[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 4 (Friday, January 28, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: January 28, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                         LEASE PURCHASE SCORING

  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, section 124 of the State Department 
Authorization bill, which is entitled, ``Property Agreement,'' provides 
that whenever the Department enters into a lease-purchase agreement 
involving foreign countries, the Department shall account for such 
transactions ``in accordance with fiscal year obligations.'' In my 
view, this provision does not waive scoring rule number 11 on scoring 
lease-purchases under the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990. I wonder if 
the distinguished chairman of the Budget Committee agrees with this 
interpretation?
  Mr. SASSER. I would agree with the distinguished Senator's 
interpretation that this provision does not set aside rule 11. Rule 11 
says that when a bill provides the authority for an agency to enter 
into a contract for the lease-purchase of a capital asset, such as a 
building, budget authority will be scored in the year in which the 
budget authority is first made available in the amount of the 
``government's total estimated legal obligations.'' In the case of a 
lease-purchase, the total estimated legal obligation is for all costs 
of the lease-purchase except imputed interest costs and the total 
obligation is incurred in the year the lease-purchase agreement is 
entered into. The instruction to account for such transactions in 
accordance with fiscal year obligations is not inconsistent with the 
rule because the fiscal year obligation would be the total estimated 
legal obligation of the Government in the first fiscal year of the 
lease-purchase contract.
  It is my understanding that both the Congressional budget Office and 
the Office of Management and Budget agree with this interpretation of 
the budget treatment of section 124.
  Mr. DOMENICI. I thank the chairman of the Budget Committee for 
clarifying this provision.

                          ____________________