[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 27 (Monday, March 5, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1828-S1830]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 20--SETTING FORTH THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET 
         FOR THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2002

  Mr. HOLLINGS submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on the Budget, as follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 20

       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring),

     SECTION 1. CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL 
                   YEAR 2002.

       (a) Declaration.--Congress determines and declares that 
     this resolution is the concurrent resolution on the budget 
     for fiscal year 2002.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this 
     concurrent resolution is as follows:

Sec. 1. Concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2002.

                      TITLE I--LEVELS AND AMOUNTS

Sec. 101. Recommended levels and amounts.
Sec. 102. Social Security.
Sec. 103. Major functional categories.

             TITLE II--BUDGETARY RESTRAINTS AND RULEMAKING

Sec. 201. Reserve fund for tax cuts in the event of a recession.

[[Page S1829]]

Sec. 202. Reserve fund for tax cuts in the event of a surplus.
Sec. 203. Exercise of rulemaking powers.

                      TITLE I--LEVELS AND AMOUNTS

     SEC. 101. RECOMMENDED LEVELS AND AMOUNTS.

       The following budgetary levels are the appropriate levels 
     for the fiscal year 2002:
       (1) Federal revenues.--For purposes of the enforcement of 
     this resolution--
       (A) The recommended level of Federal revenues pursuant to 
     CBO estimates is $1,703,488,000,000.
       (B) The amount by which the aggregate level of Federal 
     revenues should be changed is $0.
       (2) New budget authority.--For purposes of the enforcement 
     of this resolution, the appropriate level of total new budget 
     authority is $1,600,781,000,000.
       (3) Budget outlays.--For purposes of the enforcement of 
     this resolution, the appropriate level of total budget 
     outlays is $1,561,391,000,000
       (4) Deficits.--For purposes of the enforcement of this 
     resolution, according to CBO the amount of the deficit is 
     plus $142,097,000,000.
       (5) Public debt.--The appropriate level of the public is 
     $5,564,449,000,000.
       (6) Debt held by the public.--The appropriate level of the 
     debt held by the public is $2,848,489,000,000.

     SEC. 102. SOCIAL SECURITY.

       (a) Social Security Revenues.--For purposes of Senate 
     enforcement under section 311 of the Congressional Budget Act 
     of 1974, the amount of revenues of the Federal Old-Age and 
     Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability 
     Insurance Trust Fund is $532,308,000,000.
       (b) Social Security Outlays.--For purposes of Senate 
     enforcement under section 311 of the Congressional Budget Act 
     of 1974, the amount of outlays of the Federal Old-Age and 
     Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability 
     Insurance Trust Fund is $360,171,000,000.
       (c) Social Security Administrative Expenses.--For purposes 
     of Senate enforcement under section 311 of the Congressional 
     Budget Act of 1974, the amounts of new budget authority and 
     budget outlays of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance 
     Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund 
     for administrative expenses are $3,579,000,000 for new budget 
     authority, and $3,525,000,000 for outlays.

     SEC. 103. MAJOR FUNCTIONAL CATEGORIES.

