[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 855 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 855

To encourage Members of Congress and the executive branch to be honest 
  with the public about true on-budget circumstances, to exclude the 
 Social Security trust funds and the Medicare hospital insurance trust 
   fund from the annual Federal budget baseline, to prohibit Social 
 Security and Medicare hospital insurance trust funds surpluses to be 
used as offsets for tax cuts or spending increases, and to exclude the 
 Social Security trust funds and the Medicare hospital insurance trust 
       fund from official budget surplus/deficit pronouncements.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 13, 2003

Mr. Smith of Washington (for himself, Mr. Larsen of Washington, and Mr. 
   Inslee) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on the Budget, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and 
 Means, 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 encourage Members of Congress and the executive branch to be honest 
  with the public about true on-budget circumstances, to exclude the 
 Social Security trust funds and the Medicare hospital insurance trust 
   fund from the annual Federal budget baseline, to prohibit Social 
 Security and Medicare hospital insurance trust funds surpluses to be 
used as offsets for tax cuts or spending increases, and to exclude the 
 Social Security trust funds and the Medicare hospital insurance trust 
       fund from official budget surplus/deficit pronouncements.

    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 ``Honesty in Budgeting Act''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF HOUSE TO ENCOURAGE HONESTY FOR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND 
              EXECUTIVE BRANCH OFFICIALS.

    It is the sense of the House of Representatives that Members of 
Congress, executive branch officials, and their respective 
representatives should use on-budget numbers when making public 
statements regarding the Federal budget.

SEC. 3. OFF-BUDGET STATUS OF OASDI AND HI TRUST FUNDS.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the receipts and 
disbursements of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust 
Fund, the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund, and the Federal 
Hospital Insurance Trust Fund shall not be counted as new budget 
authority, outlays, receipts, or deficit or surplus for purposes of--
            (1) the budget of the United States Government as submitted 
        by the President,
            (2) the congressional budget, or
            (3) the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act 
        of 1985.

SEC. 4. REMOVING SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE FROM BUDGET SURPLUS/
              DEFICIT PRONOUNCEMENTS.

    (a) Removing Social Security and Medicare From Budget Surplus/
Deficit Pronouncements.--Title III of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974 is amended by adding at the end the following section:

  ``removing social security and medicare from budget surplus/deficit 
                             pronouncements

    ``Sec. 316. (a) Surplus or Deficit Totals.--Any official statement 
issued by the Office of Management and Budget or by the Congressional 
Budget Office of surplus or deficit totals of the budget of the United 
States Government as submitted by the President or of the surplus or 
deficit totals of the congressional budget, and any description of, or 
reference to, such totals in any official publication or material 
issued by either of such Offices, shall exclude the receipts and 
disbursements totals of the old-age survivors, and disability insurance 
program under title 2 of the Social Security Act and of the Federal 
Hospital Insurance Trust Fund under part A of title 18 of such Act. The 
Office of Management and Budget and the Congressional Budget Office 
shall issue separate reports on the outlays and revenues of the Social 
Security trust funds and of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund.
    ``(b) Presentation of Budgetary Aggregates.--For purposes of 
chapter 11 of title 31, United States Code, or this Act, tables and 
other displays of budgetary aggregates for the United States Government 
of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget or the Director 
of the Congressional Budget Office shall not include receipts or 
disbursements referred to in subsection (a).''.
    (b) 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 adding after the item relating to section 315 the 
following new item:

``Sec. 316. Removing Social Security and Medicare from budget surplus/
                            deficit pronouncements.''.
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