[House Report 113-129]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


113th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    113-129
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     

 
                       H.R. 1871, BASELINE REFORM
                              ACT OF 2013

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                        COMMITTEE ON THE BUDGET

                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              to accompany

                               H.R. 1871

                             together with

                             MINORITY VIEWS




 June 25, 2013.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed


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                        COMMITTEE ON THE BUDGET

                     PAUL RYAN, Wisconsin, Chairman
TOM PRICE, Georgia                   CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland,
SCOTT GARRETT, New Jersey              Ranking Minority Member
JOHN CAMPBELL, California            ALLYSON Y. SCHWARTZ, Pennsylvania
KEN CALVERT, California              JOHN A. YARMUTH, Kentucky
TOM COLE, Oklahoma                   BILL PASCRELL, Jr., New Jersey
TOM McCLINTOCK, California           TIM RYAN, Ohio
JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma             GWEN MOORE, Wisconsin
DIANE BLACK, Tennessee               KATHY CASTOR, Florida
REID J. RIBBLE, Wisconsin            JIM McDERMOTT, Washington
BILL FLORES, Texas                   BARBARA LEE, California
TODD ROKITA, Indiana                 DAVID N. CICILLINE, Rhode Island
ROB WOODALL, Georgia                 HAKEEM S. JEFFRIES, New York
MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee          MARK POCAN, Wisconsin
ALAN NUNNELEE, Mississippi           MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM, New Mexico
E. SCOTT RIGELL, Virginia            JARED HUFFMAN, California
VICKY HARTZLER, Missouri             TONY CARDENAS, California
JACKIE WALORSKI, Indiana             EARL BLUMENAUER, Oregon
LUKE MESSER, Indiana                 KURT SCHRADER, Oregon
TOM RICE, South Carolina
ROGER WILLIAMS, Texas
SEAN P. DUFFY, Wisconsin

                           Professional Staff

                     Austin Smythe, Staff Director
                Thomas S. Kahn, Minority Staff Director


                            C O N T E N T S

                                                                   Page
H.R. 1871, Baseline Reform Act of 2013...........................     1
    Introduction.................................................     1
    Summary of Proposed Changes..................................     1
    Legislative History..........................................     2
    Hearings.....................................................     4
    Section by Section...........................................     4
    Votes of the Committee.......................................     5
    Committee Oversight Findings.................................    10
    Budget Act Compliance........................................    10
    Performance Goals and Objectives.............................    10
    Constitutional Authority Statement...........................    10
    Committee Cost Estimate......................................    10
    Advisory Committee Statement.................................    11
    Applicability to the Legislative Branch......................    11
    Federal Mandates Statement...................................    11
    Advisory on Earmarks.........................................    11
    Duplication of Federal Programs..............................    11
    Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings..........................    12
    Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported........    12
    Views of Committee Members...................................    15
    Minority Views...............................................    17
    Appendix: Legislative Text...................................    21


113th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    113-129

======================================================================




                      BASELINE REFORM ACT OF 2013
                                _______
                                

 June 25, 2013.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

Mr. Ryan of Wisconsin, from the Committee on the Budget, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                             MINORITY VIEWS

                        [To accompany H.R. 1871]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on the Budget, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 1871) to amend the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 
Control Act of 1985 to reform the budget baseline, having 
considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment 
and recommend that the bill do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
    On page 5, line 17, strike ``OMB'' and insert ``CBO''.

                              Introduction

    Representative Rob Woodall (R-GA-7) introduced H.R. 1871, 
the `Baseline Reform Act of 2013,' on May 8, 2013. This bill 
reforms the `baseline,' to ensure it provides a neutral 
starting point in assessing the budgetary impact of spending 
governed by the appropriations process.

