[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4285 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4285

 To amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 
         to reform the budget process, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 28, 1996

 Mr. Cox of California (for himself, Mr. Largent, Mr. Barton of Texas, 
 Mr. Gingrich, Mr. Armey, Mr. DeLay, Mr. Boehner, Mr. Livingston, Mr. 
Archer, Mr. Kasich, Mr. Paxon, Ms. Molinari, Mr. Clinger, Mr. Solomon, 
 Mr. Goss, Mr. Horn, Mr. Stenholm, Ms. Harman, Mr. Condit, Mr. Hall of 
  Texas, Mr. Peterson of Minnesota, Mr. Poshard, Mr. Montgomery, Mr. 
  Rose, Mr. Pete Geren of Texas, Mr. Allard, Mr. Bachus, Mr. Baker of 
California, Mr. Baker of Louisiana, Mr. Ballenger, Mr. Barr of Georgia, 
   Mr. Barrett of Nebraska, Mr. Bartlett of Maryland, Mr. Bass, Mr. 
  Bateman, Mr. Bereuter, Mr. Bilbray, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. Bliley, Mr. 
 Blute, Mr. Boehlert, Mr. Bonilla, Mr. Bono, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Bryant 
of Tennessee, Mr. Bunning of Kentucky, Mr. Burr, Mr. Burton of Indiana, 
   Mr. Buyer, Mr. Callahan, Mr. Calvert, Mr. Camp, Mr. Campbell, Mr. 
    Canady of Florida, Mr. Castle, Mr. Chabot, Mr. Chambliss, Mrs. 
 Chenoweth, Mr. Christensen, Mr. Chrysler, Mr. Coble, Mr. Coburn, Mr. 
 Collins of Georgia, Mr. Combest, Mr. Cooley of Oregon, Mr. Crane, Mr. 
 Crapo, Mr. Cremeans, Mrs. Cubin, Mr. Cunningham, Mr. Deal of Georgia, 
Mr. Diaz-Balart, Mr. Dickey, Mr. Doolittle, Mr. Dornan, Mr. Dreier, Mr. 
Duncan, Ms. Dunn of Washington, Mr. Ehlers, Mr. Ehrlich, Mr. English of 
 Pennsylvania, Mr. Ensign, Mr. Ewing, Mr. Flanagan, Mr. Foley, Mr. Fox 
  of Pennsylvania, Mr. Fields of Texas, Mr. Forbes, Mr. Franks of New 
 Jersey, Mr. Franks of Connecticut, Mr. Frelinghuysen, Mr. Frisa, Mr. 
  Funderburk, Mr. Gallegly, Mr. Ganske, Mr. Gekas, Mr. Gilchrest, Mr. 
   Gillmor, Mr. Gilman, Mr. Goodlatte, Mr. Goodling, Mr. Graham, Mr. 
   Greenwood, Ms. Greene of Utah, Mr. Gunderson, Mr. Gutknecht, Mr. 
   Hancock, Mr. Hansen, Mr. Hastert, Mr. Hastings of Washington, Mr. 
    Hayes, Mr. Hayworth, Mr. Hefley, Mr. Herger, Mr. Hilleary, Mr. 
Hoekstra, Mr. Hoke, Mr. Hostettler, Mr. Houghton, Mr. Hunter, Mr. Hyde, 
Mr. Inglis of South Carolina, Mr. Istook, Mrs. Johnson of Connecticut, 
Mr. Sam Johnson of Texas, Mr. Jones, Mrs. Kelly, Mr. Kim, Mr. King, Mr. 
Kingston, Mr. Klug, Mr. Knollenberg, Mr. Kolbe, Mr. LaHood, Mr. Latham, 
  Mr. LaTourette, Mr. Laughlin, Mr. Lazio of New York, Mr. Leach, Mr. 
Lewis of California, Mr. Lewis of Kentucky, Mr. Lightfoot, Mr. Linder, 
  Mr. Longley, Mr. Lucas of Oklahoma, Mr. McCollum, Mr. McCrery, Mr. 
    McDade, Mr. McHugh, Mr. McInnis, Mr. McIntosh, Mr. McKeon, Mr. 
 Manzullo, Mr. Martini, Mr. Metcalf, Mrs. Meyers of Kansas, Mr. Mica, 
 Mr. Miller of Florida, Mr. Moorhead, Mrs. Myrick, Mr. Nethercutt, Mr. 
Neumann, Mr. Ney, Mr. Norwood, Mr. Oxley, Mr. Packard, Mr. Parker, Mr. 
 Petri, Mr. Pombo, Mr. Portman, Ms. Pryce, Mr. Quinn, Mr. Radanovich, 
Mr. Ramstad, Mr. Riggs, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Rohrabacher, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, 
Mr. Roth, Mrs. Roukema, Mr. Royce, Mr. Salmon, Mr. Sanford, Mr. Saxton, 
    Mr. Scarborough, Mr. Schaefer, Mr. Schiff, Mrs. Seastrand, Mr. 
   Sensenbrenner, Mr. Shadegg, Mr. Shaw, Mr. Shays, Mr. Shuster, Mr. 
   Skeen, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Smith of Texas, Mrs. Smith of 
Washington, Mr. Smith of Michigan, Mr. Souder, Mr. Spence, Mr. Stearns, 
Mr. Stockman, Mr. Stump, Mr. Talent, Mr. Tate, Mr. Tauzin, Mr. Thomas, 
Mr. Thornberry, Mr. Tiahrt, Mr. Torkildsen, Mr. Upton, Mrs. Vucanovich, 
 Mr. Walker, Mr. Walsh, Mr. Wamp, Mr. Watts of Oklahoma, Mr. Weldon of 
Pennsylvania, Mr. Weldon of Florida, Mr. Weller, Mr. White, Mr. Wicker, 
Mr. Whitfield, Mr. Wolf, and Mr. Zimmer) introduced the following bill; 
 which was referred to the Committee on the Budget, and in addition to 
the Committees on Government Reform and Oversight, Appropriations, and 
 Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined 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 and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 
         to reform the budget process, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Budget Process 
Reform Act''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
              TITLE I--STATEMENT OF CONGRESSIONAL PURPOSE

Sec. 101. Improvement in decision-making process.
Sec. 102. Reform of fiscal management.
Sec. 103. Safeguards against delay and inaction.
                      TITLE II--BINDING BUDGET LAW

Sec. 201. Joint resolution establishing binding budget law.
Sec. 202. Budget required before spending bills may be considered.
Sec. 203. ``Baseline'' budgeting prohibited; objective year-to-year 
                            comparisons required in budget law.
Sec. 204. ``Rainy day'' fund for natural disasters.
Sec. 205. President's budget submissions.
              TITLE III--ENFORCEMENT OF BUDGET DISCIPLINE

