[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3789 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3789

    To terminate Federal programs that are not reauthorized by the 
                               Congress.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 3, 1994

  Mr. Grams (for himself, Mr. Walker, Mr. Armey, Mr. Hutchinson, Mr. 
Bartlett of Maryland, Mr. Doolittle, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mr. Calvert, Mr. 
Linder, Mr. Knollenberg, Mr. Duncan, Mr. Gilchrest, and Mr. Sam Johnson 
of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to 
   the Committees on Rules, Government Operations, and Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To terminate Federal programs that are not reauthorized by the 
                               Congress.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Budget Accountability Act of 1994''.

SEC. 2. TERMINATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS.

    (a) Termination of Program.--A program of the Federal Government 
shall terminate--
            (1) in the case of a program for which a law, other than a 
        law making appropriations, provides a specific period for which 
        amounts are authorized to be appropriated for the program, upon 
        the expiration of that period; and
            (2) in the case of any other program, upon the adjournment 
        sine die of any Congress.
    (b) Inapplicability Requirement.--A law enacted after the date of 
enactment of this Act shall not supersede subsection (a) unless it 
explicitly states the inapplicability of that subsection.

SEC. 3. POINT OF ORDER FOR LEGISLATION NOT CONTAINING AUTHORIZATION 
              PERIOD.

    Rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``9. It shall not be in order to consider a bill, joint resolution, 
amendment, motion, conference report, concurrent resolution, or House 
resolution that authorizes or requires the performance of any act that 
would result in the obligation of appropriated amounts unless--
            ``(a) the bill, joint resolution, amendment, motion, 
        conference report, concurrent resolution, or House resolution 
        includes a provision that specifies a period for which such 
        amounts are authorized to be appropriated; or
            ``(b) there is in effect a law that authorizes, for a 
        specified period, the appropriation of amounts for performing 
        that act.''.

SEC. 4. TERMINATION OF TAX PROVISIONS.

    No tax shall be imposed by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (or 
any other internal revenue law) for any period after the close of the 
103d Congress, unless a later date for such tax to terminate is 
specified by law.

SEC. 5. POINT OF ORDER FOR TAX LEGISLATION NOT CONTAINING A TERMINATION 
              DATE.

    Rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``10. It shall not be in order to consider a bill, joint 
resolution, amendment, motion, conference report, concurrent 
resolution, or House resolution providing for any tax or any change 
affecting the revenue from any tax unless--
            ``(a) the bill, joint resolution, amendment, motion, 
        conference report, concurrent resolution, or House resolution 
        includes a provision that specifies a date on which such tax or 
        change terminates; or
            ``(b) there is in effect a law that specifies a date on 
        which such tax or change terminates.''.

SEC. 6. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) clause 2 of Rule XXI of the Rules of the House of 
        Representatives clearly prohibits the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the House of Representatives from reporting 
        in any general appropriations bill--
                    (A) appropriations not previously authorized by 
                law, and
                    (B) provisions changing existing law (except 
                retrenchments and rescissions of appropriations);
            (2) that rule should be vigorously applied;
            (3) Federal laws that affect the revenue of the Federal 
        Government--
                    (A) should be periodically reviewed by the 
                appropriate committees of the House of Representatives 
                and the Senate;
                    (B) should continue in effect after such review 
                only if determined by the Congress to be necessary for 
                the health of the economy of the United States; and
                    (C) should not be effective after such review if 
                determined by the Congress to have an adverse effect 
                upon the economy of the United States or to have 
                outlived their intended purposes; and
            (4) reducing the debt of the Federal Government is critical 
        to the long-term health of the economy of the United States.

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