                      Summary of Proposed Changes


The Baseline

    The Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 
1985 (P.L. 99-177) requires the Congressional Budget Office 
[CBO] and the Office of Management and Budget [OMB] to prepare 
projections of Federal spending and revenues. This bill 
requires that such projections cover a ten-year period, which 
is the budget window that has become standard in recent years, 
and specifies the assumptions the two agencies must use in 
making these projections.
    `Discretionary spending' refers to spending that is 
dependent on enactment by the Congress of appropriation laws 
providing authority to agencies to spend money. Current law 
requires CBO and OMB to assume that such spending will continue 
over the course of the budget window and increase by inflation. 
These requirements added approximately $1.2 trillion in budget 
authority (over ten years) to the discretionary baseline in 
2013.
    In addition, there are special exceptions that require CBO 
and OMB to assume additional increases in the baseline for 
expiring housing contracts, social insurance administrative 
expenses, and annualization of Federal employee pay.
    This assumption of additional spending in the baseline 
evidences a bias toward additional spending. It also creates 
the anomalous situation where a program's funding could be 
increased in comparison to the previous year but still be 
called a cut because the funding level is below the 
inflationary increase assumed in the discretionary baseline.
    The bill removes the inflationary assumption and the 
special exceptions from the discretionary baseline, requiring 
that the baseline assume neither an increase nor a decrease for 
these programs. The baseline provides information to the 
Congress and does not govern what is contained in the budget 
resolution or the appropriations bills that provide legal 
spending authority. As a result, changing the baseline does not 
change funding for these programs, but it does remove an upward 
bias in spending by comparing spending to previous year's 
levels and not an inflated baseline.
    The rules for producing the direct spending and revenue 
baselines are left unchanged as are the rules for assets sales 
and the use of up-to-date concepts.

Long-Term Budget Outlook

    In 1996, CBO concluded that the 10-year time frame they 
used for preparing budget projections was not sufficient to 
`show the dramatic effects on the Federal budget of the 
projected long-term demographic changes in the U.S. 
population.'\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Congressional Budget Office, Long-Term Budgetary Pressures and 
Policy Options, March 1997 http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=10&type=0]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Beginning as a special chapter in the May 1996 edition of 
its annual Economic and Budget Outlook, the CBO has since 
annually prepared a standalone report on the long-term budget 
outlook. The analysis and projections included in this report 
have become an integral part of the Budget Committees' work.
    Section 2 of the bill codifies CBO's current practice of 
providing this report no later than July 1 of each year. The 
Committee, however, urges the CBO to publish this report as 
early as possible each year so that its analysis can inform the 
Members of the Committee as they prepare the annual budget 
resolution.

                          Legislative History


Legislation in the 103d Congress

    In 1993, Representative Jim Ramstad (R-MN-3) introduced 
H.R. 323, the Common Sense Budget Act of 1993. It would have 
required the President's budget submission to include 
comparisons of proposed expenditures and appropriations for the 
budget year with the prior fiscal year.
    In 1994, the House of Representatives considered H.R. 4907, 
Baseline Reform Act of 1994, offered by Representative John 
Spratt (D-SC-5). Representative Spratt's bill would have added 
a `current funding baseline' to accompany the existing--and 
what the bill called `current policy'--baseline. The current 
funding baseline assumed an adjustment for expiring housing 
contracts but no adjustments for inflation. The House of 
Representatives, however, passed an amendment in the nature of 
a substitute, previously introduced as H.R. 4914 and as part of 
H.R. 4434, which would have repealed the automatic adjustment 
in the caps for changes in inflation.

Rules Amendments Made in the 104th Congress

    In the 104th Congress, the House Rules were amended by the 
organizing resolution (H. Res. 6) by inserting a requirement 
that a cost estimate of a bill include a comparison of funding 
levels to the previous year's level: Clause 3(c)(2) of rule 
XIII of the House of Representatives for the 112th Congress 
requires of the contents of a report on a bill: `* * * an 
estimate of new budget authority shall include, when 
practicable, a comparison of the total estimated funding level 
for the relevant programs to the appropriate levels under 
current law.'
    In the 104th Congress, the Rules of the Committee on the 
Budget were amended to require that the report of the Committee 
to accompany a concurrent resolution on the budget include a 
comparison of the estimated or actual levels for the year 
preceding the budget year with the proposed spending and 
revenue levels for the budget year (Rule 25 of the Rules of the 
Committee on the Budget for the 112th Congress).