         Subtitle A--Supermajority Required To Break Budget Law

Sec. 301. Two-thirds requirement for over-budget spending bills.
Sec. 302. Two-thirds requirement for waiver of this Act.
                    Subtitle B--Line Item Reduction

Sec. 303. Intent of Congress.
Sec. 304. President authorized to reduce spending to level contained in 
                            Congressional Budget Law.
         Subtitle C--``Blank Check'' Appropriations Prohibited

Sec. 305. Intent of Congress.
Sec. 306. Fixed-dollar appropriations required.
Sec. 307. Agency authority to adjust expenditures to appropriated 
                            amounts.
Sec. 308. Budget authority and entitlement authority may cover only a 
                            single fiscal period.
       Subtitle D--``Pay-as-You-Go'' Requirement for New Spending

Sec. 309. Spending offsets required; two-thirds point of order.
     Subtitle E--``Lock-Box'' for Savings From Spending Reductions

Sec. 310. Intent of Congress.
Sec. 311. Spending cuts by amendment to appropriations bills on House 
                            and Senate floors.
Sec. 312. CBO reports on ``lock-box'' savings from floor amendments.
Sec. 313. Reduced spending allocations.
                     TITLE IV--SUSTAINING MECHANISM

Sec. 401. Automatic continuing resolution.
Sec. 402. Contingency regulations.
Sec. 403. Indefinite appropriations prohibited.
                 TITLE V--PROTECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY

Sec. 501. Benefits protected against deficit reduction.
Sec. 502. Conforming amendment.
  TITLE VI--TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS TO FEDERAL LAW TO CARRY OUT THIS ACT

Sec. 601. Amendments changing concurrent to joint resolutions.
Sec. 602. Further amendments to the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
Sec. 603. Technical amendments to the Impoundment Control Act of 1974.
Sec. 604. Technical amendments to title 31, United States Code.
           TITLE VII--DEFINITIONS AND RULES OF INTERPRETATION

Sec. 701. Definitions.
Sec. 702. Use of terms.
Sec. 703. Effective date.

              TITLE I--STATEMENT OF CONGRESSIONAL PURPOSE

SEC. 101. IMPROVEMENT IN DECISION-MAKING PROCESS.

    Because the Federal budget process is the principal vehicle by 
which many of the most fundamental policy choices in Government are 
made, the purpose of this Act is to facilitate rational, informed, and 
timely decisions by the Congress in the course of that process.

SEC. 102. REFORM OF FISCAL MANAGEMENT.

    It is the sense of the Congress that a properly functioning Federal 
budget process should focus the attention of policymakers and the 
public on the aggregate impact of Federal spending on the economy, and 
on the tradeoffs that must be made among priorities in order to control 
overall levels of spending. To this end, the Act is intended to 
establish a budget process that, in each fiscal period--
            (1) requires the adoption of a budget before, not after, 
        any spending begins;
            (2) produces decisions on that budget early in the 
        budgeting cycle;
            (3) encourages cooperation between Congress and the 
        President in adopting the budget;
            (4) ties each subsequent spending decision to an overall, 
        binding budget total;
            (5) requires regular, periodic decisions on appropriate 
        spending levels for all Federal programs, not just those 
        arbitrarily deemed ``controllable''; and
            (6) produces a bias in favor of fiscal responsibility that 
        can be overcome only if the Congress expressly determines to do 
        so.

SEC. 103. SAFEGUARDS AGAINST DELAY AND INACTION.

    The Congress further finds that a properly functioning budget 
process should contain safeguards against delay and inaction, so that 
temporary shut-downs of the Federal Government may be avoided when the 
President and the Congress fail to complete work on the budget prior to 
the beginning of a fiscal period. Accordingly, this Act is intended to 
provide an enforcement mechanism that gives meaning and importance to 
the timely adoption of a budget, and a sustaining mechanism that 
ensures a continuation of the Government should the political process 
produce deadlock or a failure to act in a timely fashion.

                      TITLE II--BINDING BUDGET LAW

SEC. 201. JOINT RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING BINDING BUDGET LAW.

    (a) Intent of Congress.--(1) To encourage early consultation and 
cooperation between the Congress and the President on decisions 
concerning overall spending levels for all Federal programs, the 
Congress shall enact a binding budget law, in the form of a joint 
resolution, by April 15 of the calendar year before that in which the 
fiscal period commences. The amendments contained in this section and 
the technical amendments contained in sections 601 and 701 of this Act 
are intended to assist in the establishment of this requirement. The 
budget law itself shall fit on a single page, which sets forth specific 
budget ceilings for the major functional categories which together 
comprise the entire Federal budget.
    (2) By thus requiring that the budget process begin with highly 
generalized macroeconomic decisions about spending in major functional 
categories, this section is intended to facilitate agreement within 
Congress itself, and between Congress and the President, on how much 
the Federal Government should spend in the ensuing fiscal period.
    (b) Revision of Timetable.--Section 300 of the Congressional Budget 
Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 631) is amended to read as follows:

                              ``timetable

    ``Sec. 300. The timetable with respect to the Congressional budget 
process for any Congress (beginning with the One Hundred Fifth 
Congress) is as follows:

``On or before:                     Action to be completed:
    First Monday in February.......
                                        President submits proposed one-
                                                page budget law.
    February 15....................
                                        Congressional Budget Office 
                                                submits report to 
                                                Budget Committees.
    February 25....................
                                        Committees submit views and 
                                                estimates to Budget 
                                                Committees.
    March 31.......................
                                        Budget Committees report joint 
                                                resolution on the 
                                                budget.
    April 15.......................
                                        Congress completes action on 
                                                joint resolution on the 
                                                budget and transmits it 
                                                to the President for 
                                                signature or veto.
    President signs joint 
        resolution or Congress 
        overrides veto.
                                        Authorization and 
                                                appropriations bills 
                                                may be considered in 
                                                the Congress.
    15th day after enactment of 
        joint budget resolution.
                                        President submits detailed 
                                                budget and supporting 
                                                documents.
    June 10........................
                                        House Appropriations Committee 
                                                report last of annual 
                                                appropriation bills.
    June 30........................
                                        House completes action on 
                                                annual appropriation 
                                                bills.
    August 1.......................
                                        Senate completes action on 
                                                annual appropriation 
                                                bills.
    September 30...................
                                        Congress completes action on 
                                                reconciliation 
                                                legislation and annual 
                                                appropriation bills.
    October 1......................
                                        Fiscal period begins. Congress 
                                                completes all necessary 
                                                action on budget, 
                                                authorizations and 
                                                appropriations, or 
                                                automatic continuing 
                                                resolution takes 
                                                effect.''.

