Congressional Power of the Purse Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3889 To amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to strengthen congressional control and review, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 4, 2020 Mr. LEAHY (for himself, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. COONS, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. WHITE- HOUSE, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. SANDERS, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. TESTER, Mr. UDALL, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. REED, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. MURPHY, and Mr. MANCHIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and re- ferred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Con- trol Act of 1974 to strengthen congressional control and review, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Congressional Power of the Purse Act’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:46 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S3889.IS S3889 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3889 IS TITLE I—STRENGTHENING CONGRESSIONAL CONTROL AND REVIEW TO PREVENT IMPOUNDMENT Sec. 101. Strengthening congressional control. Sec. 102. Strengthening congressional review. Sec. 103. Updated authorities for and reporting by the Comptroller General. Sec. 104. Advance congressional notification and litigation. Sec. 105. Penalties for failure to comply with the Impoundment Control Act of 1974. TITLE II—STRENGTHENING TRANSPARENCY AND REPORTING Subtitle A—Funds Management and Reporting to the Congress Sec. 201. Expired balance reporting in the President’s budget. Sec. 202. Cancelled balance reporting in the President’s budget. Sec. 203. Lapse in appropriations reporting in the President’s budget. Sec. 204. Transfer and other repurposing authority reporting in the President’s budget. Sec. 205. Authorizing cancellations in indefinite accounts by appropriation. Subtitle B—Empowering Congressional Review Through Nonpartisan Congressional Agencies and Transparency Initiatives Sec. 211. Requirement to respond to requests for information from the Govern- ment Accountability Office for budget and appropriations law decisions. Sec. 212. Reporting requirements for Antideficiency Act violations. Sec. 213. Department of Justice reporting to Congress for Antideficiency Act violations. Sec. 214. Publication of budget or appropriations law opinions of the Depart- ment of Justice Office of Legal Counsel. TITLE III—STRENGTHENING CONGRESSIONAL ROLE IN AND OVERSIGHT OF EMERGENCY DECLARATIONS AND DESIGNATIONS Sec. 301. Improving checks and balances on the use of the National Emer- gencies Act. Sec. 302. National Emergencies Act declaration spending reporting in the President’s budget. Sec. 303. Emergency and overseas contingency operations designations by Con- gress in statute. VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:46 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S3889.IS S3889 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3889 IS TITLE I—STRENGTHENING CON- 1 GRESSIONAL CONTROL AND 2 REVIEW TO PREVENT IM- 3 POUNDMENT 4 SEC. 101. STRENGTHENING CONGRESSIONAL CONTROL. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part B of the Impoundment Con- 6 trol Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 681 et seq.) is amended by 7 adding at the end the following: 8 ‘‘PRUDENT OBLIGATION OF BUDGET AUTHORITY AND 9 SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS FOR EXPIRING BUDGET 10 AUTHORITY 11 ‘‘SEC. 1018. (a) SPECIAL MESSAGE REQUIRE- 12 MENT.—With respect to budget authority proposed to be 13 rescinded or that is set to be reserved or proposed to be 14 deferred in a special message transmitted under section 15 1012 or 1013, such budget authority— 16 ‘‘(1) shall be made available for obligation in 17 sufficient time to be prudently obligated as required 18 under section 1012(b) or 1013; and 19 ‘‘(2) may not be deferred or otherwise withheld 20 from obligation during the 90-day period before the 21 expiration of the period of availability of such budget 22 authority, including, if applicable, the 90-day period 23 before the expiration of an initial period of avail- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:46 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3889.IS S3889 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3889 IS ability for which such budget authority was pro- 1 vided. 2 ‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENT.—With respect 3 to an apportionment of an appropriation (as that term is 4 defined in section 1511 of title 31, United States Code) 5 made pursuant to section 1512 of such title, an appropria- 6 tion shall be apportioned— 7 ‘‘(1) to make available all amounts for obliga- 8 tion in sufficient time to be prudently obligated; and 9 ‘‘(2) to make available all amounts for obliga- 10 tion, without precondition or limitation (including 11 footnotes) that shall be met prior to obligation, not 12 later than 90 days before the expiration of the pe- 13 riod of availability of such appropriation, including, 14 if applicable, 90 days before the expiration of an ini- 15 tial period of availability for which such appropria- 16 tion was provided.’’