[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 943 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 943
To amend title 31, United States Code, to require certain additional
calculations to be included in the annual financial statement submitted
under section 331(e) of that title, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 10, 2009
Mrs. Bachmann (for herself, Mr. Ryan of Wisconsin, Mr. Cooper, Mr.
Kirk, Mr. Campbell, Mr. Cole, Mr. Broun of Georgia, Mr. Franks of
Arizona, Mr. Scalise, Mr. Fortenberry, Mr. Lamborn, Mr. Neugebauer, Mr.
Posey, Mr. Latta, Mr. Brady of Texas, Mr. Kingston, Mr. Sam Johnson of
Texas, Mrs. Schmidt, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Ms. Foxx, and Mr. Hoekstra)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform, 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 title 31, United States Code, to require certain additional
calculations to be included in the annual financial statement submitted
under section 331(e) of that title, 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 ``Truth in Accounting Act of 2009''.
SEC. 2. PREPARATION OF NET PRESENT VALUE CALCULATION OF MAJOR FISCAL
EXPOSURES OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
(a) In General.--Section 331(e) of title 31, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Net present value calculation and other
calculations.--
``(A) Matters covered.--The financial statement
shall include a calculation under policies in effect
during the fiscal year covered by the statement of the
net present value of the overall fiscal exposures of
the United States Government. The calculation shall
include--
``(i) the outstanding debt held by the
public;
``(ii) calculations of the net present
value of commitments and receipts of the
Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI)
Trust Fund, the Federal Disability Insurance
(DI) Trust Fund, the Federal Hospital Insurance
(HI) Trust Fund, and the Federal Supplementary
Medical Insurance (SMI) Trust Fund using the
most recent available long-term, intermediate
projections by the Trustees of such Trust Funds
of revenues, expenditures, and discount
factors, as represented in such annual reports;
``(iii) calculations of the net present
value of commitments and receipts of the
Railroad Retirement and Black Lung (part C)
programs; and
``(iv) calculations of the net present
value of commitments and receipts of the
Federal retirement and health insurance
systems, both civil and military.
``(B) Time horizon.--(i) For each calculation under
subparagraph (A), calculations shall be provided for--
``(I) a 75-year horizon; and
``(II) an indefinite time horizon.
``(ii) For the 75-year horizon under clause (i)(I),
each calculation shall take each year's projected
expenditures minus revenues, divide this difference by
the projected discount factor for that year, and add
the resulting 75 annual discounted flows to obtain the
program's net present value imbalance. The long-term
discount and growth rates used in these calculations
shall be discussed in the financial statement and shall
be consistent with those used by the Department of
Treasury and other Government agencies with regard to
other long-term financial calculations. For purposes of
the calculations in clauses (ii), (iii), and (iv) of
subparagraph (A), revenues shall include payroll taxes
as allocated by law to the respective Trust Funds
(currently the case for OASI, DI, and HI), participant
premiums and State transfer income (for SMI), general
revenue receipts from the taxation of benefits, as
currently allocated by law to the OASI, DI, and HI
Trust Funds, and funding for the Federal retirement and
health insurance systems, both civil and military. For
purposes of this calculation, revenues shall not
include interest income on Trust Fund and transfers of
general revenue to SMI, Social Security, or Medicare.
``(iii) For the indefinite time horizon under
clause (i)(II), the calculations shall follow the
procedures provided in clause (ii), but shall be based
on extended projections for a number of years
sufficiently beyond 75 years that would result in the
present value sum increasing by less than 0.05 percent
if an additional year were added to the projection.
``(C) Generational imbalance calculation.--The
financial statement shall include a program-by-program
calculation under policies in effect during the fiscal
year covered by the statement of the net present value
of benefits and projected benefits to current
participants of the programs described in clauses (ii),
(iii), and (iv) of subparagraph (A), including the
present value of projected benefits to current
participants, less the present value of projected
contributions and earmarked taxes paid by, or on behalf
of, current participants less the current trust fund
balances.