SEC. 202. BUDGET REQUIRED BEFORE SPENDING BILLS MAY BE CONSIDERED.

    (a) Intent of Congress.--The purpose of this provision is to ensure 
that until the budget is signed into law, no authorization or 
appropriations bill shall be considered in the Congress.
    (b) Two-Thirds Requirement for All Spending Bills in Absence of 
Budget Law.--Section 303 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is 
amended by striking subsections (b) and (c) and inserting the following 
new subsection:
    ``(b) Unless and until a joint resolution on the budget is enacted 
with respect to any major functional category for a fiscal period, it 
shall not be in order in either the House of Representatives or the 
Senate or any committee or subcommittee thereof to mark up, amend, 
report, or approve any spending bill affecting spending in that 
category, unless such bill is required to be approved by the 
affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Members voting, a quorum being 
present.''.
    (c) Repealer.--Section 603 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, 
providing for consideration of spending bills prior to adoption of the 
budget resolution, is repealed.

SEC. 203. ``BASELINE'' BUDGETING PROHIBITED; OBJECTIVE YEAR-TO-YEAR 
              COMPARISONS REQUIRED IN BUDGET LAW.

    In order to facilitate honest comparison of budget figures, the 
starting point for Presidential and congressional budgets shall be the 
levels of outlays for the current fiscal period. Any increases or 
decreases proposed in the budget for the next fiscal period shall be 
measured from such levels. The technical amendments contained in title 
VI of this Act are intended to assist in the establishment of this 
requirement.

SEC. 204. ``RAINY DAY'' FUND FOR NATURAL DISASTERS.

    (a) Intent of Congress.--It is the intent of Congress, by this 
provision, to require that the budget contain a separate functional 
category for a contingency fund for natural disasters. This budget 
category shall specify the amount of funds to be available for 
programs, projects, and activities designed to provide relief in the 
case of floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. 
Disbursements from this ``Rainy Day'' fund shall be permitted only for 
certified natural disasters, and shall not be used for any other 
purpose. The purpose of this section is to ensure that the 
unanticipated costs of disaster relief do not disrupt the budget 
process, and that instead such costs are provided for at the beginning 
of the budget cycle.
    (b) Amendment to Title III of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974.--Title III of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (as amended by 
section 311) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

                 ``rainy day fund for natural disasters

    ``Sec. 316. (a) Contingency Reserve for Natural Disasters.--The 
budget law shall include a major functional category for natural 
disasters.
    ``(b) Authorization of Funds From Natural Disaster Category.--Any 
committee that receives an allocation under section 602(a) for any 
budget authority or outlays within functional category 950 (natural 
disasters) may only report legislation providing that budget authority 
or outlays if--
            ``(1) the President has made a request for such disaster 
        funds;
            ``(2) the programs to be funded are included in the 
        Presidential request; and
            ``(3) the projected obligations for unforeseen emergency 
        needs exceed the ten-year rolling average annual expenditure 
        for existing programs included in the Presidential request for 
        any applicable year.
    ``(c) Maintenance of State and Local Efforts.--States and local 
governments shall maintain current disaster relief efforts so that 
Federal assistance payments do not replace, subvert, or otherwise have 
the effect of reducing regularly budgeted State and local expenditures 
for law enforcement, fire fighting, road construction and maintenance, 
building construction and maintenance or any other category of regular 
government expenditure. Federal payments for natural disasters within 
major functional category 950 shall only be made for incremental costs 
directly attributable to unforeseen events resulting from unforeseen 
disasters, and shall not replace or reduce regular State and local 
expenditures for the same or similar purposes.
    ``(d) Incentive To Budget Sufficient Funds for Natural Disasters.--
In the event that the Congress does not budget a sufficient amount for 
natural disasters and then authorizes spending for natural disasters in 
excess of the budgeted amount, the President shall impound an amount 
equal to the excess in this or, if necessary, subsequent fiscal years.
    ``(e) Executive Limitations.--The President may not waive any 
requirement for States or local governments to make minimum matching 
payments as a condition of receiving Federal payments for natural 
disasters within major functional category 950 or waive all or part of 
any repayment of Federal loans for any State or local government 
matching share required as a condition of receiving any such payment.
    ``(f) Congressional Limitations.--The House of Representatives or 
the Senate may only reduce or waive any State matching requirement or 
forgive all or part of loans for any State matching share as required 
under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of 
the Members voting, a quorum being present.''.

SEC. 205. PRESIDENT'S BUDGET SUBMISSIONS.

    (a) Intent of Congress.--It is the intent of Congress, by this 
provision, to require that not later than the first Monday in February 
of each year before the beginning of a new fiscal period the President 
submit a budget of the United States Government for the following 
fiscal period beginning on October 1 of the current calendar year on a 
single page, which sets forth specific budget ceilings in each major 
functional category. On or before the fifteenth day after a joint 
resolution on the budget is enacted, the President shall submit to the 
Congress a detailed budget for that fiscal period, including all 
summaries and explanations required under section 1105(a) of title 31, 
United States Code.
    (b) Amendments to Title 31, United States Code.--Section 1105(a) of 
title 31, United States Code (relating to the contents of the 
President's annual budget submission to the Congress), is amended by 
striking the first two sentences thereof and all that follows through 
``following:'' and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
    ``(a)(1) Not later than the first Monday in February of each year 
before that in which a fiscal period commences, the President shall 
submit a budget of the United States Government for the following 
fiscal period on a single page, which sets forth specific budget 
ceilings in each major functional category.
    ``(2) Not later than the fifteenth day after a joint resolution on 
the budget for the following budget period is enacted, the President 
shall submit a detailed budget for that fiscal period, including a 
budget message and summary and supporting information, including the 
following:''.

              TITLE III--ENFORCEMENT OF BUDGET DISCIPLINE

         Subtitle A--Supermajority Required To Break Budget Law

SEC. 301. TWO-THIRDS REQUIREMENT FOR OVER-BUDGET SPENDING BILLS.

