1 hour, to be divided equally between those favoring 21 and those opposing the motion or appeal. All time 22 used for consideration of the bill, including time 23 used for quorum calls and voting, shall be counted 24 against the total 20 hours of consideration. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 Nov 30, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5178.IH H5178 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 5178 IH ‘‘(3) AMENDMENTS.—It shall not be in order in 1 the Senate to offer any amendments. 2 ‘‘(4) VOTE ON PASSAGE.—Passage of the bill 3 shall require an affirmative vote of a simple majority 4 of the Members, duly chosen and sworn. 5 ‘‘(5) RULINGS OF THE CHAIR ON PROCE- 6 DURE.—Appeals from the decisions of the Chair re- 7 lating to the application of the rules of the Senate, 8 as the case may be, to the procedure relating to a 9 bill shall be decided without debate. 10 ‘‘(g) CONSIDERATION BY THE SENATE.— 11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If, before passing the bill 12 under this section, the Senate receives from the 13 House of Representatives a bill— 14 ‘‘(A) the bill of the House shall not be re- 15 ferred to a committee of jurisdiction; and 16 ‘‘(B) the procedure in the Senate shall be 17 the same as if no bill had been received from 18 the House until the vote on passage, when the 19 bill received from the House shall supplant the 20 bill of the Senate. 21 ‘‘(2) RULES TO COORDINATE ACTION.— 22 ‘‘(A) TREATMENT OF BILL.—If the Senate 23 fails to introduce or consider a bill under this 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 Nov 30, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5178.IH H5178 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 5178 IH section, the bill of the House of Representatives 1 shall be entitled to expedited floor procedures. 2 ‘‘(B) VETOES.—If the President vetoes the 3 bill, debate on a veto message in the Senate 4 under this section shall be 1 hour equally di- 5 vided between the majority and minority leaders 6 or their designees. 7 ‘‘JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE ON FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY 8 ‘‘SEC. 317. (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—If by the earlier 9 of the date that a statement is published under section 10 316(a)(2) or the date that is the last day of the first ses- 11 sion of any Congress (beginning with the One Hundred 12 Seventeenth Congress) a bill is not enacted into law pursu- 13 ant to section 316, there is established a joint committee 14 of Congress to be known as the ‘Joint Select Committee 15 on Fiscal Responsibility’. 16 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 17 ‘‘(1) JOINT COMMITTEE.—The term ‘joint com- 18 mittee’ means the Joint Select Committee on Fiscal 19 Responsibility established under subsection (a). 20 ‘‘(2) JOINT COMMITTEE BILL.—The term ‘joint 21 committee bill’ means a bill consisting of the legisla- 22 tive text of the joint committee recommended under 23 subsection (d)(1)(B). 24 ‘‘(c) DUTIES; COMPLIANCE; RECOMMENDATIONS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 Nov 30, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5178.IH H5178 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 5178 IH ‘‘(1) DUTIES.—The duty of the joint committee 1 shall be to recommend changes in existing law to 2 achieve the ratio of the public debt to the estimated 3 gross domestic product in the most recently adopted 4 concurrent resolution on the budget. 5 ‘‘(2) COMPLIANCE.—The joint committee shall 6 be deemed to have complied with the required net 7 reduction in the public debt set forth in the instruc- 8 tions in the most recently adopted concurrent resolu- 9 tion on the budget, as required by section 316 of the 10 Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (as added by sec- 11 tion 301(b)(1))— 12 ‘‘(A) if the amount of changes are not less 13 than 80 percent of the total amount of changes 14 necessary to achieve the reduction in the debt; 15 and 16 ‘‘(B) the chairs of the Committees on the 17 Budget of the House of Representatives and the 18 Senate jointly submit a statement to the Con- 19 gressional Record certifying that subparagraph 20 (A) has been complied with. 21 ‘‘(d) REPORT, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND LEGISLA- 22 TIVE TEXT.— 23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—By April 30 of an odd- 24 numbered year, the joint committee shall vote on— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 Nov 30, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5178.IH H5178 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 5178 IH ‘‘(A) a report that contains a detailed 1 statement of the findings, conclusions, and rec- 2 ommendations of the joint committee and an 3 estimate of the Congressional Budget Office 4 pursuant to paragraph (6); and 5 ‘‘(B) legislative text to carry out such rec- 6 ommendations as described in the duties set 7 forth in subsection (c)(1). 8 ‘‘(2) APPROVAL.—The report of the joint com- 9 mittee and the legislative text described in para- 10 graph (1) shall only be approved upon receiving the 11 votes of— 12 ‘‘(A) a majority of joint committee mem- 13 bers appointed by the Speaker of the House of 14 Representatives and the leader of the Senate of 15 the same political party as the Speaker; and 16 ‘‘(B) a majority of joint committee mem- 17 bers appointed by the minority leader of the 18 House of Representatives and the leader of the 19 Senate of the same political party as the minor- 20 ity leader of the House of Representatives. 21 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL VIEWS.—A member of the 22 joint committee who gives notice of an intention to 23 file supplemental, minority, or additional views at 24 the time of the final joint committee vote on the ap- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 Nov 30, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5178.IH H5178 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 5178 IH proval of the report and legislative language under 1 paragraph (2) shall be entitled to 2 calendar days 2 after the day of such notice in which to file such 3 views in writing with the co-chairs. Such views shall 4 then be included in the joint committee report and 5 printed in the same volume, or part thereof, and 6 their inclusion shall be noted on the cover of the re- 7 port. In the absence of timely notice, the joint com- 8 mittee report may be printed and transmitted imme- 9 diately without such views. 10 ‘‘(4) TRANSMISSION OF REPORT AND LEGISLA- 11 TIVE TEXT.—If the report and legislative text are 12 approved by the joint committee pursuant to para- 13 graph (2), then not later than 10 days after the date 14 of such approval, the joint committee shall submit 15 its report and legislative text described in paragraph 16 (1) to the Speaker of the House of Representatives 17 and the majority and minority leaders of each House 18 of Congress. 19 ‘‘(5) REPORT AND LEGISLATIVE LANGUAGE TO 20 BE MADE PUBLIC.—Upon the approval or dis- 21 approval of the joint committee report and legislative 22 text pursuant to paragraph (2), the joint committee 23 shall promptly make the full report and legislative 24 text, and a record of the vote, available to the public. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 Nov 30, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]