       Congress determines and declares that the appropriate 
     levels of new budget authority, budget outlays, new direct 
     loan obligations, and new primary loan guarantee commitments 
     for fiscal year 2002 for each major functional category are:
       (1) National Defense (050):
       (A) New budget authority, $321,022,000,000.
       (B) Outlays, $313,400,000,000.
       (2) International Affairs (150):
       (A) New budget authority, $23,214,000,000.
       (B) Outlays, $18,838,000,000.
       (3) General Science, Space, and Technology (250):
       (A) New budget authority, $21,583,000,000.
       (B) Outlays, $20,725,000,000.
       (4) Energy (270):
       (A) New budget authority, $1,360,000,000.
       (B) Outlays, $-19,000,000.
       (5) Natural Resources and Environment (300):
       (A) New budget authority, $30,031,000,000.
       (B) Outlays, $28,305,000,000.
       (6) Agriculture (350):
       (A) New budget authority, $19,265,000,000.
       (B) Outlays, $17,593,000,000.
       (7) Commerce and Housing Credit (370):
       (A) New budget authority, $10,174,000,000.
       (B) Outlays, $6,587,000,000.
       (8) Transportation (400):
       (A) New budget authority, $64,444,000,000.
       (B) Outlays, $56,167,000,000.
       (9) Community and Regional Development (450):
       (A) New budget authority, $11,892,000,000.
       (B) Outlays, $11,730,000,000.
       (10) Education, Training, Employment, and Social Services 
     (500):
       (A) New budget authority, $80,924,000,000.
       (B) Outlays, $76,658,000,000.
       (11) Health (550):
       (A) New budget authority, $191,280,000,000.
       (B) Outlays, $189,220,000,000.
       (12) Medicare (570):
       (A) New budget authority, $229,179,000,000.
       (B) Outlays, $229,121,000,000.
       (13) Income Security (600):
       (A) New budget authority, $273,138,000,000.
       (B) Outlays, $271,655,000,000.
       (14) Social Security (650):
       (A) New budget authority, $11,004,000,000.
       (B) Outlays, $11,003,000,000.
       (15) Veterans Benefits and Services (700):
       (A) New budget authority, $51,248,000,000.
       (B) Outlays, $50,657,000,000.
       (16) Administration of Justice (750):
       (A) New budget authority, $32,431,000,000.
       (B) Outlays, $31,436,000,000.
       (17) General Government (800):
       (A) New budget authority, $16,496,000,000.
       (B) Outlays, $16,193,000,000.
       (18) Net Interest (900):
       (A) New budget authority, $254,882,000,000.
       (B) Outlays, $254,882,000,000.
       (19) Allowances (920):
       (A) New budget authority, $0.
       (B) Outlays, $0.
       (20) Undistributed Offsetting Receipts (950):
       (A) New budget authority, $-42,303,000,000.
       (B) Outlays, $-42,303,000,000.
       (21) Multiple functions (990):
       (A) New budget authority, $-483,000,000.
       (B) Outlays, $-457,000,000.

             TITLE II--BUDGETARY RESTRAINTS AND RULEMAKING

     SEC. 201. RESERVE FUND FOR TAX CUTS IN THE EVENT OF A 
                   RECESSION.

       (a) Reporting a Recession.--If the budget and economic 
     outlook update report provided pursuant to section 202(e)(2) 
     of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 estimates that there 
     will be 2 consecutive quarters of negative economic growth in 
     the current quarter and the next 2 quarters, the chairman of 
     the Committees on the Budget of the Senate or the House of 
     Representatives, as applicable, may make the adjustments 
     provided in subsection (b).
       (b) Adjustments.--The chairman of the Committee on the 
     Budget of the Senate or House of Representatives, as 
     applicable, may--
       (1) reduce the on-budget revenue aggregate by 
     $100,000,000,000; and
       (2) direct the chairman of the Committee on Finance or the 
     Committee on Ways and Means, as applicable, to report by a 
     date certain a reconciliation bill reducing revenues by 
     $100,000,000,000.

     SEC. 202. RESERVE FUND FOR TAX CUTS IN THE EVENT OF A 
                   SURPLUS.

       (a) Reporting a Surplus.--If the budget and economic 
     outlook update report provided pursuant to section 202(e)(2) 
     of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 estimates that the 
     gross Federal debt for the budget year will be reduced, the 
     chairman of the Committees on the Budget of the Senate or the 
     House of Representatives, as applicable, may make the 
     adjustments provided in subsection (b).
       (b) Adjustments.--The chairman of the Committee on the 
     Budget of the Senate or House of Representatives, as 
     applicable, may--
       (1) reduce the on-budget revenue aggregate by an amount 
     equal to the amount of the reduction determined as provided 
     in subsection (a); and
       (2) direct the chairman of the Committee on Finance or the 
     Committee on Ways and Means, as applicable, to report by a 
     date certain a reconciliation bill reducing revenues by the 
     amount of that reduction.

     SEC. 203. EXERCISE OF RULEMAKING POWERS.