    (a) Additional CBO Duties.--Section 308 of the Congressional Budget 
Act of 1974 is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsections:
    ``(d) Determination of Budget Effect of Proposed Spending Bills.--
The Congressional Budget Office shall provide to the appropriate House 
of Congress (or the appropriate committee, subcommittee, or conference 
thereof) prior to any spending bill being voted on by the House of 
Representatives or the Senate, or by any subcommittee, committee, or 
conference committee thereof, its estimate of the costs in each major 
functional category attributable to that bill during the fiscal period 
in which it is to become effective and in each of the next 4 years, 
together with the basis for such estimate. The Congressional Budget 
Office report shall not be required, however, if the Congressional 
Budget Office certifies that a spending bill will likely result in 
applicable costs of less than $10,000,000. For purposes of estimating 
the costs attributable to any spending bill that includes new credit 
authority, the report shall deem the difference between (1) the market 
value of any loan or other credit made or guaranteed by the Federal 
Government during a fiscal period (if the underlying obligation were 
sold by the Federal Government) and (2) its face amount, to be the 
costs attributable to such loan or guarantee in the fiscal period in 
which it is made.
    ``(e) CBO Report Required Prior to Vote on Spending Bills.--It 
shall not be in order in either the House of Representatives or the 
Senate, or in any subcommittee, conference committee, or committee 
thereof, to vote on any spending bill, unless and until the report 
referred to in subsection (d) has been made available to that House of 
Congress or the appropriate committee, conference committee, or 
subcommittee thereof. This requirement may be waived only by the 
affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Members voting, a quorum being 
present.''.
    (b) New Budget Enforcement Point of Order.--Section 311 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsections:
    ``(d) Two-Thirds Requirement for All Over-Budget Spending Bills.--
It shall not be in order in either the House of Representatives or the 
Senate (or in any committee, subcommittee, or conference committee 
thereof) to vote on any spending bill that the report referred to in 
section 308(d) indicates would in any fiscal period covered by the 
report exceed a budget ceiling, unless such bill is required to be 
approved by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Members voting, a 
quorum being present.
    ``(e) Determination of Spending in a Category.--A spending bill 
shall be deemed to exceed a budget ceiling if--
            ``(1) its cost in any major functional category as 
        estimated in the report referred to in section 308(d);
            ``(2) all other budget authority, budget outlays, and all 
        entitlement authority, if any, in that major functional 
        category for the relevant fiscal periods contained in any 
        previously enacted legislation for the fiscal period; and
            ``(3) to the extent that new budget authority or 
        entitlement authority for the relevant fiscal period has not 
        been granted (or modified or rescinded from the level of the 
        previous fiscal period) in any other enacted legislation for 
        any program within such major functional category, the amounts 
        of budget authority and entitlement authority for such major 
        functional category (or part thereof) for the previous fiscal 
        period;
exceed the applicable budget ceiling for such major functional 
category.''.

SEC. 302. TWO-THIRDS REQUIREMENT FOR WAIVER OF THIS ACT.

    No waiver or contravention of any provision of this Act, including 
the calendar deadlines for completion of Congressional action, the 
provisions establishing parliamentary points of order, the provisions 
concerning over-budget spending, and the amendment of automatic 
continuing resolutions, shall be effective unless approved by the 
affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Members of the House of 
Representatives or the Senate, or both, as the case may be, a quorum 
being present. No committee of either the House of Representatives or 
the Senate shall have jurisdiction to report a rule governing 
procedures for consideration of spending bills covered by this Act, if 
such rule would waive or violate the provisions of this section or any 
other section of this Act. Nothing in this provision shall be deemed to 
require a supermajority vote to amend this Act. It shall not be in 
order in either the House of Representatives or the Senate to proceed 
in violation of this section.

                    Subtitle B--Line Item Reduction

SEC. 303. INTENT OF CONGRESS.

    It is the purpose of this subtitle to provide a workable means of 
enforcement of the binding budget law that Congress is to enact prior 
to each fiscal period. The President's line-item veto authority permits 
the elimination of an appropriation, but does not permit enforcement of 
the budget as written by Congress, a more traditional executive role. 
Line item reduction will permit enforcement of the spending ceilings in 
the budget law already approved by Congress, thus recognizing the 
respective roles given to the legislative branch to pass a budget law, 
and to the executive branch to take care that it is faithfully 
executed.

SEC. 304. PRESIDENT AUTHORIZED TO REDUCE SPENDING TO LEVEL CONTAINED IN 
              CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET LAW.

    The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 681 et seq.) is 
amended by inserting after section 1013 the following new section:

 ``presidential line-item reduction of spending in excess of limits in 
                        congressional budget law

    ``Sec. 1013A. (a) Scope of Line Item Reduction Authority.--If the 
Congress, by two-thirds vote, as prescribed in the Budget Process 
Reform Act, shall exceed the budget ceilings in the binding budget law 
or an automatic continuing resolution for a fiscal period, the 
President may exercise line-item reduction authority as provided in 
this section. The President's line-item reduction authority shall 
permit the reduction of over-budget spending in a major functional 
category to the level established in the binding budget law or the 
automatic continuing resolution.
    ``(b) Transmittal of Message Detailing Use of Line-Item 
Reduction.--The President shall transmit to both Houses of Congress one 
or more special messages detailing his use of line item reduction 
authority to rescind (in whole or in part) items of budget authority or 
entitlement authority sufficient to ensure that the levels of budget 
authority, entitlement authority, and outlays in a functional category 
do not exceed the levels stated in the budget law or an automatic 
continuing resolution for the applicable fiscal period. The levels of 
budget authority, entitlement authority, and outlays shall be 
determined on the basis of the reports made by the Congressional Budget 
Office pursuant to section 308.
    ``(c) Contents of Special Message.--Each special message 
transmitted under subsection (a) shall specify, with respect to each 
item of budget authority to be rescinded by line-item reduction, the 
matters referred to in paragraphs (1) through (5) of section 1012(a).
    ``(d) Requirement Not To Make Available for Obligation.--Any item 
of budget authority to be rescinded by means of line-item reduction as 
set forth in a special message pursuant to this section shall not be 
made available for obligation if, within 45 calendar days after the 
transmittal by the President of such special message to both Houses of 
Congress, a bill has not been enacted disapproving the line-item 
reduction of the amount to be rescinded. Funds made available for 
obligation under this procedure may not be included in a special 
message again.''.

         Subtitle C--``Blank Check'' Appropriations Prohibited

SEC. 305. INTENT OF CONGRESS.

    It is the intent of Congress, by this provision, to put an end to 
open-ended, ``blank check'' appropriations, which typically provide for 
the spending of ``such sums as may be necessary.'' By requiring 
explicit decisions concerning the desired level of spending for each 
federal program (except Social Security and interest on the debt), it 
is intended that currently uncontrolled programs will be brought within 
the discipline of an overall budget.

SEC. 306. FIXED-DOLLAR APPROPRIATIONS REQUIRED.

