[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5008 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5008

    To amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require annual 
progress toward meeting fiscally responsible 5- and 10-year deficit and 
                             debt targets.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 13, 2010

 Ms. Markey of Colorado (for herself, Mr. Baca, Mr. Berry, Mr. Boren, 
Mr. Boyd, Mr. Bright, Mr. Childers, Mr. Cooper, Mr. Davis of Tennessee, 
    Ms. Giffords, Ms. Herseth Sandlin, Mr. Hill, Mr. Kratovil, Mr. 
 Marshall, Mr. Matheson, Mr. McIntyre, Mr. Melancon, Mr. Minnick, Mr. 
 Murphy of New York, Mr. Nye, Mr. Ross, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Schrader, Mr. 
 Shuler, Mr. Space, Mr. Tanner, and Mr. Wilson of Ohio) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Rules, and in 
      addition to the Committee on the Budget, 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 Act of 1974 to require annual 
progress toward meeting fiscally responsible 5- and 10-year deficit and 
                             debt targets.

    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 ``Targeted Deficit Reduction Act of 
2010''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the Federal deficit in 2009 was more than $1.4 
        trillion, or 9.9 percent of the United States gross domestic 
        product (GDP);
            (2) our current deficits are unsustainable: under realistic 
        assumptions, the level of public debt will double over the next 
        ten years;
            (3) the Federal debt held by the public at the end of 2009, 
        as estimated by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), was 
        approximately $7.5 trillion or 53 percent of GDP;
            (4) in a conservative CBO estimate assuming tax cuts will 
        expire by 2012, the debt will climb to $15 trillion by the end 
        of 2020, or 67 percent of GDP;
            (5) other analysts, which take account many factors that 
        the CBO does not utilize, estimate that by 2020 publicly held 
        debt will be closer to 80 percent of GDP;
            (6) in 2009, payment of interest on the national debt was 
        the fourth largest item in the Federal budget, reducing funds 
        available to vital programs such as education, homeland 
        security, and veterans affairs;
            (7) United States debt held by foreign individuals and 
        nations whose interests are not always compatible with United 
        States interests has grown dramatically: at the close of 2009 
        overseas ownership of United States securities totaled nearly 
        $3.6 trillion and nearly $800 billion was held by China;
            (8) creditors' willingness to lend to the United States is 
        decreasing, which greatly restricts the ability of the Nation 
        to respond to crises, both foreign and domestic;
            (9) a growing debt directly increases inflation, further 
        eroding the power of the United States dollar abroad and 
        weakening the economy;
            (10) succeeding generations will face greatly lower 
        standards of living because of the fiscal future created by 
        prolonged deficit spending;
            (11) international trade has made the United States economy 
        the largest in the world, but tightened credit and weakened 
        international standing will reduce the Nation's ability to 
        compete in a global marketplace and will restrict the growth of 
        the economy;
            (12) the United States supplies the International Monetary 
        Fund (IMF) with a great deal of its funding and is a leader in 
        formulating IMF economic policies that are promoted through the 
        world, yet the United States is dangerously close to exceeding 
        the IMF guideline limit of 60 percent debt-to-GDP;
            (13) without a significant commitment to rein in our 
        deficits and debt, our economic and national security will be 
        threatened;
            (14) the Federal budget should be developed each year 
        toward a target of attaining a maximum ratio of 60 percent 
        debt-to-GDP and achieving complete budget balance within ten 
        years (by fiscal year 2020);
            (15) an interim goal, the Federal budget should achieve 
        primary balance, in which spending equals revenue excluding the 
        debt service, within five years (by fiscal year 2015);
            (16) the reconciliation process is currently an optional 
        procedure under the Congressional Budget and Impoundment 
        Control Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-344), as amended) designed 
        to enhance the ability of Congress to reduce the deficit; and
            (17) this Act creates achievable, long-term goals and 
        imbeds a process for annual progress toward that goal in the 
        Congressional budgetary process.

SEC. 3. TARGETED DEFICIT AND DEBT REDUCTION.

    (a) In General.--Title III of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 
is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

                 ``targeted deficit and debt reduction

    ``Sec. 316.  (a) Content of Concurrent Resolution on the Budget.--
In addition to the items required to be included in a concurrent 
resolution on the budget under section 301(a), the concurrent 
resolutions on the budget for fiscal years 2011 through 2020 shall each 
include, as applicable, reconciliation directives described in section 
310 to reduce the deficit to achieve the goals set forth in subsection 
(b).
    ``(b) Goals To Be Achieved Through Reconciliation.--
            ``(1) Primary budget balance by fiscal year 2015.
            ``(2) Full budget balance by fiscal year 2020.
            ``(3) A debt-to-GDP ratio of 60 percent by fiscal year 
        2020.
Any committee that receives reconciliation directives to achieve any of 
these goals shall be ordered to report a reconciliation bill not later 
than 45 calendar days after the concurrent resolution on the budget 
containing such directives is agreed to.
    ``(c) CBO Report.--On or before February 15 of each year through 
2019, the Director of the Congressional Budget Office shall submit to 
the Committees on the Budget of the House of Representatives and the 
Senate a report for the fiscal year commencing on October 1 of that 
year containing the target deficit reduction for that fiscal year 
necessary to achieve the applicable goals set forth in subsection (b) 
and the anticipated glide path for each such fiscal year until fiscal 
year 2020. In determining the necessary deficit reduction required for 
each fiscal year through fiscal year 2020, the Director shall endeavor 
to have such deficit reduction as uniform as possible for each such 
fiscal year. Each such report shall also include the estimated deficit, 
debt, and GDP for each fiscal year though fiscal year 2020.
    ``(d) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
            ``(1) the term `primary budget balance' means outlays equal 
        receipts during a fiscal year, not counting outlays for debt 
        service payments;
            ``(2) the term `full budget balance' means outlays equal 
        receipts during a fiscal year;
            ``(3) the term `GDP' means the gross domestic product of 
        the United States; and
            ``(4) the term `debt-to-GDP ratio' means, for a fiscal 
        year, the quantitative relationship between the face amount of 
        obligations described in section 3101(b) of title 31, United 
        States Code, estimated to be outstanding at the end of that 
        year and the estimated GDP for that year.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents set forth in 
section l(b) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 
1974 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 315 the 
following new item:

``Sec. 316. Targeted deficit and debt reduction.''.
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