`Comprehensive Budget Process Reform Act of 1999'

    On February 25, 1999, H.R. 853, Comprehensive Budget 
Process Reform Act of 1999 (106th Congress) was introduced in 
the House of Representatives by Representative Jim Nussle (R-
IA-2). Sections 611 and 612 of that Act amended the President's 
Budget submission requirements and the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974 respectively to similarly compare budget year 
discretionary spending to the prior year's spending level. This 
is similar to the provisions of this Act, though not identical. 
This bill failed of passage in the House of Representatives on 
May 16, 2000.

`Spending Control Act of 2004'

    On March 16, 2004, H.R. 3973, the Spending Control Act of 
2004 (108th Congress) was introduced in the House of 
Representatives by Representative Jim Nussle (R-IA-2). Section 
5 of the Act removed the requirement that emergency-designated 
or global war on terrorism-designated spending be continued in 
the baseline under section 257 of the Balanced Budget and 
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. This is similar to 
certain provisions of this Act, though not identical. H.R. 3973 
was reported from the Committee on the Budget on March 19, 2004 
but was not considered on by the House of Representatives.

`Spending, Deficit, and Debt Control Act of 2009'

    On October 29, 2009, H.R. 3964, the `Spending, Deficit, and 
Debt Control Act of 2009' was introduced in the House of 
Representatives by Representative Jeb Hensarling (R-TX-5). The 
bill eliminates the automatic inflation increases for 
discretionary programs built into the baseline projections of 
future spending needs and requires budget estimates to be 
compared with the prior year's level, not a calculation of the 
level to which they should be increased.

Legislation in the 112th Congress

    On March 3, 2011, H.R. 920, the `Zero-Baseline Budget Act 
of 2011' was introduced in the House of Representatives by 
Representative Louie Gohmert (R-TX-1). It amends the Balanced 
Budget and Emergency Control Act of 1985 to change the formula 
the CBO must use to calculate its discretionary baseline. The 
bill was designed to eliminate any sequential and cumulative 
automatic increases in the baseline for inflation (or for any 
other reason) and exclude emergency and supplemental spending. 
The baseline would be the aggregate of the non-emergency 
appropriations bill for that year.
    On December 7, 2011, Members of the House Budget Committee 
introduced a comprehensive package of ten legislative budget 
process reform bills designed to fundamentally reform the 
budget process. Included in this package was H.R. 3578, the 
`Baseline Reform Act of 2011,' introduced by Representative Rob 
Woodall (R-GA-7). On February 3, 2012, H.R. 3578, the `Baseline 
Reform Act of 2011,' passed the House of Representatives by a 
235-177 vote.

Legislation in the 113th Congress

    On May 8, 2013, Members of the House Budget Committee 
introduced a comprehensive package of seven legislative budget 
process reform bills designed to fundamentally reform the 
budget process. Included in this package was H.R. 1871, the 
`Baseline Reform Act of 2013,' introduced by Representative Rob 
Woodall (R-GA-7).

                                Hearings

    In 2011, the House Budget Committee held two budget process 
reform hearings to examine the budget process.
    The first hearing, `The Broken Budget Process: Perspectives 
From Former CBO Directors,' was held on September 21, 2011, 
with former CBO Directors Rudolph Penner and Alice Rivlin 
testifying.
    The second hearing, `The Broken Budget Process: 
Perspectives From Budget Experts,' was held on September 22, 
2011, with Philip Joyce (University of Maryland), the Honorable 
Jim Nussle (Chairman of the Committee on the Budget, 2001 
through 2007, United States House of Representatives) and the 
Honorable Phil Gramm (former United States Senator, 1985 
through 2002) testifying.

                           Section by Section


SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    Establishes the short title of the bill as the `Baseline 
Reform Act of 2013.'

