[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 767 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 767

 To improve budgetary information by requiring that the unified budget 
 presented by the President contain an operating budget and a capital 
  budget, distinguish between Federal funds and trust funds, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 1, 1995

 Mr. Clinger (for himself and Mr. Wise) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight 
       and, in addition, to the Committee on Transportation and 
   Infrastructure, 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 improve budgetary information by requiring that the unified budget 
 presented by the President contain an operating budget and a capital 
  budget, distinguish between Federal funds and trust funds, 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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Budget Structure Act of 
1995''.

SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF FINDING AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Statement of Finding.--Congress finds that the existing budget 
obscures the distinctions between capital activities and operating 
activities, and between Federal funds and trust funds so as to hinder 
identifying the resources needed to meet the Government's needs.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act that the unified budget 
present a capital budget and an operating budget, and distinguish 
between Federal funds and trust funds, in order to provide better and 
more relevant information on the revenues, expenses, and financing 
requirements of Government programs and activities.

SEC. 3. CAPITAL AND OPERATING BUDGETS.

    Title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 
1105 the following new section:
``Sec. 1105a. Capital and operating budgets
    ``(a)(1) The budget of the United States submitted by the President 
under section 1105 of this title shall be a unified budget composed of 
an operating budget and a capital budget.
    ``(2) Operating and capital budgets shall be presented separately 
for total funds, Federal funds, and trust funds.
    ``(b)(1) Actual, estimated, and proposed amounts shall be presented 
for total funds, Federal funds, and trust funds and, at a minimum, 
shall contain--
            ``(A) for the operating budget the following: (i) operating 
        revenues, (ii) operating expenses, (iii) operating surplus/
        deficit before interfund transfers, (iv) interfund transfers, 
        and (v) operating surplus/deficit;
            ``(B) for the capital budget the following: (i) capital 
        revenues, (ii) capital investments, (iii) net capital 
        investments, (iv) interfund transfers, and (v) capital 
        financing requirements;
            ``(C) items not affecting funds; and
            ``(D) unified budget financing requirements.
    ``(2) The capital budget shall represent only the major activities, 
projects, and programs which support the acquisition, construction, 
alteration, and rehabilitation of capital assets. All other activities, 
projects, and programs shall be represented in the operating budget.
    ``(c) In addition to the unified budget submitted by the President 
as required by subsections (a) and (b) of this section, the President 
shall present information in the form required by subsection (b)(1) for 
accounts, agencies, and functions, to the extent applicable.
    ``(d) In this section--
            ``(1) `unified budget' means a budget in which revenues and 
        expenses for Federal funds and trust funds are consolidated to 
        display totals for the Federal Government as a whole;
            ``(2) `trust funds' means--
                    ``(A) the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance 
                Trust Fund,
                    ``(B) the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund,
                    ``(C) the Civil Service Retirement and Disability 
                Fund,
                    ``(D) the Military Retirement Fund,
                    ``(E) the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance 
                Trust Fund,
                    ``(F) the Unemployment Trust Fund,
                    ``(G) the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund, 
                and
                    ``(H) such other funds or accounts of the 
                Government that the Director of the Office of 
                Management and Budget, in consultation with the 
                Comptroller General, determines should be classified as 
                trust funds in order to fulfill the purpose of this 
                section;
            ``(3) `Federal funds' includes all accounts of the 
        Government that are not trust funds;
            ``(4) `total funds' means Federal funds and trust funds and 
        represents the unified budget;
            ``(5) `capital assets' means physical assets and financial 
        assets, but does not include consumable inventories;
            ``(6) `physical assets' means tangible assets whose 
        ownership is or will be in the public domain; which typically 
        produce services or benefits, including for national defense 
        and security, for more than 2 years; and which have an initial 
        cost equal to or more than $100,000; such assets include, but 
        are not limited to--
                    ``(A) roadways and bridges;
                    ``(B) airports and airway facilities;
                    ``(C) mass transportation systems;
                    ``(D) waste water treatment and related facilities;
                    ``(E) water resource projects;
                    ``(F) medical facilities;
                    ``(G) resource recovery facilities;
                    ``(H) public structures;
                    ``(I) space and communication facilities;
                    ``(J) defense facilities;
                    ``(K) major weapons platforms; and
                    ``(L) strategic petroleum reserves and mineral 
                stockpiles;
            ``(7) `financial assets' means interests of the Federal 
        Government in, and claims of the Federal Government against, 
        foreign governments, States and their political subdivisions, 
        corporations, associations, and individuals and their resources 
        which are represented by a legal instrument (such as bonds, 
        debentures, notes, and other securities), less any credit 
        subsidy costs attributable to such financial assets;
            ``(8) `credit subsidy costs' means the losses incurred by 
        the Federal Government as a result of its direct and guaranteed 
        loans, including such costs as interest and default;
            ``(9) `consumable inventories' means tangible assets of the 
        Federal Government, including stockpiles, supplies, and 
        inventories, which typically are consumed within 2 years or 
        which have an initial price less than $100,000;
            ``(10) `operating revenues' means all receipts of the 
        Federal Government, other than those identified in paragraph 
        (16), including profits and interest earned on financial 
        assets;
            ``(11) `operating expenses' means all expenses of the 
        Federal Government, other than those identified in paragraph 
        (17), including interest payments on debts, asset consumption 
        charge, and credit subsidy costs;
            ``(12) `the operating surplus/deficit before interfund 
        transfers' means the difference between operating revenues and 
        operating expenses before interfund transfers;
            ``(13) `interfund transfers' means the flow of revenues 
        between Federal funds and trust funds accounts that are 
        expenses from the account making the payments and revenues to 
        the account receiving the payments;
            ``(14) `operating surplus/deficit' means the operating 
        surplus/deficit before interfund transfers plus or minus 
        interfund transfers;
            ``(15) `asset consumption charge' means the systematic 
        allocation of the original cost--historical, replacement, or 
        current value--of a physical asset (excluding national 
        monuments and land) financed by the appropriation accounts for 
        which the capital budget required by this section applies;
            ``(16) `capital revenues' means receipts of the Federal 
        Government derived from the repayment of principal invested in 
        financial assets, and taxes, collections, and receipts 
        dedicated by statute, for the acquisition, construction, and 
        rehabilitation of capital assets which relate to the 
        activities, functions, and programs represented by the capital 
        budget;
            ``(17) `capital investments' means expenditures of the 
        Federal Government, including those under grants, contracts, 
        and leases, which are for the acquisition, construction, and 
        rehabilitation of capital assets;
            ``(18) `net capital investments' means the amount by which 
        capital investments exceed the asset consumption charge;
            ``(19) `capital financing requirements' means net capital 
        investments plus or minus interfund transfers;
            ``(20) `items not affecting funds' means noncash outlays of 
        the Federal Government; and
            ``(21) `unified budget financing requirements' means the 
        total of the operating surplus/deficit and the net capital 
        financing requirements less items not affecting funds.''.