    Section 401 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(e) Fixed-Dollar Appropriations.--(1) For every account except 
Social Security, as defined in section 3(2)(B)(16) of the Congressional 
Budget Act of 1974, and interest on the debt--
            ``(A) every appropriation for a fiscal period for any 
        program, project, or activity (including claims, judgments, and 
        relief acts) shall be for a specific, fixed dollar amount; and
            ``(B) any appropriations of `such sums as may be necessary' 
        (except with respect to the automatic continuing resolution 
        provided for by section 1311 of title 31, United States Code) 
        are hereby prohibited.
    ``(2) It shall not be in order in either the House of 
Representatives or the Senate (or in any committee, subcommittee, or 
conference) to consider any appropriation that is in violation of 
paragraph (1).''.

SEC. 307. AGENCY AUTHORITY TO ADJUST EXPENDITURES TO APPROPRIATED 
              AMOUNTS.

    Chapter 13 of title 31, United States Code (as amended by section 
502) is amended by inserting after section 1314 the following new 
section:
``Sec. 1315. Contingency regulations for former `blank-check' spending 
              programs
    ``(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the head of each 
Executive agency that administers any program that previously operated 
with `blank-check' spending authority shall provide for or approve the 
adjustments of any agency expenditures, including eligibility 
requirements, or the scope, duration, level, and availability of 
payments, salaries and benefits, grants, loans, benefits, services, or 
reimbursements, or both, with respect to the program, such that 
aggregate outlays for a fiscal period do not exceed the fixed-dollar 
appropriation provided pursuant to section 401(e) of the Congressional 
Budget Act of 1974 (requiring fixed-dollar appropriations). 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the obligation of the 
United States to make payments (including loans and grants) to any 
person or government shall be subject to the authority granted under 
this section.
    ``(b) Before the beginning of a fiscal period, the head of each 
Executive agency referred to in subsection (a) shall promulgate a 
reasonably detailed plan for each of its programs that previously 
operated with `blank check' spending authority, setting forth the 
manner in which the agency shall implement this section for that fiscal 
period.
    ``(c) In the event that any claim or judgment against the United 
States exceeds the aggregate appropriations for claims, judgments, and 
relief for the current fiscal period, then the excess shall be paid 
first out of discretionary funds appropriated in such fiscal period to 
the department or agency against which the judgment or claim is due, 
next out of unobligated funds appropriated to that department or agency 
in such fiscal period, and finally out of such funds as may be 
appropriated to that department or agency in the next and subsequent 
fiscal periods. The obligation set forth herein of a department or 
agency to pay such claims or judgments in excess of amounts authorized 
therefore in applicable judgment, claim and relief acts shall supersede 
all other budget requirements for that department or agency, any other 
provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding.''.

SEC. 308. BUDGET AUTHORITY AND ENTITLEMENT AUTHORITY MAY COVER ONLY A 
              SINGLE FISCAL PERIOD.

    Chapter 13 of title 31, United States Code (as amended by sections 
401 and 402), is amended by inserting after section 1312 the following 
new section:
``Sec. 1313. Budget authority and entitlement authority must cover 
              single fiscal period
    ``(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law and except as 
provided by subsection (b), no budget authority or entitlement 
authority--
            ``(1) enacted on or after the date of enactment of this 
        section shall be effective for more than one fiscal period; or
            ``(2) enacted before the date of enactment of this section 
        shall continue in effect beyond the end of the first fiscal 
        period beginning after the date of enactment of this section.
    ``(b) Subsection (a) does not apply with respect to appropriations 
for the repayment of indebtedness incurred under chapter 31 or benefits 
payable under the old-age, survivors, and disability insurance program 
established under title II of the Social Security Act, as in effect on 
the date of enactment of the Budget Process Reform Act of 1996.''.

       Subtitle D--``Pay-as-You-Go'' Requirement for New Spending

SEC. 309. SPENDING OFFSETS REQUIRED; TWO-THIRDS POINT OF ORDER.

    (a) Spending Offsets and Point of Order.--Title III of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended by adding at the end the 
following new section:

                      ``spending offsets required

    ``Sec.  314. (a)(1) Except as provided by paragraph (2), it shall 
not be in order in either the House of Representatives or the Senate to 
consider any spending bill that a report referred to in section 308(d) 
indicates would in any fiscal period exceed a budget ceiling, unless 
the Congressional Budget Office has further determined that any such 
increased spending called for therein is offset fully in each such 
fiscal period in that spending bill by at least an equal amount of 
reductions in spending in the same functional category.
    ``(2) In the case of a spending bill that a report referred to in 
section 308(d) indicates would in any fiscal period would exceed a 
budget ceiling for the natural disaster functional category, the 
increased spending called for therein may be fully offset by at least 
an equal amount of reductions in spending in any other functional 
category or categories.
    ``(b)(1) The point of order set forth in subsection (a)(1) may be 
waived or suspended in the Senate or in the House of Representatives, 
and an appeal of the ruling of the Chair on a point of order raised 
under this section may be sustained, only by the affirmative vote of 
two-thirds of the Members voting, a quorum being present.
    ``(2) In the case of a spending bill covered by subsection (a)(2), 
an appeal of the ruling of the chair on a point of order raised under 
paragraph (1) may be sustained by a majority of the Members voting, a 
quorum being present.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 602(e) of the Congressional 
Budget Act of 1974, providing for an exemption in the House from pay-
as-you-go rules, is repealed.

     Subtitle E--``Lock-Box'' for Savings From Spending Reductions

SEC. 310. INTENT OF CONGRESS.

    It is the purpose of this subtitle to establish procedures to 
ensure that budget savings from House and Senate amendments to 
appropriations bills result in actual spending cuts, rather than higher 
spending on other programs.

SEC. 311. SPENDING CUTS BY AMENDMENT TO APPROPRIATIONS BILLS ON HOUSE 
              AND SENATE FLOORS.