SECTION 2. THE BASELINE

    This section amends section 257 of the Balanced Budget and 
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (P.L. 109-59) to remove 
the increases in the discretionary baseline attributable to 
inflation, expiring housing contracts, social insurance 
administrative expenses, and pay annualization. The 
discretionary spending in the baseline to be calculated uses 
the following assumptions:
            (1) For any estimated appropriations, the budgetary 
        resources other than unobligated balances are to be at 
        the level provided for the budget year in full-year 
        appropriation acts. If a full-year appropriation has 
        not been enacted, budgetary resources, other than 
        unobligated balances, are to be at the level available 
        in the current year.
            (2) For any continuing appropriation in effect for 
        less than an entire year, the current-year amount is 
        assumed to equal the amount that would be available if 
        that continuing appropriation lasted the entire fiscal 
        year. If law permits the transfer of budget authority 
        among budget accounts in a current year, the current 
        level is to reflect transfers assumed in the 
        President's original budget.
    This section makes a number of technical and typographic 
corrections, but no other substantive modifications to current 
law.
    This section requires the Director of the Congressional 
Budget Office to submit, on or before July 1 of each year, the 
long-term budget outlook for the fiscal year commencing on 
October 1 of that year and at least the ensuing 40 fiscal 
years.

                         Votes of the Committee

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires each committee report to accompany any 
bill or resolution of a public character to include the total 
number of votes cast for and against each roll-call vote, on a 
motion to report and any amendments offered to the measure or 
matter, together with the names of those voting for and 
against.
    Listed below are the actions taken in the Committee on the 
Budget of the House of Representatives on the Baseline Reform 
Act of 2013.
    On June 19, 2013, the committee met in open session, a 
quorum being present.
    Chairman Ryan asked unanimous consent to be authorized, 
consistent with clause 4 of rule XVI of the Rules of the House 
of Representatives, to declare a recess at any time during the 
committee meeting.
    There was no objection to the unanimous consent request.
    Chairman Ryan asked unanimous consent to dispense with the 
first reading of the bill and the bill be considered as read 
and open to amendment at any point.
    There was no objection to the unanimous consent request.
    Chairman Ryan asked unanimous consent to roll votes.
    There was no objection to the unanimous consent request.
    The committee adopted and ordered reported the Baseline 
Reform Act of 2013. The Committee on the Budget took the 
following votes:
    1. A technical amendment offered by Representative Woodall 
to reflect the House-passed version of the Baseline Reform Act 
of 2012, codifying the requirement for CBO rather than OMB to 
submit the Long-Term Outlook before July 1st of each year. The 
amendment was agreed to by voice vote.
    Pursuant to a unanimous consent request made by Chairman 
Ryan, Representative Garrett requested that the record reflect 
he would have voted aye on the voice vote.
    2. An amendment offered by Mr. Van Hollen to repeal the 
2013 and 2014 sequesters and replace it with lower defense 
spending caps and higher taxes on individuals with annual 
income greater than $1,000,000. Dr. Price raised a point of 
order against the amendment as non-germane. The Chairman 
sustained the point of order. Mr. Cicilline appealed the ruling 
of the Chairman. Dr. Price then made a motion to table the 
appeal of the ruling of the Chairman. The tabling of the motion 
appealing the ruling of the Chairman was agreed to by a roll 
call vote of 17 ayes and 11 noes.

                           ROLLCALL VOTE NO. 1
------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Name &                     Answer     Name &                   Answer
  State      Aye     No     Present     State      Aye     No    Present
------------------------------------------------------------------------
RYAN,         X                       VAN                  X
 PAUL                                  HOLLEN
 (WI)                                  (MD)
 (Chairma                              (Ranking
 n)                                    )
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRICE         X                       SCHWARTZ             X
 (GA)                                  (PA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GARRETT                               YARMUTH              X
 (NJ)                                  (KY)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CAMPBELL                              PASCRELL
 (CA)                                  (NJ)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CALVERT       X                       RYAN, TIM
 (CA)                                  (OH)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
COLE (OK)     X                       MOORE                X
                                       (WI)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
McCLINTOC     X                       CASTOR
 K (CA)                                (FL)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
LANKFORD      X                       McDERMOTT            X
 (OK)                                  (WA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BLACK         X                       LEE (CA)
 (TN)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
RIBBLE        X                       CICILLINE            X
 (WI)                                  (RI)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FLORES                                JEFFRIES             X
 (TX)                                  (NY)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ROKITA        X                       POCAN                X
 (IN)                                  (WI)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WOODALL       X                       LUJAN                X
 (GA)                                  GRISHAM
                                       (NM)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BLACKBURN     X                       HUFFMAN              X
 (TN)                                  (CA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NUNNELEE      X                       CARDENAS
 (MS)                                  (CA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
RIGELL        X                       BLUMENAUE
 (VA)                                  R (OR)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
HARTZLER      X                       SCHRADER             X
 (M0)                                  (OR)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WALORSKI      X                       .........
 (IN)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MESSER                     .........
 (IN)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
RICE (SC)     X            .........
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WILLIAMS      X            .........
 (TX)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DUFFY
 (WI)
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Pursuant to a unanimous consent request made by Chairman 
Ryan, Representatives Messer, Flores, Garrett, and Duffy 
requested that the record reflect they would have voted aye on 
the roll call vote.
    3. An amendment offered by Representative Moore expressing 
a sense of Congress with respect to an annual budget resolution 
and the appointment of conferees. Dr. Price raised a point of 
order against the amendment as non-germane. The Chairman 
sustained the point of order. Mr. Cicilline appealed the ruling 
of the Chairman. Dr. Price then made a motion to table the 
appealing of the ruling of the Chairman. The tabling of the 
motion appealing the ruling of the Chairman was agreed to by a 
roll call vote of 19 ayes and 11 noes.