SEC. 4. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Duties of Comptroller General.--Section 1112 of title 31, 
United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (c)(1) by inserting ``criteria, 
        principles, and standards for determining the contents of the 
        operating and capital budgets required under section 1105a of 
        this title and'' after ``including''; and
            (2) by adding at the end thereof the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(g) The Comptroller General shall review and report to the 
Congress on the implementation of section 1105a of this title as the 
Comptroller General deems necessary. A review by the Comptroller 
General may include, but need not be limited to, determining whether 
(1) the actual, estimated, and proposed appropriations, receipts, and 
investments presented in the capital budget represent activities, 
functions, and programs which support the acquisition, construction, 
alteration, and rehabilitation of capital assets, and (2) the 
classifications made by the Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget under section 1105a(d)(2)(H) of this title further the purposes 
of section 1105a.''.
    (b) Chapter Analysis.--The analysis for chapter 11 of such title is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 1105 the 
following:

``1105a. Capital and operating budgets.''.

SEC. 5. PUBLIC WORKS FINANCING INFORMATION.

    Title VII of the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 
(42 U.S.C. 3211-3226) is amended by adding at the end thereof the 
following new section:

``SEC. 717. PUBLIC WORKS FINANCING INFORMATION.

    ``(a) Transportation Reports.--Not later than 12 months after the 
date of the enactment of the Federal Budget Structure Act of 1995, and 
annually thereafter, the Secretary of Transportation shall report to 
the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate 
Committee on Environment and Public Works, at the account, function, 
and agency levels, the actual, estimated, and proposed appropriations, 
receipts, and expenditures for capital activities and operating 
activities associated with the following:
            ``(1) roadways and bridges;
            ``(2) airports and airway facilities; and
            ``(3) mass transportation systems.
    ``(b) Water Pollution Reports.--Not later than 12 months after the 
date of the enactment of the Federal Budget Structure Act of 1995, and 
annually thereafter, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
Agency shall report to the House Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public 
Works, at the account and function levels, the actual, estimated, and 
proposed appropriations, receipts, and expenditures for capital 
activities and operating activities associated with waste water 
treatment and related facilities.
    ``(c) Water Resources Reports.--Not later than 12 months after the 
date of the enactment of the Federal Budget Structure Act of 1995, and 
annually thereafter, the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil 
Works shall report to the House Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public 
Works, at the account and function levels, the actual, estimated, and 
proposed appropriations, receipts, and expenditures for capital 
activities and operating activities associated with water resource 
projects.
    ``(d) Public Buildings Reports.--Not later than 12 months after the 
date of the enactment of the Federal Budget Structure Act of 1995, and 
annually thereafter, the Administrator of the General Services 
Administration shall report to the House Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public 
Works, at the account and function levels, the actual, estimated, and 
proposed appropriations, receipts, and expenditures for capital 
activities and operating activities associated with public 
buildings.''.
                                 <all>