    Title III of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (as amended by 
section 311) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

            ``lock-box for savings from spending reductions

    ``Sec. 315. (a) Contemporaneous Record of Spending Cut Amendments 
During Floor Consideration.--During floor consideration of any 
appropriation bill, the Clerk of the House shall make available to 
Members in the House of Representatives, and the Secretary of the 
Senate shall make available to Members of the Senate, a running tally 
of the amendments adopted reflecting increases and decreases of budget 
authority from the levels in the bill as reported from the Committee on 
Appropriations of that House.
    ``(b) CBO Record of Spending Reductions.--The Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office (the `Director') shall maintain a record of 
net spending reductions made by floor amendments to appropriation bills 
in the House of Representatives and in the Senate. These `lock-box' 
totals shall be recorded for each subcommittee of the respective 
Committees on Appropriations, separately reflecting the net amount of 
spending cuts made by the House, and the net amount of spending cuts 
made by the Senate. Each total shall include only amounts corresponding 
to amendments that result in net spending reductions.
    ``(c) CBO Procedures for Maintaining Record of Spending Cuts.--(1) 
Upon the engrossment of any appropriation bill by either House of 
Congress, the Director shall credit the applicable appropriations 
subcommittee `lock-box' totals with amounts equal to the net 
reductions in new budget authority and in outlays resulting from floor 
amendments agreed to by that House.
    ``(2) Calculation of `Lock-Box' Savings in Senate.--For purposes of 
calculating under this section and section 315(a) the net amounts of 
reductions in new budget authority and in outlays resulting from 
amendments agreed to by the Senate on an appropriation bill, the 
amendments reported to the Senate by its Committee on Appropriations 
shall be considered to be part of the original text of the bill.
    ``(d) Definition.--As used in this section, the term `appropriation 
bill' means any general or special appropriation bill, and any bill or 
joint resolution making supplemental, deficiency, or continuing 
appropriations.''.

SEC. 312. CBO REPORTS ON ``LOCK-BOX'' SAVINGS FROM FLOOR AMENDMENTS.

    Section 308(b)(1) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is 
amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: ``Such reports 
shall also include an up-to-date tabulation of the amounts contained in 
the record of spending reductions under section 315(a).''.

SEC. 313. REDUCED SPENDING ALLOCATIONS.

    (a) Allocations to House and Senate Committees on Appropriations.--
Section 602(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended by 
adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(5) Upon the engrossment of Senate amendments to any 
        appropriation bill (as defined in section 315(d)), the amounts 
        allocated under paragraph (1) or (2) to the Committee on 
        Appropriations of each House shall be reduced by the amount of 
        any `lock-box' savings, as follows: New budget authority shall 
        be reduced by the average of the applicable House and Senate 
        `lock-box' totals. Outlays shall also be reduced by the average 
        of the applicable House and Senate totals. The revised levels 
        of budget authority and outlays shall be submitted to each 
        House by the chairman of the Committee on the Budget of that 
        House and shall be printed in the Congressional Record. Once an 
        allocation has been reduced under this section, the same 
        spending reduction shall not be used to reduce it further.''.
    (b) Allocations to Subcommittees of House and Senate Committees on 
Appropriations.--Section 602(b)(1) of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974 is amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: 
``Whenever an adjustment is made to an allocation pursuant to 
subsection (a)(5), the chairman of the Committee on Appropriations of 
each House shall reduce the most recent suballocations under 
subparagraph (A) by the same total amount as that adjustment. The 
revised suballocations shall be submitted to each House by the chairman 
of the Committee on Appropriations of that House and shall be printed 
in the Congressional Record.''.

                     TITLE IV--SUSTAINING MECHANISM

SEC. 401. AUTOMATIC CONTINUING RESOLUTION.

    Chapter 13 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
after section 1310 the following new section:
``Sec. 1311. Automatic continuing resolution
    ``(a) If any appropriation bill, as defined in subsection (b) of 
this section, has not become law before the beginning of a fiscal 
period, then the automatic continuing resolution provided for in this 
section shall immediately take effect. The automatic continuing 
resolution shall remain in effect for the entirety of the fiscal 
period, unless amended in whole or in part by two-thirds vote of both 
Houses of Congress, as provided in section 302 of the Budget Process 
Reform Act. If the automatic continuing resolution shall take effect, 
then there is hereby appropriated, out of any moneys in the Treasury 
not otherwise appropriated, and out of applicable corporate or other 
revenues, receipts, and funds, an amount equal to the budget authority 
for each program, project, or activity regularly provided for under 
that appropriation bill in the most recent fiscal period. In no case 
shall the total dollar amount of appropriations for any program, 
project or activity pursuant to an automatic continuing resolution 
exceed the fixed-dollar appropriation for such program, project, or 
activity in the most recent appropriation Act, determined on a fiscal-
period basis. In no case shall the total dollar amount of 
appropriations pursuant to an automatic continuing resolution for any 
program, project, or activity in a major functional category, when 
added to all other spending appropriated by law for that major 
functional category, exceed the ceiling in a binding budget law in 
effect for the fiscal period.
    ``(b) `Appropriation bill', for purposes of subsection (a) of this 
section, means any of the 13 appropriations bills that together 
comprise the regular appropriations process, as revised to include any 
programs funded pursuant to `blank check' spending authority, as that 
term is defined in section 3(16) (2 U.S.C. 622), prior to the enactment 
of the Budget Process Reform Act of 1996.''.

SEC. 402. CONTINGENCY REGULATIONS.

    Chapter 13 of title 31, United States Code (as amended by section 
401), is amended by inserting after section 1311 the following new 
section:
``Sec. 1312. Contingency regulations for automatic continuing 
              resolution
    ``(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law and except as 
provided by subsection (b), the head of each Executive agency shall 
provide for or approve the adjustments of any agency expenditures, 
including eligibility requirements, or the scope, duration, level, and 
availability of payments, salaries and benefits, grants, loans, 
benefits, services, or reimbursements, or both, such that aggregate 
outlays for a fiscal period do not exceed the appropriation provided 
pursuant to section 1311 (providing for an automatic continuing 
resolution) for such fiscal period. Notwithstanding any other provision 
of law, the obligation of the United States to make payments (including 
loans and grants) to any person or government shall be subject to the 
authority granted under this section.
    ``(b) Exclusively for purposes of the implementation of an 
automatic continuing resolution pursuant to section 1311, in the case 
of social safety net programs, each State shall have the option of 
receiving an aggregate amount for the fiscal period for such programs 
equal to the amount allocated for the benefit of persons in that State 
in the preceding fiscal period for such programs. In the event a State 
elects this option, it may, in its discretion, allocate such aggregate 
amount among any or all of the social safety net programs in the way 
that it determines will best meet the needs of recipients in that State 
(in which case such State may exercise the discretion over the 
administration of such programs set forth in subsection (a) of this 
section). Alternatively, each State shall have the option of receiving 
for the fiscal period the amounts it received for each social safety 
net program in the preceding fiscal period.
    ``(c) As used in this section--
            ``(1) the term `Executive agency' has the meaning given 
        such term in section 105 of title 5, United States Code; and
            ``(2) the term `social safety net programs' means the 
        following programs: family support payments, adoption 
        assistance, child support enforcement, food stamps, foster 
        care, Medicaid, child nutrition programs, social services block 
        grant, and supplemental security income (SSI).''.

