Mandatory Spending Control and Accountability Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 5538 To amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to subject certain direct spending programs to annual appropriations, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 3, 2020 Mr. BYRNE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Rules, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider- ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to subject certain direct spending programs to annual appropria- 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 ‘‘Mandatory Spending 4 Control and Accountability Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Jan 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5538.IH H5538 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5538 IH SEC. 2. ANNUAL APPROPRIATIONS REQUIRED FOR DIRECT 1 SPENDING PROGRAMS. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Congressional 3 Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 632 et seq.) is amended 4 by adding after section 315 the following: 5 ‘‘ANNUAL APPROPRIATIONS REQUIRED FOR DIRECT 6 SPENDING PROGRAMS 7 ‘‘SEC. 316. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision 8 of law, in fiscal year 2021 and each fiscal year there- 9 after— 10 ‘‘(1) each direct spending program shall be subject 11 to annual discretionary appropriations; and 12 ‘‘(2) no funds may be obligated for any such program 13 using any amounts other than amounts provided in ad- 14 vance in appropriations Acts. 15 ‘‘(b) In this section, the term ‘direct spending pro- 16 gram’— 17 ‘‘(1) means— 18 ‘‘(A) any program with respect to which 19 budget authority is provided (before the date of 20 enactment of this section) by law other than ap- 21 propriation Acts; 22 ‘‘(B) any program that is funded (before 23 the date of enactment of this section) through 24 entitlement authority; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Jan 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5538.IH H5538 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5538 IH ‘‘(C) the Supplemental Nutrition Assist- 1 ance Program; and 2 ‘‘(2) does not include— 3 ‘‘(A) the old-age and survivors insurance 4 program established under title II of the Social 5 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq.), but not 6 including disability insurance benefits under 7 section 223 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 423); 8 ‘‘(B) Medicare programs; 9 ‘‘(C) all programs administered by the De- 10 partment of Veterans Affairs; and 11 ‘‘(D) the TRICARE program (as defined 12 in section 1072 of title 10, United States 13 Code).’’. 14 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 15 of such Act is amended by inserting after the item relating 16 to section 316 the following new item: 17 ‘‘Sec. 316. Annual appropriations required for direct spending programs.’’. (c) PRESIDENT’S BUDGET SUBMISSION.—Section 18 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by 19 adding at the end the following: 20 ‘‘(40) such information as is necessary for the 21 making of accurate appropriations for direct spend- 22 ing programs subject to the appropriations process, 23 and recommendations on legislative changes to bring 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Jan 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5538.IH H5538 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5538 IH spending on such programs to a sustainable basis, if 1 applicable.’’. 2 (d) RULES COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not 3 later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 4 Act, the Committee on Rules of the House of Representa- 5 tives shall submit to the House conforming amendments 6 to the Rules of the House of Representatives to effectuate 7 this title, including the requirement that the authority to 8 appropriate funds for direct spending programs subject to 9 the appropriations process is with the Committee on Ap- 10 propriations. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Jan 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H5538.IH H5538 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS