[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 162 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 162

 To provide greater accountability of taxpayers' dollars by curtailing 
           congressional earmarking, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 6, 2009

Mr. Feingold (for himself, Mr. McCain, Mrs. McCaskill, Mr. Graham, and 
  Mr. Coburn) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
         referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide greater accountability of taxpayers' dollars by curtailing 
           congressional earmarking, 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 ``Fiscal Discipline, Earmark Reform, 
and Accountability Act''.

SEC. 2. REFORM OF CONSIDERATION OF APPROPRIATIONS BILLS IN THE SENATE.

    (a) In General.--Rule XVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``9.(a) On a point of order made by any Senator:
            ``(1) No new or general legislation nor any unauthorized 
        appropriation may be included in any general appropriation 
        bill.
            ``(2) No amendment may be received to any general 
        appropriation bill the effect of which will be to add an 
        unauthorized appropriation to the bill.
            ``(3) No unauthorized appropriation may be included in any 
        amendment between the Houses, or any amendment thereto, in 
        relation to a general appropriation bill.
    ``(b)(1) If a point of order under subparagraph (a)(1) against a 
Senate bill or amendment is sustained--
            ``(A) the new or general legislation or unauthorized 
        appropriation shall be struck from the bill or amendment; and
            ``(B) any modification of total amounts appropriated 
        necessary to reflect the deletion of the matter struck from the 
        bill or amendment shall be made.
    ``(2) If a point of order under subparagraph (a)(1) against an Act 
of the House of Representatives is sustained when the Senate is not 
considering an amendment in the nature of a substitute, an amendment to 
the House bill is deemed to have been adopted that--
            ``(A) strikes the new or general legislation or 
        unauthorized appropriation from the bill; and
            ``(B) modifies, if necessary, the total amounts 
        appropriated by the bill to reflect the deletion of the matter 
        struck from the bill;
    ``(c) If the point of order against an amendment under subparagraph 
(a)(2) is sustained, the amendment shall be out of order and may not be 
considered.
    ``(d)(1) If a point of order under subparagraph (a)(3) against a 
Senate amendment is sustained--
            ``(A) the unauthorized appropriation shall be struck from 
        the amendment;
            ``(B) any modification of total amounts appropriated 
        necessary to reflect the deletion of the matter struck from the 
        amendment shall be made; and
            ``(C) after all other points of order under this paragraph 
        have been disposed of, the Senate shall proceed to consider the 
        amendment as so modified.
    ``(2) If a point of order under subparagraph (a)(3) against a House 
of Representatives amendment is sustained--
            ``(A) an amendment to the House amendment is deemed to have 
        been adopted that--
                    ``(i) strikes the new or general legislation or 
                unauthorized appropriation from the House amendment; 
                and
                    ``(ii) modifies, if necessary, the total amounts 
                appropriated by the bill to reflect the deletion of the 
                matter struck from the House amendment; and
            ``(B) after all other points of order under this paragraph 
        have been disposed of, the Senate shall proceed to consider the 
        question of whether to concur with further amendment.
    ``(e) The disposition of a point of order made under any other 
paragraph of this rule, or under any other Standing Rule of the Senate, 
that is not sustained, or is waived, does not preclude, or affect, a 
point of order made under subparagraph (a) with respect to the same 
matter.
    ``(f) A point of order under subparagraph (a) may be waived only by 
a motion agreed to by the affirmative vote of three-fifths of the 
Senators duly chosen and sworn. If an appeal is taken from the ruling 
of the Presiding Officer with respect to such a point of order, the 
ruling of the Presiding Officer shall be sustained absent an 
affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn.
    ``(g) Notwithstanding any other rule of the Senate, it shall be in 
order for a Senator to raise a single point of order that several 
provisions of a general appropriation bill or an amendment between the 
Houses on a general appropriation bill violate subparagraph (a). The 
Presiding Officer may sustain the point of order as to some or all of 
the provisions against which the Senator raised the point of order. If 
the Presiding Officer so sustains the point of order as to some or all 
of the provisions against which the Senator raised the point of order, 
then only those provisions against which the Presiding Officer sustains 
the point of order shall be deemed stricken pursuant to this paragraph. 
Before the Presiding Officer rules on such a point of order, any 
Senator may move to waive such a point of order, in accordance with 
subparagraph (f), as it applies to some or all of the provisions 
against which the point of order was raised. Such a motion to waive is 
amendable in accordance with the rules and precedents of the Senate. 
After the Presiding Officer rules on such a point of order, any Senator 
may appeal the ruling of the Presiding Officer on such a point of order 
as it applies to some or all of the provisions on which the Presiding 
Officer ruled.
    ``(h) For purposes of this paragraph:
            ``(1) The term `new or general legislation' has the meaning 
        given that term when it is used in paragraph 2 of this rule.
            ``(2) The term `new matter' means matter not committed to 
        conference by either House of Congress.
            ``(3)(A) The term `unauthorized appropriation' means a 
        `congressionally directed spending item' as defined in rule 
        XLIV--
                    ``(i) that is not specifically authorized by law or 
                Treaty stipulation (unless the appropriation has been 
                specifically authorized by an Act or resolution 
                previously passed by the Senate during the same session 