SEC. 403. INDEFINITE APPROPRIATIONS PROHIBITED.

    Section 401(b) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended 
to read as follows:
    ``(b) Controls on Legislation Providing Funding.--(1) It shall not 
be in order in either the House of Representatives or the Senate to 
consider any bill, resolution, amendment, motion, or conference report 
that provides budget authority or spending authority described in 
subsection (c)(2)(C) except a bill or resolution reported by the 
Committee on Appropriations of that House or a conference report made 
by a committee of conference all of whose conferees are members of the 
Committee on Appropriations.
    ``(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to Social Security benefits, as 
defined in section 3(2)(B)(16) of this Act.''.

                 TITLE V--PROTECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY

SEC. 501. BENEFITS PROTECTED AGAINST DEFICIT REDUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require or permit 
reductions in Social Security benefits otherwise payable pursuant to 
applicable law or regulations.

SEC. 502. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

    Chapter 13 of title 31, United States Code (as amended by section 
310), is amended by inserting after section 1313 the following new 
section:
``Sec. 1314. Protection of social security from budget deficit 
              reduction measures
    ``No reductions in benefits payable under the old-age, survivors, 
and disability insurance program established under title II of the 
Social Security Act shall be made as a consequence of the Budget 
Process Reform Act.''.

  TITLE VI--TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS TO FEDERAL LAW TO CARRY OUT THIS ACT

SEC. 601. AMENDMENTS CHANGING CONCURRENT TO JOINT RESOLUTIONS.

    (a) Sections 300, 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 308, 310, 311, 401, 406, 
602 (except subsection (d)), 603, 604, 605, and 606(b) of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) are amended by 
striking ``concurrent'' each place it appears and by inserting 
``joint''.
    (b) The table of contents set forth in section 1(b) of the 
Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is amended by 
striking ``Concurrent'' in the item relating to section 303 and 
inserting ``Joint'' and by striking ``concurrent'' in the items 
relating to sections 301 and 304 and inserting ``joint''.
    (c) Clauses 1(d)(2), 4(a)(2), 4(b)(2), 4(g), 4(h), and 4(i) of rule 
X, clause 2(l)(6) of rule XI, clause 7 of rule XV, clause 8 of rule 
XXIII, and rule XLIX of the Rules of the House of Representatives are 
amended by striking ``concurrent'' and by inserting ``joint''.
    (d) Section 258C(b)(1) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 
Control Act of 1985 is amended by striking ``concurrent'' and by 
inserting ``joint''.

SEC. 602. FURTHER AMENDMENTS TO THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET ACT OF 1974.

    (a) The table of contents set forth in section 1(b) of the 
Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974--
            (1) relating to section 302 is amended to read as follows:

``Sec. 302. Two-thirds requirement for over-budget spending bills.'';
            (2) is amended by striking ``new budget authority, new 
        spending authority,'' and the comma before ``or changes'' in 
        the item relating to section 303; and
            (3) is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
        section 313 the following new items:

``Sec. 314. Spending offsets required.
``Sec. 315. Lock-box for savings from spending reductions.
``Sec. 316. Rainy day fund for natural disasters.''.
    (b) Section 302(f) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 
U.S.C. 633(f)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ``(1) In the house of 
        representatives.--'', by striking ``new budget authority for 
        such fiscal year, new entitlement authority effective during 
        such fiscal year, or'' and by striking ``new discretionary 
        budget authority, new entitlement authority, or''; and
            (2) by striking paragraph (2).
    (c) Section 303 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is 
amended--
            (1) in its heading by striking ``new budget authority, new 
        spending authority,'' and the comma before ``or changes''; and
            (2) in subsection (a) by striking paragraphs (1), (4) and 
        (5) and by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), and (6) as 
        paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), respectively.
    (d) Section 304 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended 
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(c) In the House of Representatives and in the Senate, the vote 
on final passage upon the adoption of any joint resolution on the 
budget which revises any joint resolution pursuant to this section 
shall require the approval of two-thirds of those voting, a quorum 
being present.''.
    (e) The last sentence of clause 4(b) of rule XI of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives is amended by inserting before the period at 
the end the following: ``; nor shall it report any rule or order which 
would waive any point of order set forth in the Budget Process Reform 
Act or any amendment made by it''.
    (f) 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 period commencing on October 1 of that year, with 
respect to fiscal policy, including (A) estimated budget outlays in all 
functions and subfunctions for appropriated accounts for the current 
fiscal period and estimated budget outlays under current law for all 
entitlement programs for the next fiscal period, and (B) alternative 
levels of total revenues, total new budget authority, and total outlays 
(including related surpluses and deficits) compared to comparable 
levels for the current fiscal period.''.
    (g) Section 202(f)(3) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is 
amended by striking ``and'' before ``(B)'' and inserting a comma, and 
by inserting before the period at the end the following: ``, and (C) 
all programs and activities that fall within section 401(c)(2)(C)''.
    (h) 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 period'' 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 levels for the current fiscal 
                period.''.
    (i) 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) by striking paragraph (5) and redesignating paragraph 
        (6) as paragraph (5).
    (j) Section 301(e) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is 
amended--
            (1) by inserting after the second sentence the following: 
        ``The starting point for the President and the Congressional 
        Budget Office and for any deliberations in the Committee on the 
        Budget of each House on the joint resolution on the budget for 
        the next fiscal period shall be the level of outlays for the 
        current fiscal period in each function and subfunction. Any 
        increases or decreases in the Congressional budget for the next 
        and subsequent fiscal periods shall be from such levels.'';
            (2) by amending paragraph (3) to read as follows:
            ``(3) a comparison of spending levels for the current 
        fiscal period with proposed spending levels for the subsequent 
        fiscal periods along with the proposed increase or decrease of 
        spending in percentage terms for each function and 
        subfunction;'' and
            (3) by amending paragraph (8) to read as follows:
            ``(8) 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 joint resolution on the 
        budget, including information on outlays for the current fiscal 
        period and the decisions reached to set funding for the 
        subsequent fiscal periods;''.

SEC. 603. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS TO THE IMPOUNDMENT CONTROL ACT OF 1974.

