[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 360 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 360

 To reduce the deficit by establishing discretionary spending caps for 
                         non-security spending.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 16, 2011

Mr. Inhofe (for himself, Mr. Burr, Mr. Coburn, Mr. Kyl, Mr. Crapo, Mr. 
 Boozman, Mr. Risch, Mr. Graham, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Blunt, Mrs. Hutchison, 
Mr. Wicker, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Chambliss, Mr. Johanns, Mr. 
Enzi, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Thune, and Mr. Cornyn) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To reduce the deficit by establishing discretionary spending caps for 
                         non-security spending.

    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 ``Honest Expenditure Limitation 
Program Act of 2011'' or the ``HELP Act''.

SEC. 2. EXPIRATION.

    This Act shall expire at the end of fiscal year 2021.

   TITLE I--CONGRESSIONAL NON-SECURITY DISCRETIONARY SPENDING LIMITS

SEC. 101. NON-SECURITY DISCRETIONARY SPENDING LIMITS.

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

              ``non-security discretionary spending limits

    ``Sec. 316.  (a) Non-Security 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 non-security 
discretionary spending limits as set forth in subsection (b) to be 
exceeded.
    ``(b) Limits.--The non-security discretionary spending limits are--
            ``(1) for each of the fiscal years 2011 through 2016, the 
        levels provided for non-security discretionary spending in 
        fiscal year 2008; and
            ``(2) for fiscal years 2017 through 2021, the amount 
        described in paragraph (1) adjusted annually for inflation by 
        the CPI.
    ``(c) Non-Security Spending.--In this section, the term `non-
security discretionary spending' means discretionary spending other 
than spending for the Department of Defense, homeland security 
activities, intelligence related activities within the Department of 
State, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and national security 
related activities in the Department of Energy.
    ``(d) Limitations on Changes to This Section.--It shall not be in 
order in the Senate or the House of Representatives to consider any 
bill, resolution, amendment, or conference report that would--
            ``(1) repeal or otherwise change this section; or
            ``(2) exempt any new budget authority, outlays, and 
        receipts from being counted for purposes of this section.
    ``(e) 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 or authorizes the use of 
                force.
            ``(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.''.
    (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. Non-security discretionary spending limits.''.

     TITLE II--STATUTORY NON-SECURITY DISCRETIONARY SPENDING LIMITS

       Subtitle A--Definitions, Administration, and Sequestration

SEC. 211. DEFINITIONS.

    In this title:
            (1) Account.--The term ``account'' means--
                    (A) for discretionary budget authority, an item for 
                which appropriations are made in any appropriation Act; 
                and
                    (B) for items not provided for in appropriation 
                Acts, direct spending and outlays therefrom identified 
                in the program and finance schedules contained in the 
                appendix to the Budget of the United States for the 
                current year.
            (2) Breach.--The term ``breach'' means, for any fiscal 
        year, the amount by which discretionary budget authority 
        enacted for that year exceeds the spending limit for budget 
        authority for that year.
            (3) Budget authority; new budget authority; and outlays.--
        The terms ``budget authority'', ``new budget authority'', and 
        ``outlays'' have the meanings given to such terms in section 3 
        of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 
        (2 U.S.C. 622).
            (4) Budget year.--The term ``budget year'' means, with 
        respect to a session of Congress, the fiscal year of the 
        Government that starts on October 1 of the calendar year in 
        which that session begins.
            (5) CBO.--The term ``CBO'' means the Director of the 
        Congressional Budget Office.
            (6) Current.--The term ``current'' means--
                    (A) with respect to the Office of Management and 
                Budget estimates included with a budget submission 
                under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, 
                the estimates consistent with the economic and 
                technical assumptions underlying that budget;
                    (B) with respect to estimates made after that 
                budget submission that are not included with it, the 
                estimates consistent with the economic and technical 
                assumptions underlying the most recently submitted 
                President's budget; and
                    (C) with respect to the Congressional Budget 
                Office, estimates consistent with the economic and 
                technical assumptions as required by section 202(e)(1) 
                of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
            (7) Current year.--The term ``current year'' means, with 
        respect to a budget year, the fiscal year that immediately 
        precedes that budget year.
            (8) Discretionary appropriations and discretionary budget 
        authority.--The terms ``discretionary appropriations'' and 
        ``discretionary budget authority'' shall have the meaning given 
        such terms in section 3(4) of the Congressional Budget Act of 
        1974.
            (9) Non-security discretionary spending limit.--The term 
        ``non-security discretionary spending limit'' shall mean the 
        amounts specified in section 222.
            (10) OMB.--The term ``OMB'' means the Director of the 
        Office of Management and Budget.
            (11) Sequestration.--The term ``sequestration'' means the 
        cancellation or reduction of budget authority (except budget 
        authority to fund mandatory programs) provided in appropriation 
        Acts.