       Congress adopts the provisions of this title--
       (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate 
     and the House of Representatives, respectively, and as such 
     they shall be considered as part of the rules of each House, 
     or of that House to which they specifically apply, and such 
     rules shall supersede other rules only to the extent that 
     they are inconsistent therewith; and
       (2) with full recognition of the constitutional right of 
     either House to change those rules (so far as they relate to 
     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.

  Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that an article 
I wrote entitled ``Reaganomics II'' be printed in the Record. This 
article provides an honest budgetary assessment and thereby makes the 
argument for why a one year budget is needed.
  Reaganomics II, a tax cut of $1.6 trillion, is steamrolling through 
the Congress. Reaganomics I, the tax cut of $750 billion, gave us the 
biggest waste in history! The debt soared from less than $1 trillion to 
$4 trillion, now $5.7 trillion, with interest costs of $365 billion 
annually. In the last ten years we have wasted $3.4 trillion on 
interest costs and we continue to spend each day, every day, $1 billion 
for nothing. But President Bush and the Republican Congress charge on 
wailing about trillions of dollars in surplus, joined by the free press 
with USA Today's headline of February 22, ``Government Remains Awash In 
Money''. Awash in money? Surplus? Nowhere to be found. Ever since 
President Lyndon Johnson balanced the budget in 1969 we have ended each 
year with a deficit. Fiscal year 2000 ended in deficit, and the 
Secretary of the Treasury has just reported the debt has already 
increased this fiscal year another $52 billion. President Bush's 
budget, just submitted, shows the debt increasing in the next 10 years 
from $5.637 trillion to $7.159 trillion. No surplus.
  The U.S. economy is hemorrhaging with a current account deficit of 
$439 billion and the government is awash in red ink. The Social 
Security account at this moment is in the red $1 trillion. The Medicare 
account is in the red $238 billion. We owe Military Retirement $156 
billion. We owe Civil Service Retirement $544 billion. The Unemployment 
Compensation fund is $92 billion in the red. Yet the Chairman of the 
Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, appears before Congress stating, ``We 
are running out of debt to retire.'' Ridiculous.
  Greenspan justifies talk of ``surplus'' by dividing the national debt 
in two: debt borrowed from government accounts such as Social Security, 
Medicare, Military Retirement, etc.; and

[[Page S1830]]

debt owed the public by borrowing in the open market. The term ``public 
debt'' infers that is all the government owes. The government owes both 
public and government debt. Ignoring the overall national debt, 
Greenspan testifies only about public debt. He fears the public debt 
will be paid off and the investment of ``surpluses'' will become a 
political football. Last year when Greenspan called for paying down the 
debt, the public debt was $3.4 trillion. Now it has only been paid down 
$13 billion and he calls for a tax cut. And the reduction of $13 
billion is achieved by transferring $13 billion of public debt to the 
government debt. It is like paying off your Visa with your MasterCard. 
You still owe the money. The national debt continues to increase, not 
be ``paid down''. No surplus.
  Dividing the national debt is a fraud. Worse, ten-year economic 
projections, or budgets, give President Bush running room for a $1.6 
trillion tax cut and a $25 billion increase in spending--Reaganomics 
II! The President's plan is contingent upon spending cuts that he knows 
Congress will reject, and the Democratic alternative of a $900 billion 
tax cut is no more than Reaganomics Lite. Under each plan, deficits, on 
the decline for the past eight years, will increase. The national debt 
and interest costs will soar, the dollar weakened. To meet the demand 
for higher yields to offset the decline in the dollar, Greenspan will 
have to raise interest rates which will guarantee a hard landing.
  There is no education in the second kick of a mule. The way to stop 
Reaganomics II is with a one-year budget. We survived 200 years with 
one year budgets. First, start with this year's budget for next year. 
Freeze it. Debate and vote on any proposed cuts and require that 
amendments for prescription drugs and health care be accompanied by an 
offset. Depending on the economy, delay all tax cut proposals until 
later this year or this time next year when we learn whether it's a 
soft landing or a hard landing. Then we can act responsibly.

                          ____________________