[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4914 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4914

              To reform the concept of baseline budgeting.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 5, 1994

 Mr. Stenholm (for himself, Mr. Penny, and Mr. Kasich) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred jointly to the Committees on 
                    Government Operations and Rules

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
              To reform the concept of baseline budgeting.

    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 ``Baseline Reform Act of 1994''.

SEC. 2. THE BASELINE.

    (a) Except for purposes of adjusting the discretionary spending 
limits set forth in section 601(a)(2) of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974, section 257(c) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 
Control Act of 1985 is amended--
            (1) in the second sentence of paragraph (1), by striking 
        ``sequentially and cumulatively'' and by striking ``for 
        inflation as specified in paragraph (5),''; and
            (2) and by redesignating paragraph (6) as paragraph (5).
    (b) Section 1109(a) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by 
adding after the first sentence the following new sentence: ``These 
estimates shall not include an adjustment for inflation for programs 
and activities subject to discretionary appropriations.''.

SEC. 3. THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET.

    (a) Paragraph (5) of section 1105(a) of title 31, United States 
Code, is amended to read as follows:
            ``(5) except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, 
        estimated expenditures and appropriations for the current year 
        and estimated expenditures and proposed appropriations the 
        President decides are necessary to support the Government in 
        the fiscal year for which the budget is submitted and the 4 
        fiscal years following that year;''.
    (b) Section 1105(a)(6) of title 31, United States Code, is amended 
by inserting ``current fiscal year and the'' before ``fiscal year''.
    (c) Section 1105(a)(12) of title 31, United States Code, is amended 
by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (A), by striking the 
period and inserting ``; and'' at the end of subparagraph (B), and by 
adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
            ``(C) the estimated amount for the same activity (if any) 
        in the current fiscal year.''.
    (d) Section 1105(a)(18) of title 31, United States Code, is amended 
by inserting ``new budget authority and'' before ``budget outlays''.
    (e) Section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(30) a comparison of levels of estimated expenditures and 
        proposed appropriations for each function and subfunction in 
        the current fiscal year and the fiscal year for which the 
        budget is submitted, along with the proposed increase or 
        decrease of spending in percentage terms for each function and 
        subfunction.''.

SEC. 4. THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET.

    Section 301(e) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended 
by--
            (1) inserting after the second sentence the following: 
        ``The starting point for any deliberations in the Committee on 
        the Budget of each House on the concurrent resolution on the 
        budget for the next fiscal year shall be the estimated level of 
        outlays for the current year in each function and subfunction. 
        Any increases or decreases in the Congressional budget for the 
        next fiscal year shall be from such estimated levels.''; and
            (2) striking paragraph (8) and redesignating paragraphs (9) 
        and (10) as paragraphs (10) and (11), respectively, and by 
        inserting after paragraph (7) the following new paragraphs:
            ``(8) a comparison of levels for the current fiscal year 
        with proposed spending and revenue levels for the subsequent 
        fiscal years along with the proposed increase or decrease of 
        spending in percentage terms for each function and subfunction; 
        and
            ``(9) information, data, and comparisons indicating the 
        manner in which and the basis on which, the committee 
        determined each of the matters set forth in the concurrent 
        resolution, including information on outlays for the current 
        fiscal year and the decisions reached to set funding for the 
        subsequent fiscal years;''.

SEC. 5. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE REPORTS TO COMMITTEES.

    (a) The first sentence of section 202(f)(1) of the Congressional 
Budget Act of 1974 is amended to read as follows: ``On or before 
February 15 of each year, the Director shall submit to the Committees 
on the Budget of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report 
for the fiscal year commencing on October 1 of that year with respect 
to fiscal policy, including (A) alternative levels of total revenues, 
total new budget authority, and total outlays (including related 
surpluses and deficits) compared to comparable levels for the current 
year and (B) the levels of tax expenditures under existing law, taking 
into account projected economic factors and any changes in such levels 
based on proposals in the budget submitted by the President for such 
fiscal year.''.
    (b) Section 202(f)(1) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is 
amended by inserting after the first sentence the following new 
sentence: ``That report shall also include a table on sources of 
spending growth under current law in total mandatory spending for the 
budget year and the ensuing 4 fiscal years, which shall include changes 
in outlays attributable to the following: cost-of-living adjustments; 
changes in the number of program recipients; increases in medical care 
prices, utilization and intensity of medical care; and residual 
factors.''.
    (c) Section 308(a)(1) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is 
amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ``, and shall include 
        a comparison of those levels to comparable levels for the 
        current fiscal year'' before ``if timely submitted''; and
            (2) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (C), by 
        striking the period and inserting ``; and'' at the end of 
        subparagraph (D), and by adding at the end the following new 
        subparagraph:
                    ``(E) comparing the levels in existing programs in 
                such measure to the estimated levels for the current 
                fiscal year.''
    (d) Title IV of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended by 
adding at the end the following new section:

                   ``gao reports to budget committees

    ``Sec. 408. On or before January 15 of each year, the Comptroller 
General, after consultation with appropriate committees of the House of 
Representatives and Senate, shall submit to the Congress a report 
listing all programs and activities with permanent appropriations or 
that fall within the definition of spending authority under section 
401(c)(2).''.
    (e) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents set forth in 
section 1(b) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 
1974 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 407 the 
following new item:

``Sec. 408. GAO reports to budget committees.''.
                                 <all>