                or proposed in pursuance of an estimate submitted in 
                accordance with law); or
                    ``(ii) the amount of which exceeds the amount 
                specifically authorized by law or Treaty stipulation 
                (or specifically authorized by an Act or resolution 
                previously passed by the Senate during the same session 
                or proposed in pursuance of an estimate submitted in 
                accordance with law) to be appropriated.
            ``(B) An appropriation is not specifically authorized if it 
        is restricted or directed to, or authorized to be obligated or 
        expended for the benefit of, an identifiable person, program, 
        project, entity, or jurisdiction by earmarking or other 
        specification, whether by name or description, in a manner that 
        is so restricted, directed, or authorized that it applies only 
        to a single identifiable person, program, project, entity, or 
        jurisdiction, unless the identifiable person, program, project, 
        entity, or jurisdiction to which the restriction, direction, or 
        authorization applies is described or otherwise clearly 
        identified in a law or Treaty stipulation (or an Act or 
        resolution previously passed by the Senate during the same 
        session or in the estimate submitted in accordance with law) 
        that specifically provides for the restriction, direction, or 
        authorization of appropriation for such person, program, 
        project, entity, or jurisdiction.
    ``10. (a) On a point of order made by any Senator, no new or 
general legislation, nor any unauthorized appropriation, new matter, or 
nongermane matter may be included in any conference report on a general 
appropriation bill.
    ``(b) If the point of order against a conference report under 
subparagraph (a) is sustained--
            ``(1) the new or general legislation, unauthorized 
        appropriation, new matter, or nongermane matter in such 
        conference report shall be deemed to have been struck;
            ``(2) any modification of total amounts appropriated 
        necessary to reflect the deletion of the matter struck shall be 
        deemed to have been made;
            ``(3) when all other points of order under this paragraph 
        have been disposed of--
                    ``(A) the Senate shall proceed to consider the 
                question of whether the Senate should recede from its 
                amendment to the House bill, or its disagreement to the 
                amendment of the House, and concur with a further 
                amendment, which further amendment shall consist of 
                only that portion of the conference report not deemed 
                to have been struck (together with any modification of 
                total amounts appropriated);
                    ``(B) the question shall be debatable; and
                    ``(C) no further amendment shall be in order; and
            ``(4) if the Senate agrees to the amendment, then the bill 
        and the Senate amendment thereto shall be returned to the House 
        for its concurrence in the amendment of the Senate.
    ``(c) The disposition of a point of order made under any other 
paragraph of this rule, or under any other Standing Rule of the Senate, 
that is not sustained, or is waived, does not preclude, or affect, a 
point of order made under subparagraph (a) with respect to the same 
matter.
    ``(d) A point of order under subparagraph (a) may be waived only by 
a motion agreed to by the affirmative vote of three-fifths of the 
Senators duly chosen and sworn. If an appeal is taken from the ruling 
of the Presiding Officer with respect to such a point of order, the 
ruling of the Presiding Officer shall be sustained absent an 
affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn.
    ``(e) Notwithstanding any other rule of the Senate, it shall be in 
order for a Senator to raise a single point of order that several 
provisions of a conference report on a general appropriation bill 
violate subparagraph (a). The Presiding Officer may sustain the point 
of order as to some or all of the provisions against which the Senator 
raised the point of order. If the Presiding Officer so sustains the 
point of order as to some or all of the provisions against which the 
Senator raised the point of order, then only those provisions against 
which the Presiding Officer sustains the point of order shall be deemed 
stricken pursuant to this paragraph. Before the Presiding Officer rules 
on such a point of order, any Senator may move to waive such a point of 
order, in accordance with subparagraph (d), as it applies to some or 
all of the provisions against which the point of order was raised. Such 
a motion to waive is amendable in accordance with the rules and 
precedents of the Senate. After the Presiding Officer rules on such a 
point of order, any Senator may appeal the ruling of the Presiding 
Officer on such a point of order as it applies to some or all of the 
provisions on which the Presiding Officer ruled.
    ``(f) For purposes of this paragraph:
            ``(1) The terms `new or general legislation', `new matter', 
        and `unauthorized appropriation' have the same meaning as in 
        paragraph 9.
            ``(2) The term `nongermane matter' has the same meaning as 
        in rule XXII and under the precedents attendant thereto, as of 
        the beginning of the 110th Congress.''.
    (b) Requiring Conference Reports To Be Searchable Online.--
Paragraph 3(a)(2) of rule XLIV of the Standing Rules of the Senate is 
amended by inserting ``in an searchable format'' after ``available''.

SEC. 3. LOBBYING ON BEHALF OF RECIPIENTS OF FEDERAL FUNDS.

    The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 is amended by adding after 
section 5 the following:

``SEC. 5A. REPORTS BY RECIPIENTS OF FEDERAL FUNDS.

    ``(a) In General.--A recipient of Federal funds shall file a report 
as required by section 5(a) containing--
            ``(1) the name of any lobbyist registered under this Act to 
        whom the recipient paid money to lobby on behalf of the Federal 
        funding received by the recipient; and
            ``(2) the amount of money paid as described in paragraph 
        (1).
    ``(b) Definition.--In this section, the term `recipient of Federal 
funds' means the recipient of Federal funds constituting an award, 
grant, or loan.''.
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