. 17 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 18 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control 19 Act of 1974 set forth in section 1(b) of such Act is amend- 20 ed by inserting after the item relating to section 1017 the 21 following: 22 ‘‘1018. Prudent obligation of budget authority and specific requirements for ex- piring budget authority.’’. VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:46 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S3889.IS S3889 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3889 IS SEC. 102. STRENGTHENING CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part B of the Impoundment Con- 2 trol Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 681 et seq.), as amended by 3 section 101(a), is further amended by adding at the end 4 the following: 5 ‘‘REPORTING 6 ‘‘SEC. 1019. (a) APPORTIONMENT OF APPROPRIA- 7 TIONS.— 8 ‘‘(1) AUTOMATED SYSTEM.— 9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 10 days after the date of enactment of this section, 11 the Office of Management and Budget shall— 12 ‘‘(i) complete implementation of an 13 automated system to post on a public 14 Internet website, not later than 2 business 15 days after the date of approval of an ap- 16 portionment, each document apportioning 17 an appropriation, pursuant to section 18 1513(b) of title 31, United States Code, 19 including any associated footnotes, in a 20 format that qualifies each such document 21 as an Open Government Data Asset (as 22 defined in section 3502 of title 44, United 23 States Code); and 24 ‘‘(ii) post on such website each docu- 25 ment apportioning an appropriation, pur- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:46 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3889.IS S3889 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3889 IS suant to such section 1513(b), including 1 any associated footnotes, already approved 2 for the fiscal year. 3 ‘‘(B) REPORTING.—The Office of Manage- 4 ment and Budget shall submit to the Com- 5 mittee on the Budget and the Committee on 6 Appropriations of the House of Representatives 7 and the Committee on the Budget and the 8 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate a 9 report reflecting the date of completion of the 10 requirements under subparagraph (A). 11 ‘‘(2) EXPLANATORY STATEMENT.—Each docu- 12 ment apportioning an appropriation that is posted 13 on a publicly accessible website under paragraph (1) 14 shall include a written explanation by each officer or 15 employee approving the apportionment (pursuant to 16 section 1513(b) of title 31, United States Code) of 17 the rationale for any footnotes. 18 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL PROCESS FOR TRANSMITTING 19 CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTATION TO THE CONGRESS.— 20 The Office of Management and Budget or the appli- 21 cable department or agency shall make available 22 classified documentation relating to apportionment 23 to appropriate congressional committees on a quar- 24 terly basis. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:46 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3889.IS S3889 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3889 IS ‘‘(4) DEPARTMENT AND AGENCY REPORT.— 1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each department or 2 agency shall notify the Committee on the Budg- 3 et and the Committee on Appropriations of the 4 House of Representatives, the Committee on 5 the Budget and the Committee on Appropria- 6 tions of the Senate, and any other appropriate 7 congressional committees if— 8 ‘‘(i) an apportionment is not made in 9 the required time period provided in sec- 10 tion 1513(b) of title 31, United States 11 Code; 12 ‘‘(ii) an approved apportionment re- 13 ceived by the department or agency condi- 14 tions the availability of an appropriation 15 on further action; or 16 ‘‘(iii) an approved apportionment re- 17 ceived by the department or agency may 18 hinder the prudent obligation of such ap- 19 propriation or the execution of a program, 20 project, or activity by such department or 21 agency. 22 ‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION CONTENTS.—Each no- 23 tification under subparagraph (A) shall contain 24 information identifying the department, agency, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:46 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3889.IS S3889 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3889 IS or bureau, account name, appropriation name, 1 and Treasury Appropriation Fund Symbol or 2 fund account. 3 ‘‘(b) APPROVING OFFICIALS.— 4 ‘‘(1) DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY.— 5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On the date of any 6 delegation of apportionment authority pursuant 7 to section 1513(b) of title 31, United States 8 Code, made after the date of enactment of this 9 section, the Office of Management and Budget 10 shall submit the delegation for publication in 11 the Federal Register. 