                           ROLLCALL VOTE NO. 2
------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Name &                     Answer     Name &                   Answer
  State      Aye     No     Present     State      Aye     No    Present
------------------------------------------------------------------------
RYAN,         X                       VAN                  X
 PAUL                                  HOLLEN
 (WI)                                  (MD)
 (Chairma                              (Ranking
 n)                                    )
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRICE         X                       SCHWARTZ             X
 (GA)                                  (PA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GARRETT                               YARMUTH              X
 (NJ)                                  (KY)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CAMPBELL                              PASCRELL
 (CA)                                  (NJ)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CALVERT       X                       RYAN, TIM
 (CA)                                  (OH)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
COLE (OK)     X                       MOORE                X
                                       (WI)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
McCLINTOC     X                       CASTOR
 K (CA)                                (FL)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
LANKFORD      X                       McDERMOTT            X
 (OK)                                  (WA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BLACK         X                       LEE (CA)
 (TN)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
RIBBLE        X                       CICILLINE            X
 (WI)                                  (RI)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FLORES        X                       JEFFRIES             X
 (TX)                                  (NY)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ROKITA        X                       POCAN                X
 (IN)                                  (WI)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WOODALL       X                       LUJAN                X
 (GA)                                  GRISHAM
                                       (NM)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BLACKBURN     X                       HUFFMAN              X
 (TN)                                  (CA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NUNNELEE      X                       CARDENAS
 (MS)                                  (CA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
RIGELL        X                       BLUMENAUE
 (VA)                                  R (OR)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
HARTZLER      X                       SCHRADER             X
 (M0)                                  (OR)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WALORSKI      X                       .........
 (IN)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MESSER        X            .........
 (IN)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
RICE (SC)     X            .........
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WILLIAMS      X            .........
 (TX)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DUFFY
 (WI)
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Pursuant to a unanimous consent request made by Chairman 
Ryan, Representatives Garrett and Duffy requested that the 
record reflect they would have voted aye on the roll call vote.
    4. An amendment offered by Representative McDermott 
creating a point of order in the House of Representatives with 
respect to the appointment of conferees. Dr. Price raised a 
point of order against the amendment as non-germane. The 
Chairman sustained the point of order. Ms. Schwartz appealed 
the ruling of the Chairman. Dr. Price then made a motion to 
table the appealing of the ruling of the Chairman. The tabling 
of the motion of appealing the ruling of the Chairman was 
agreed to by a roll call vote of 18 ayes and 9 noes.

