[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 133 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 133

   Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to establish a 
     discretionary spending ledger and a mandatory spending ledger.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 6, 2003

 Mr. Sullivan (for himself, Mr. Cannon, Mr. King of Iowa, Mr. Ryun of 
Kansas, Mr. Lewis of Kentucky, Mr. Green of Wisconsin, Mr. Gibbons, Mr. 
  Otter, Mr. Toomey, Mr. Pitts, Ms. Hart, Mrs. Myrick, and Ms. Ginny 
 Brown-Waite of Florida) submitted the following resolution; which was 
                   referred to the Committee on Rules

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to establish a 
     discretionary spending ledger and a mandatory spending ledger.

    Resolved, The Rules of the House of Representatives are amended by 
redesignating rule XXVIII as rule XXX and by inserting after rule XXVII 
the following new rules:

                             ``RULE XXVIII

                    ``discretionary spending ledger.

    ``1. (a) The chairman of the Committee on the Budget shall maintain 
a ledger to be known as the `Discretionary Spending Ledger'. The Ledger 
shall be divided into entries corresponding to the subcommittees of the 
Committee on Appropriations and each entry shall consist of the 
`Deficit Reduction Safeguard Balance'.
    ``(b) Each entry shall consist only of amounts credited to it under 
paragraph (c). No entry of a negative amount shall be made.
    ``(c) Whenever a Member offers an amendment to an appropriation 
bill to reduce new budget authority in any account, that Member may 
state the portion of such reduction that shall be--
            ``(1) credited to the Deficit Reduction Safeguard Balance;
            ``(2) used to offset an increase in new budget authority in 
        any other account; or
            ``(3) allowed to remain within the applicable section 
        302(b) suballocation.
If no such statement is made, the amount of reduction in new budget 
authority resulting from the amendment shall be credited to the Deficit 
Reduction Safeguard Balance, as applicable, if the amendment is agreed 
to.
    ``2. (a) Except as provided by paragraph (b), the chairman of the 
Committee on the Budget shall, upon the engrossment of any 
appropriation bill by the House of Representatives, credit to the entry 
balance amounts of new budget authority and outlays equal to the net 
amounts of reductions in new budget authority and in outlays resulting 
from amendments agreed to by the House to that bill.
    ``(b) When computing the net amounts of reductions in new budget 
authority and in outlays resulting from amendments agreed to by the 
House to an appropriation bill, the chairman of the Committee on the 
Budget shall only count those portions of such amendments agreed to 
that were so designated by the Members offering such amendments as 
amounts to be credited to the Deficit Reduction Safeguard Balance, or 
that fall within the last sentence of clause 1.
    ``3. The chairman of the Committee on the Budget shall maintain a 
running tally of the amendments adopted reflecting increases and 
decreases of budget authority in the bill as reported. This tally shall 
be available to Members during consideration of any appropriation bill 
by the House.
    ``4. (a) For purposes of enforcing section 302(a) of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, upon the engrossment of any 
appropriation bill by the House, the amount of budget authority and 
outlays calculated pursuant to clause 2(b) shall be counted against the 
302(a) allocation provided to the Committee on Appropriations as if the 
amount calculated pursuant to such clause was included in the bill just 
engrossed.
    ``(b) For purposes of enforcing section 302(b) of the Congressional 
Budget Act of 1974, upon the engrossment of any appropriation bill by 
the House, the 302(b) allocation provided to the subcommittee for the 
bill just engrossed shall be deemed to have been reduced by the amount 
of budget authority and outlays calculated, pursuant to clause 2(b).
    ``5. As used in this rule, the term `appropriation bill' means any 
general or special appropriation bill, and any bill or joint resolution 
making supplemental, deficiency, or continuing appropriations through 
the end of fiscal year 2004 or any subsequent fiscal year, as the case 
may be.''.

                              ``RULE XXIX

                      ``mandatory spending ledger.

    ``1. (a) The chairman of the Committee on the Budget shall maintain 
a ledger to be known as the `Mandatory Spending Ledger'. The Ledger 
shall be divided into entries corresponding to the House committees 
that received allocations under section 302(a) of the Congressional 
Budget Act of 1974 in the most recently adopted concurrent resolution 
on the budget, except that it shall not include the Committee on 
Appropriations and each entry shall consist of the `First Year Deficit 
Reduction Safeguard Balance' and the `Five Year Deficit Reduction 
Safeguard Balance'.
    ``(b) Each entry shall consist only of amounts credited to it under 
paragraph (c). No entry of a negative amount shall be made.
    ``(c) Whenever a Member offers an amendment to a bill that reduces 
the amount of mandatory budget authority provided either under current 
law or proposed to be provided by the bill under consideration, that 
Member may state the portion of such reduction achieved in the first 
year covered by the most recently adopted concurrent resolution on the 
budget and in addition the portion of such reduction achieved in the 
first five years covered by the most recently adopted concurrent 
resolution on the budget that shall be--
            ``(1) credited to the First Year Deficit Reduction 
        Safeguard Balance and the Five Year Deficit Reduction Safeguard 
        Balance;
            ``(2) used to offset an increase in other new budget 
        authority; or
            ``(3) allowed to remain within the applicable section 
        302(a) allocation.
If no such statement is made, the amount of reduction in new budget 
authority resulting from the amendment shall be credited to the First 
Year Deficit Reduction Safeguard Balance and the Five Year Deficit 
Reduction Safeguard Balance, as applicable, if the amendment is agreed 
to.
    ``2. (a) Except as provided by paragraph (b), the chairman of the 
Committee on the Budget shall, upon the engrossment of any bill, other 
than an appropriation bill, by the House, credit to the applicable 
entry balances amounts of new budget authority and outlays equal to the 
net amounts of reductions in budget authority and in outlays resulting 
from amendments agreed to by the House to that bill.
    ``(b) When computing the net amounts of reductions in budget 
authority and in outlays resulting from amendments agreed to by the 
House to a bill, the chairman of the Committee on the Budget shall only 
count those portions of such amendments agreed to that were so 
designated by the Members offering such amendments as amounts to be 
credited to the First Year Deficit Reduction Safeguard Balance and the 
Five Year Deficit Reduction Safeguard Balance, or that fall within the 
last sentence of clause 1.
    ``3. The chairman of the Committee on the Budget shall maintain a 
running tally of the amendments adopted reflecting increases and 
decreases of budget authority in the bill as reported. This tally shall 
be available to Members during consideration of any bill by the House.
    ``4. For the purposes of enforcing section 302(a) of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, upon the engrossment of any bill, 
other than an appropriation bill, by the House, the amount of budget 
authority and outlays calculated pursuant to paragraph 2(b) shall be 
counted against the 302(a) allocation provided to the applicable 
committee or committees which reported the bill as if the amount 
calculated pursuant to clause 2(b) was included in the bill just 
engrossed.
    ``5. As used in this rule, the term `appropriation bill' means any 
general or special appropriation bill, and any bill or joint resolution 
making supplemental, deficiency, or continuing appropriations through 
the end of fiscal year 2004 or any subsequent fiscal year, as the case 
may be.''.
                                 <all>