SEC. 212. ADMINISTRATION AND EFFECT OF SEQUESTRATION.

    (a) Timetable.--The timetable with respect to this title is as 
follows:


On or before:                             Action to be completed:
5 days before the President's budget      CBO Discretionary Sequestration Preview Report.
 submission required under section 1105
 of title 31, United States Code.
The President's budget submission.......  OMB Discretionary Sequestration Preview Report.
10 days after end of session............  CBO Final Discretionary Sequestration Report.
15 days after end of session............  OMB Final Discretionary Sequestration/Presidential Sequestration
                                           Order.
 

    (b) Presidential Order.--
            (1) In general.--On the date specified in subsection (a), 
        if in its Final Sequestration Report, OMB estimates that any 
        sequestration is required, the President shall issue an order 
        fully implementing without change all sequestrations required 
        by the OMB calculations set forth in that report. This order 
        shall be effective on issuance.
            (2) Special rule.--If the date specified for the submission 
        of a Presidential order under subsection (a) falls on a Sunday 
        or legal holiday, such order shall be issued on the following 
        day.
    (c) Effects of Sequestration.--The effects of sequestration shall 
be as follows:
            (1) Budgetary resources sequestered from any account shall 
        be permanently cancelled, except as provided in paragraph (5).
            (2) Except as otherwise provided, the same percentage 
        sequestration shall apply to all programs, projects, and 
        activities within a budget account (with programs, projects, 
        and activities as delineated in the appropriation Act or 
        accompanying report for the relevant fiscal year covering that 
        account).
            (3) Administrative regulations or similar actions 
        implementing a sequestration shall be made within 120 days of 
        the sequestration order. To the extent that formula allocations 
        differ at different levels of budgetary resources within an 
        account, program, project, or activity, the sequestration shall 
        be interpreted as producing a lower total appropriation, with 
        the remaining amount of the appropriation being obligated in a 
        manner consistent with program allocation formulas in 
        substantive law.
            (4) Except as otherwise provided in this part, obligations 
        or budgetary resources in sequestered accounts shall be reduced 
        only in the fiscal year in which a sequester occurs.
            (5) Budgetary resources sequestered in special fund 
        accounts and offsetting collections sequestered in 
        appropriation accounts shall not be available for obligation 
        during the fiscal year in which the sequestration occurs, but 
        shall be available in subsequent years to the extent otherwise 
        provided in law.
    (d) Submission and Availability of Reports.--Each report required 
by this section shall be submitted, in the case of CBO, to the House of 
Representatives, the Senate, and OMB and, in the case of OMB, to the 
House of Representatives, the Senate, and the President on the day it 
is issued. On the following day a notice of the report shall be printed 
in the Federal Register.

         Subtitle B--Non-Security Discretionary Spending Limits

SEC. 221. DISCRETIONARY SEQUESTRATION REPORTS.

