[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3645 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3645

  To require the Comptroller General of the United States to submit a 
    legislative proposal to Congress to reorganize executive branch 
                   agencies, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 3, 2013

  Ms. Kuster introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the 
 Committee on Rules, 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 require the Comptroller General of the United States to submit a 
    legislative proposal to Congress to reorganize executive branch 
                   agencies, 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 ``Executive Agency Simplification and 
Efficiency Act'' or the ``EASE Act''.

SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT FOR COMPTROLLER GENERAL TO SUBMIT LEGISLATIVE 
              PROPOSAL TO REORGANIZE EXECUTIVE BRANCH AGENCIES.

    (a) Legislative Proposal Requirement.--The Comptroller General of 
the United States shall submit one legislative proposal to Congress, 
with a copy transmitted to the President at the same time, to 
reorganize executive branch agencies in order to achieve the following:
            (1) A decrease in the total number of Federal agencies that 
        promote American competitiveness, exports, and businesses, in 
        order to improve and simplify support and services for American 
        businesses.
            (2) Cost savings in the performance by the Federal 
        Government of support and services for American businesses.
    (b) Deadline.--The Comptroller General shall submit the legislative 
proposal required by subsection (a) not later than one year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act.
    (c) Agency Defined.--In this Act, the term ``agency'' has the 
meaning provided in section 551(1) of title 5, United States Code.

SEC. 3. EXPEDITED CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION OF GAO LEGISLATIVE 
              PROPOSAL.

    (a) Definition.--In this section, the term ``bill'' means only a 
bill that implements the legislative proposal submitted to Congress 
under section 2(a) and that is introduced within the 90-day period 
beginning on the date on which the Comptroller General submits the 
legislative proposal to Congress under section 2(a).
    (b) Referral.--A bill described in subsection (a) that is 
introduced in the House of Representatives shall be referred to the 
committee with jurisdiction over the subject matter concerned. A bill 
described in subsection (a) introduced in the Senate shall be referred 
to the committee with jurisdiction over the subject matter concerned. 
An amendment to the bill is not in order in the committee in either 
House.
    (c) Discharge.--If the committee to which a bill described in 
subsection (a) is referred has not reported such a bill (or an 
identical bill) by the end of the 20-day period beginning on the date 
on which the Comptroller General submits the proposal to the Congress 
under section 2, such committee shall be, at the end of such period, 
discharged from further consideration of such bill, and such bill shall 
be placed on the appropriate calendar of the House involved.
    (d) Consideration.--(1) On or after the third day after the date on 
which the committee to which such a bill is referred has reported, or 
has been discharged (under subsection (c)) from further consideration 
of, such a bill, it is in order (even though a previous motion to the 
same effect has been disagreed to) for any Member of the respective 
House to move to proceed to the consideration of the bill. A Member may 
make the motion only on the day after the calendar day on which the 
Member announces to the House concerned the Member's intention to make 
the motion, except that, in the case of the House of Representatives, 
the motion may be made without such prior announcement if the motion is 
made by direction of the committee to which the bill was referred. All 
points of order against the bill (and against consideration of the 
bill) are waived. The motion is highly privileged in the House of 
Representatives and is privileged in the Senate and is not debatable. 
The motion is not subject to amendment, or to a motion to postpone, or 
to a motion to proceed to the consideration of other business. A motion 
to reconsider the vote by which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to 
shall not be in order. If a motion to proceed to the consideration of 
the bill is agreed to, the respective House shall immediately proceed 
to consideration of the bill without intervening motion, order, or 
other business, and the bill shall remain the unfinished business of 
the respective House until disposed of.
    (2) Debate on the bill, and on all debatable motions and appeals in 
connection therewith, shall be limited to not more than 2 hours, which 
shall be divided equally between those favoring and those opposing the 
bill. An amendment to the bill is not in order. A motion further to 
limit debate is in order and not debatable. A motion to postpone, or a 
motion to proceed to the consideration of other business, or a motion 
to recommit the bill is not in order. A motion to reconsider the vote 
by which the bill is agreed to or disagreed to is not in order.
    (3) Immediately following the conclusion of the debate on a bill 
described in subsection (a) and a single quorum call at the conclusion 
of the debate if requested in accordance with the rules of the 
appropriate House, the vote on final passage of the bill shall occur.
    (4) Appeals from the decisions of the Chair relating to the 
application of the rules of the Senate or the House of Representatives, 
as the case may be, to the procedure relating to a bill described in 
subsection (a) shall be decided without debate.
    (e) Consideration by Other House.--(1) If, before the passage by 
one House of a bill of that House described in subsection (a), that 
House receives from the other House a bill described in subsection (a), 
then the following procedures shall apply:
            (A) The bill of the other House shall not be referred to a 
        committee and may not be considered in the House receiving it 
        except in the case of final passage as provided in subparagraph 
        (B)(ii).
            (B) With respect to a bill described in subsection (a) of 
        the House receiving the bill--
                    (i) the procedure in that House shall be the same 
                as if no bill had been received from the other House; 
                but
                    (ii) the vote on final passage shall be on the bill 
                of the other House.
    (2) Upon disposition of the bill received from the other House, it 
shall no longer be in order to consider the bill that originated in the 
receiving House.
    (f) Computation of Period.--For purposes of subsections (a) and 
(c), the days on which either House of Congress is not in session 
because of an adjournment of more than three days to a day certain 
shall be excluded in the computation of a period.
    (g) Rules of the Senate and House.--This section is enacted by 
Congress--
            (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate 
        and House of Representatives, respectively, and as such it is 
        deemed a part of the rules of each House, respectively, but 
        applicable only with respect to the procedure to be followed in 
        that House in the case of a bill described in subsection (a), 
        and it supersedes other rules only to the extent that it is 
        inconsistent with such rules; and
            (2) with full recognition of the constitutional right of 
        either House to change the rules (so far as relating to the 
        procedure of that House) at any time, in the same manner, and 
        to the same extent as in the case of any other rule of that 
        House.
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