[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2911 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2911

  To reduce the deficit by establishing 5-year discretionary spending 
            caps and strengthened Pay-As-You-Go procedures.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 18, 2009

 Mr. Sessions (for himself, Mr. Bunning, Mr. Vitter, Mr. LeMieux, Mr. 
Enzi, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Barrasso, and Mr. Hatch) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To reduce the deficit by establishing 5-year discretionary spending 
            caps and strengthened Pay-As-You-Go procedures.

    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 ``Common Sense Budgeting Act''.

                 TITLE I--DISCRETIONARY SPENDING LIMITS

SEC. 101. DISCRETIONARY SPENDING LIMITS.

    Title III of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended by 
inserting at the end the following:

                    ``discretionary spending limits

    ``Sec. 316.  (a) Discretionary Spending Limits.--It shall not be in 
order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any 
bill, joint resolution, amendment, or conference report that includes 
any provision that would cause the discretionary spending limits as set 
forth in subsection (b) to be exceeded.
    ``(b) Limits.--The discretionary spending limits are as follows:
            ``(1) For fiscal year 2010--
                    ``(A) for defense, $556,128,000,000 in budget 
                authority; and
                    ``(B) for nondefense, $670,108,000,000 in budget 
                authority.
            ``(2) For fiscal year 2011--
                    ``(A) for defense, $564,293,000,000 in budget 
                authority; and
                    ``(B) for nondefense, $593,769,000,000 in budget 
                authority.
            ``(3) For fiscal year 2012--
                    ``(A) for defense, $573,612,000,000 in budget 
                authority; and
                    ``(B) for nondefense, $597,461,000,000 in budget 
                authority.
            ``(4) For fiscal year 2013--
                    ``(A) for defense, $584,421,000,000 in budget 
                authority; and
                    ``(B) for nondefense, $605,156,000,000 in budget 
                authority.
            ``(5) For fiscal year 2014--
                    ``(A) for defense, $598,249,000,000 in budget 
                authority; and
                    ``(B) for nondefense, $615,110,000,000 in budget 
                authority.
    ``(c) Point of Order in the Senate.--
            ``(1) Waiver.--The provisions of this section shall be 
        waived or suspended in the Senate only--
                    ``(A) by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the 
                Members, duly chosen and sworn; or
                    ``(B) in the case of the defense budget authority, 
                if Congress declares war.
            ``(2) Appeal.--Appeals in the Senate from the decisions of 
        the Chair relating to any provision of this section shall be 
        limited to 1 hour, to be equally divided between, and 
        controlled by, the appellant and the manager of the measure. An 
        affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Members of the Senate, 
        duly chosen and sworn, shall be required to sustain an appeal 
        of the ruling of the Chair on a point of order raised under 
        this section.''.

                        TITLE II--PAY-AS-YOU-GO

SEC. 201. PAY-AS-YOU-GO POINT OF ORDER IN THE SENATE.

    (a) In General.--Title III of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, 
as amended by section 101, is amended by inserting at the end the 
following:

                            ``pay-as-you-go

    ``Sec. 317.  (a) Point of Order.--
            ``(1) In general.--It shall not be in order in the Senate 
        to consider any direct spending or revenue legislation that 
        would increase the on-budget deficit or cause an on-budget 
        deficit for either of the applicable time periods as measured 
        in paragraphs (5) and (6).
            ``(2) Applicable time periods.--For purposes of this 
        subsection, the term `applicable time period' means any 1 of 
        the 4 following periods--
                    ``(A) the period of the current fiscal year;
                    ``(B) the budget year;
                    ``(C) the period of the 5 fiscal years following 
                the current fiscal year; and
                    ``(D) the period of the 5 fiscal years following 
                the 5 fiscal years referred to in subparagraph (C).
            ``(3) Direct spending legislation.--For purposes of this 
        subsection and except as provided in paragraph (4), the term 
        `direct spending legislation' means any bill, joint resolution, 
        amendment, motion, or conference report that affects direct 
        spending as that term is defined by, and interpreted for 
        purposes of, the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control 
        Act of 1985.
            ``(4) Exclusion.--For purposes of this subsection, the 
        terms `direct spending legislation' and `revenue legislation' 
        do not include--
                    ``(A) any concurrent resolution on the budget; or
                    ``(B) any provision of legislation that affects the 
                full funding of, and continuation of, the deposit 
                insurance guarantee commitment in effect on the date of 
                enactment of the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990.
            ``(5) Methods for estimation.--Estimates prepared pursuant 
        to this subsection shall--
                    ``(A) use the baseline surplus or deficit used for 
                the most recently adopted concurrent resolution on the 
                budget;
                    ``(B) except as provided in subparagraphs (C) and 
                (D), be calculated under the requirements of 
                subsections (b) through (d) of section 257 of the 
                Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 
                1985 (as in effect prior to September 30, 2002) for 
                fiscal years beyond those covered by that concurrent 
                resolution on the budget; and
                    ``(C) assume the continuation of all expiring 
                direct spending programs, revenue reductions, excise 
                taxes and customs duties.
    ``(b) Supermajority Waiver and Appeals.--
            ``(1) Waiver.--This section may be waived or suspended in 
        the Senate only by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the 
        Members, duly chosen and sworn.
            ``(2) Appeals.--Appeals in the Senate from the decisions of 
        the Chair relating to any provision of this section shall be 
        limited to 1 hour, to be equally divided between, and 
        controlled by, the appellant and the manager of the bill or 
        joint resolution, as the case may be. An affirmative vote of 
        two-thirds of the Members of the Senate, duly chosen and sworn, 
        shall be required to sustain an appeal of the ruling of the 
        Chair on a point of order raised under this section.
    ``(c) Determination of Budget Levels.--For purposes of this 
section, the levels of new budget authority, outlays, and revenues for 
a fiscal year shall be determined on the basis of estimates made by the 
Senate Committee on the Budget.
    ``(d) Repeal.--In the Senate, section 201 of S. Con. Res. 21 (110th 
Congress), the fiscal year 2008 concurrent resolution on the budget, 
shall no longer apply.''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents set forth in section 
1(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. Discretionary spending limits.
``Sec. 317. Pay-as-you-go.''.
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