``(D) Fiscal imbalance calculation.--The financial
statement shall include a program-by-program
calculation under policies in effect during the fiscal
year covered by the statement of the net present value
of benefits and projected benefits to current and
future participants of the programs described in
clauses (ii), (iii), and (iv) of subparagraph (A),
including the present value of projected benefits to
current and future participants over the indefinite
horizon, less the present value of projected
contributions and earmarked taxes paid by, or on behalf
of, current and future participants over the indefinite
horizon, less the current trust fund balances.
``(E) Presentation of public debt.--The financial
statement shall include the total amount of outstanding
public debt (included in the statement pursuant to
subparagraph (A)(i)), plus the total amount of fiscal
imbalance calculations (included in the statement
pursuant to subparagraph (D)), set forth separately by
amount of debt per person, per fulltime worker, and per
household.
``(F) Methods used.--The financial statement shall
include the assumptions and details of the methods used
in making the calculations required under subparagraph
(A). It shall separately identify and provide a
detailed description of the methods and assumptions
used in making projections of tax revenues, premiums,
other receipts from all sources, including inter-fund
transfers and interest income on securities held in
trust funds, benefit outlays distinguished by the type
of benefit, and administrative expenses. The financial
statement shall also provide details regarding
demographic assumptions (such as fertility, mortality,
immigration, and labor-force participation rates),
dependency ratios, and economic assumptions (such as
trust fund interest rates, discount rates, revenue and
benefit growth rates, health-care expenditure growth
rates, productivity growth rates, and inflation rates).
The information should include a description of all
other intermediate steps and variables used and
projected in making the calculations.''.
(b) Requirement for President To Use Financial Statement in
Preparing Budget.--
(1) Requirement.--In preparing the budget for the United
States Government for submission under section 1105 of title
31, United States Code, the President shall take into
consideration the financial statement prepared by the Secretary
of the Treasury under section 331(e) of such title, including
the effect of the overall budget on the generational imbalance
calculation and the fiscal imbalance calculation required under
subparagraphs (C) and (D), respectively, of such section, and
the effect of the overall budget on the net present value of
the overall fiscal exposures of the United States Government.
(2) Inclusion of statement in budget.--Section 1105(a) of
title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end
the following new paragraph:
``(36) A statement describing how the financial statement
prepared by the Secretary of the Treasury under section 331(e)
of this title was considered in preparing the budget, as
required by section 2(b) of the Truth in Accounting Act of
2009, including a statement of the effect of the overall budget
on the generational imbalance calculation and the fiscal
imbalance calculation required under subparagraphs (C) and (D),
respectively, of such section, and the effect of the overall
budget on the net present value of the overall fiscal exposures
of the United States Government.''.
(c) Secretary of Treasury Testimony on Financial Statement.--
Section 331(e) of title 31, United States Code, is further amended by
adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(4) The Secretary of the Treasury shall testify each year before
Congress on the financial statement for the preceding fiscal year
required by this section, including the generational imbalance
calculation and fiscal imbalance calculation required under
subparagraphs (C) and (D), respectively, of paragraph (3).''.
(d) Comptroller General Report on Financial Condition of
Government.--Section 331(e) of title 31, United States Code, is further
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(5) The Comptroller General shall testify each year before
Congress upon request. Not later than January 30 of each year, the
Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress a
report containing an assessment of the financial condition of the
United States Government. The report shall include--
``(A) an assessment of the generational imbalance
calculation and fiscal imbalance calculation required under
paragraph (3);
``(B) a statement of whether the President met the
requirements of section 2(b) of the Truth in Accounting Act of
2009;
``(C) the results of the most recent long-term fiscal model
simulation of the Government Accountability Office; and
``(D) such other fiscal matters the Comptroller General
determines to be significant.''.
(e) Effective Date.--The information required under paragraph (3)
of section 331(e) of title 31, United States Code, as added by
subsection (a), shall be included in the first financial statement
required under that section after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
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