12 ‘‘(B) CURRENT FISCAL YEAR.—Not later 13 than 15 days after the date of enactment of 14 this section, the Office of Management and 15 Budget shall submit for publication in the Fed- 16 eral Register each delegation of apportionment 17 authority pursuant to section 1513(b) of title 18 31, United States Code, that is in effect as of 19 such date. 20 ‘‘(C) FORMAT; UPDATING.—The Office of 21 Management and Budget shall— 22 ‘‘(i) publish delegations under sub- 23 paragraphs (A) and (B) in a format that 24 qualifies such publications as an Open 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:46 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3889.IS S3889 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3889 IS Government Data Asset (as defined in sec- 1 tion 3502 of title 44, United States Code) 2 on a public Internet website; and 3 ‘‘(ii) continuously update the each 4 such delegation with the position of each 5 Federal officer or employee to whom ap- 6 portionment authority has been delegated. 7 ‘‘(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 5 8 days after the date on which any change in the posi- 9 tion of the approving official with respect to any del- 10 egated apportionment authority for any account is 11 made, the Office of Management and Budget shall 12 submit a report to the Congress explaining why such 13 change was made.’’. 14 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 15 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control 16 Act of 1974 set forth in section 1(b) of such Act, as 17 amended by section 101(b) of this Act, is further amended 18 by inserting after the item relating to section 1018 the 19 following: 20 ‘‘1019. Reporting.’’. SEC. 103. UPDATED AUTHORITIES FOR AND REPORTING BY 21 THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL. 22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1015 of the Impoundment 23 Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 686) is amended— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:46 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3889.IS S3889 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3889 IS (1) in subsection (a), in the matter following 1 paragraph (2), by striking the last sentence; and 2 (2) by adding at the end the following: 3 ‘‘(c) REVIEW.— 4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General 5 shall— 6 ‘‘(A) review compliance with this part; and 7 ‘‘(B) submit a report, and any relevant in- 8 formation related to the report, on any non- 9 compliance with this part to— 10 ‘‘(i) the Committee on the Budget, the 11 Committee on Appropriations, and the 12 Committee on Oversight and Reform of the 13 House of Representatives; 14 ‘‘(ii) the Committee on the Budget, 15 the Committee on Appropriations, and the 16 Committee on Homeland Security and 17 Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 18 ‘‘(iii) any other appropriate congres- 19 sional committee of the House of Rep- 20 resentatives and Senate. 21 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION, DOCUMENTATION, AND 22 VIEWS.—The President or the head of the relevant 23 department or agency of the United States shall pro- 24 vide information, documentation, and views to the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:46 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3889.IS S3889 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3889 IS Comptroller General, as is determined by the Comp- 1 troller General to be necessary to determine such 2 compliance— 3 ‘‘(A) not later than 20 days after the date 4 on which the request from the Comptroller Gen- 5 eral is received; or 6 ‘‘(B) if the Comptroller General determines 7 that a shorter or longer period is appropriate 8 based on the specific circumstances, within such 9 shorter or longer period. 10 ‘‘(3) ACCESS.—To carry out the responsibilities 11 of this part, the Comptroller General shall have ac- 12 cess to interview the officers, employees, contractors, 13 and other agents and representatives of a depart- 14 ment, agency, or office of the United States at any 15 reasonable time as the Comptroller General may re- 16 quest.’’. 17 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Section 1001 of the 18 Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 681) is 19 amended— 20 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking the ‘‘or’’ at 21 the end; 22 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at 23 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 24 (3) by adding at the end the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:46 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3889.IS S3889 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 3889 IS ‘‘(5) affecting or limiting in any way the au- 1 thorities provided to the Comptroller General under 2 chapter 7 of title 31, United States Code.’’. 3 SEC. 104. ADVANCE CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION AND 4 LITIGATION. 5 Section 1016 of the Impoundment Control Act of 6 1974 (2 U.S.C. 687) is amended to read as follows: 7 ‘ [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]