    (a) Section 1014 of the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``1012 or 1013'' each place it appears and 
        inserting ``1012, 1013, or 1013A'';
            (2) in subsection (b)(1) by striking ``1012'' and inserting 
        ``1012 or 1013A''; and
            (3) in subsection (e)(1) by striking ``and'' at the end of 
        subparagraph (A), by redesignating subparagraph (B) as 
        subparagraph (C), by striking ``1013'' in subparagraph (C) (as 
        redesignated), and by inserting after subparagraph (A) the 
        following new subparagraph:
                    ``(B) he has transmitted a special message under 
                section 1013A with respect to a proposed rescission; 
                and''.
    (b) Section 1015 is amended by striking ``1012 or 1013'' each place 
it appears and inserting ``1012, 1013, or 1013A''.
    (c) Section 1012(b) is amended by inserting before the last 
sentence the following new sentence: ``The preceding sentence shall not 
apply to any item or portion of any item of budget authority proposed 
by the President to be rescinded under this section that the President 
has also proposed to rescind under section 1013A and with respect to 
which the 45-day period referred to in subsection (e) of such section 
has not expired.''.
    (d) The table of sections set forth in section 1(b) is amended by 
inserting after the item relating to section 1013 the following new 
item:

``Sec. 1013A. Rescission of spending outside of congressional 
                            budget.''.

SEC. 604. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 31, UNITED STATES CODE.

    (a)(1) 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 
        fiscal period and estimated expenditures and proposed 
        appropriations the President decides are necessary to support 
        the Government in the fiscal period for which the budget is 
        submitted and the 4 years following that period;''.
    (2) Section 1105(a)(6) of title 31, United States Code, is amended 
by inserting ``current fiscal period and the'' before ``fiscal year''.
    (3) 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 period.''.
    (4) Section 1105(a)(18) of title 31, United States Code, is amended 
by inserting ``new budget authority and'' before ``budget outlays''.
    (5) Section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(32) a comparison of levels of estimated expenditures and 
        proposed appropriations for each function and subfunction in 
        the current fiscal period and the fiscal period for which the 
        budget is submitted, along with the proposed increase or 
        decrease of spending in percentage terms for each function and 
        subfunction.''.
    (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 any adjustment for inflation.''.
    (c) Section 1104(c) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by 
striking the second and third sentences and inserting the following new 
sentence: ``However, a functional category in the budget may be changed 
only by law and the subfunctions comprising any such category may also 
only be changed by law except to the extent necessary to initially 
establish appropriate subfunctions within functional category 950 
(natural disasters).''.
    (d) Section 1312(b) of title 31, United States Code, as added by 
section 402 of this Act, is amended by adding at the end thereof the 
following new sentence: ``The decision of a State to receive either an 
aggregate amount for such programs (and its allocation of benefits 
among such programs) or the amounts it received for, each such program 
shall not be reviewable in any Federal court.''.
    (e) The analysis of chapter 13 of title 31, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 1310 the 
following new items:

``Sec. 1311. Automatic continuing resolution.
``Sec. 1312. Contingency regulations for automatic continuing 
                            resolution.
``Sec. 1313. Budget authority and entitlement authority must cover 
                            single fiscal period.
``Sec. 1314. Protection of Social Security from budget deficit 
                            reduction measures.
``Sec. 1315. Contingency regulations for former `blank-check' spending 
                            programs.''.

           TITLE VII--DEFINITIONS AND RULES OF INTERPRETATION

SEC. 701. DEFINITIONS.

    (a) Definition of Budget Law.--Section 3(4) of the Congressional 
Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 622(4)), 
containing general definitions, is amended to read as follows:
            ``(4) The term `budget law' or `joint resolution on the 
        budget' means--
                    ``(A) a joint resolution setting forth the 
                simplified budget for the United States Government for 
                a fiscal period as provided in section 301; and
                    ``(B) any other joint resolution revising the 
                budget for the United States Government for a fiscal 
                period as described in section 304.''.
    (b) Changing Definition of Budget Authority To Exclude Offsetting 
Receipts.--Section 3(2)(A) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment 
Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 622(2)(A)) is amended by inserting 
``and'' at the end of clause (ii), by striking ``; and'' at the end of 
clause (iii), and by striking clause (iv).
    (c) Additional Definitions.--Section 3 of the Congressional Budget 
and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 622) is amended by adding 
at the end the following new paragraphs:
            ``(11) The term `major functional category' refers to a 
        grouping of budget authority, budget outlays, and credit 
        authority into any one of the following categories:
                    ``Function 050: National Defense
                    ``Function 150: International Affairs
                    ``Function 250: General Science, Space and 
                Technology
                    ``Function 270: Energy
                    ``Function 300: Natural Resources and Environment
                    ``Function 350: Agriculture
                    ``Function 400: Transportation
                    ``Function 450: Community and Regional Development
                    ``Function 500: Education, Training, Employment and 
                Social Services
                    ``Function 550: Health
                    ``Function 570: Medicare
                    ``Function 600: Welfare, Federal Employee Benefits, 
                and Social Transfer Payments
                    ``Function 650: Social Security
                    ``Function 700: Veterans Benefits and Services
                    ``Function 750: Administration of Justice
                    ``Function 800: General Government
                    ``Function 900: Net Interest
                    ``Function 920: Allowances
                    ``Function 950: Natural Disasters.''.
        For purposes of this definition, the foregoing functional 
        classifications shall be deemed to include the subfunctions 
        corresponding thereto as set forth in the Glossary of Terms 
        Used in the Federal Budget Process published by the United 
        States General Accounting Office (Revised January 1993).
            ``(12) The term `budget ceiling' means the dollar amount 
        set forth in a budget law for a major functional category.
            ``(13) The term `spending' means budget authority, spending 
        authority, credit authority, or outlays of the term `spending 
        bill' means any bill or resolution, or amendment thereto or 
        conference report thereon, which provides budget authority, 
        spending authority, credit authority, or outlays.
            ``(14) The term `blank-check' spending authority means 
        authority (whether temporary or permanent) to make payments 
        (including loans and grants), the budget authority for which is 
        not provided for in advance by appropriation Acts, to any 
        person or government if, under the provisions of the law 
        containing such authority, the United States is obligated to 
        make such payments to persons or governments who meet the 
        requirements established by such law: Provided, That such term 
        does not include Social Security or interest on the debt.
            ``(15) The term `fiscal period' means a twelve-month fiscal 
        year beginning on October 1 of a calendar year for the 
        management of the budget of the United States.
            ``(16) The term `Social Security' means the Old Age, 
        Survivors, and Disability Program established under title II of 
        the Social Security Act, as in effect on the date of enactment 
        of the Budget Process Reform Act of 1996.''.

SEC. 702. USE OF TERMS.

    Whenever any term is used in this Act which is defined in section 3 
of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, the 
term shall have the meaning given to such term in that Act.

SEC. 703. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act and the amendments made by it shall become effective 
January 1, 1997, and shall apply to the budget process for fiscal 
periods beginning after September 30, 1997.
                                 <all>