    (a) Discretionary Sequestration Preview Reports.--
            (1) Reporting requirement.--On the dates specified in 
        section 212(a), OMB shall report to the President and Congress 
        and CBO shall report to Congress a Discretionary Sequestration 
        Preview Report regarding discretionary sequestration based on 
        laws enacted through those dates.
            (2) Discretionary.--The Discretionary Sequestration Preview 
        Report shall set forth estimates for the current year and each 
        subsequent year through 2021 of the applicable discretionary 
        spending limits and a projection of budget authority exceeding 
        discretionary limits subject to sequester.
            (3) Explanation of differences.--The OMB reports shall 
        explain the differences between OMB and CBO estimates for each 
        item set forth in this subsection.
    (b) Discretionary Sequestration Reports.--On the dates specified in 
section 212(a), OMB and CBO shall issue Discretionary Sequestration 
Reports, reflecting laws enacted through those dates, containing all of 
the information required in the Discretionary Sequestration Preview 
Reports.
    (c) Final Discretionary Sequestration Reports.--
            (1) Reporting requirements.--On the dates specified in 
        section 212(a), OMB and CBO shall each issue a Final 
        Discretionary Sequestration Report, updated to reflect laws 
        enacted through those dates.
            (2) Discretionary spending.--The Final Discretionary 
        Sequestration Reports shall set forth estimates for each of the 
        following:
                    (A) For the current year and each subsequent year 
                through 2021, the applicable discretionary spending 
                limits.
                    (B) For the current year, if applicable, and the 
                budget year; the new budget authority and the breach, 
                if any.
                    (C) The sequestration percentages necessary to 
                eliminate the breach.
                    (D) For the budget year, for each account to be 
                sequestered, the level of enacted, sequesterable budget 
                authority and resulting estimated outlays flowing 
                therefrom.
            (3) Explanation of differences.--The OMB report shall 
        explain--
                    (A) any differences between OMB and CBO estimates 
                for the amount of any breach and for any required 
                discretionary sequestration percentages; and
                    (B) differences in the amount of sequesterable 
                resources for any budget account to be reduced if such 
                difference is greater than $5,000,000.
    (d) Economic and Technical Assumptions.--In all reports required by 
this section, OMB shall use the same economic and technical assumptions 
as used in the most recent budget submitted by the President under 
section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code.

SEC. 222. LIMITS.

    (a) Discretionary Spending Limits.--As used in this title, the term 
``non-security discretionary spending limit'' shall have the same 
meaning as in section 316 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
    (b) Enforcement.--
            (1) Sequestration.--On the date specified in section 
        212(a), there shall be a sequestration to eliminate a budget-
        year breach.
            (2) Eliminating a breach.--Each non-security discretionary 
        account shall be reduced by a dollar amount calculated by 
        multiplying the enacted level of budget authority for that year 
        in that account at that time by the uniform percentage 
        necessary to eliminate a breach of the discretionary spending 
        limit.
            (3) Part-year appropriations.--If, on the date the report 
        is issued under paragraph (1), there is in effect an Act making 
        continuing appropriations for part of a fiscal year for any 
        budget account, then the dollar sequestration calculated for 
        that account under paragraph (2) shall be subtracted from--
                    (A) the annualized amount otherwise available by 
                law in that account under that or a subsequent part-
                year appropriation; and
                    (B) when a full-year appropriation for that account 
                is enacted, from the amount otherwise provided by the 
                full-year appropriation.
            (4) Look-back.--If, after June 30, an appropriation for the 
        fiscal year in progress is enacted that causes a breach for 
        that year (after taking into account any previous 
        sequestration), the discretionary spending limit for the next 
        fiscal year shall be reduced by the amount of that breach.
            (5) Within-session sequestration reports and order.--If an 
        appropriation for a fiscal year in progress is enacted (after 
        Congress adjourns to end the session for that budget year and 
        before July 1 of that fiscal year) that causes a breach, 10 
        days later CBO shall issue a report containing the information 
        required in section 221(c). Fifteen days after enactment, OMB 
        shall issue a report containing the information required in 
        section 221(c). On the same day as the OMB report, the 
        President shall issue an order fully implementing without 
        change all sequestrations required by the OMB calculations set 
        forth in that report. This order shall be effective on 
        issuance.
    (c) Estimates.--
            (1) CBO estimates.--As soon as practicable after Congress 
        completes action on any legislation providing discretionary 
        appropriations, CBO shall provide an estimate to OMB of that 
        legislation.
            (2) OMB estimates.--Not later than 7 calendar days 
        (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) after the 
        date of enactment of any discretionary appropriations, OMB 
        shall transmit a report to the Senate and to the House of 
        Representatives containing--
                    (A) the CBO estimate of that legislation;
                    (B) an OMB estimate of that legislation using 
                current economic and technical assumptions; and
                    (C) an explanation of any difference between the 2 
                estimates.
            (3) Differences.--If during the preparation of the report 
        under paragraph (2), OMB determines that there is a difference 
        between the OMB and CBO estimates, OMB shall consult with the 
        Committees on the Budget of the House of Representatives and 
        the Senate regarding that difference and that consultation, to 
        the extent practicable, shall include written communication to 
        such committees that affords such committees the opportunity to 
        comment before the issuance of that report.
            (4) Assumptions and guidelines.--OMB and CBO shall prepare 
        estimates under this paragraph in conformance with scorekeeping 
        guidelines determined after consultation among the House and 
        Senate Committees on the Budget, CBO, and OMB.
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