                           ROLLCALL VOTE NO. 3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Name &                     Answer     Name &                   Answer
  State      Aye     No     Present     State      Aye     No    Present
------------------------------------------------------------------------
RYAN,         X                       VAN                  X
 PAUL                                  HOLLEN
 (WI)                                  (MD)
 (Chairma                              (Ranking
 n)                                    )
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRICE         X                       SCHWARTZ             X
 (GA)                                  (PA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GARRETT                               YARMUTH              X
 (NJ)                                  (KY)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CAMPBELL                              PASCRELL
 (CA)                                  (NJ)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CALVERT       X                       RYAN, TIM
 (CA)                                  (OH)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
COLE (OK)     X                       MOORE
                                       (WI)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
McCLINTOC     X                       CASTOR
 K (CA)                                (FL)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
LANKFORD      X                       McDERMOTT            X
 (OK)                                  (WA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BLACK                                 LEE (CA)
 (TN)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
RIBBLE        X                       CICILLINE            X
 (WI)                                  (RI)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FLORES        X                       JEFFRIES
 (TX)                                  (NY)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ROKITA        X                       POCAN                X
 (IN)                                  (WI)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WOODALL       X                       LUJAN                X
 (GA)                                  GRISHAM
                                       (NM)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BLACKBURN     X                       HUFFMAN              X
 (TN)                                  (CA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NUNNELEE      X                       CARDENAS
 (MS)                                  (CA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
RIGELL        X                       BLUMENAUE
 (VA)                                  R (OR)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
HARTZLER      X                       SCHRADER             X
 (M0)                                  (OR)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WALORSKI      X                       .........
 (IN)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MESSER        X            .........
 (IN)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
RICE (SC)     X            .........
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WILLIAMS      X            .........
 (TX)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DUFFY
 (WI)
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Pursuant to a unanimous consent request made by Chairman 
Ryan, Representatives Garrett and Duffy requested that the 
record reflect they would have voted aye on the roll call vote.
    5. Dr. Price made a motion that the Committee report the 
bill as amended and that the bill do pass.
    The motion was agreed to by a roll call vote of 15 ayes and 
10 noes.

                           ROLLCALL VOTE NO. 4
------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Name &                     Answer     Name &                   Answer
  State      Aye     No     Present     State      Aye     No    Present
------------------------------------------------------------------------
RYAN,         X                       VAN                  X
 PAUL                                  HOLLEN
 (WI)                                  (MD)
 (Chairma                              (Ranking
 n)                                    )
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRICE         X                       SCHWARTZ             X
 (GA)                                  (PA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GARRETT                               YARMUTH              X
 (NJ)                                  (KY)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CAMPBELL                              PASCRELL
 (CA)                                  (NJ)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CALVERT       X                       RYAN, TIM
 (CA)                                  (OH)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
COLE (OK)     X                       MOORE
                                       (WI)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
McCLINTOC     X                       CASTOR
 K (CA)                                (FL)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
LANKFORD      X                       McDERMOTT            X
 (OK)                                  (WA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BLACK                                 LEE (CA)
 (TN)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
RIBBLE        X                       CICILLINE            X
 (WI)                                  (RI)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FLORES        X                       JEFFRIES             X
 (TX)                                  (NY)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ROKITA        X                       POCAN                X
 (IN)                                  (WI)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WOODALL                               LUJAN                X
 (GA)                                  GRISHAM
                                       (NM)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BLACKBURN     X                       HUFFMAN              X
 (TN)                                  (CA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NUNNELEE      X                       CARDENAS
 (MS)                                  (CA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
RIGELL        X                       BLUMENAUE
 (VA)                                  R (OR)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
HARTZLER      X                       SCHRADER             X
 (M0)                                  (OR)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WALORSKI                              .........
 (IN)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MESSER        X            .........
 (IN)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
RICE (SC)                  .........
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WILLIAMS      X            .........
 (TX)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DUFFY
 (WI)
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Pursuant to a unanimous consent request made by Chairman 
Ryan, Representatives Garrett, Rice, Duffy, and Walorski 
requested that the record reflect they would have voted aye on 
the roll call vote. Representatives Moore and Pascrell 
requested that the record reflect they would have voted no on 
the roll call vote.
    There was no objection to the unanimous consent request.
    Dr. Price made a motion that, pursuant to clause 1 of rule 
XXII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Chairman 
be authorized to offer such motions as may be necessary in the 
House to go to conference with the Senate, and staff be 
authorized to make any necessary technical and conforming 
changes to the bill.
    The motion was agreed to without objection.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee on the Budget's 
oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the 
body of this report.

                         Budget Act Compliance

    The provisions of clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives and section 308(a)(1) of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (relating to estimates of new 
budget authority, new spending authority, new credit authority, 
or increased or decreased revenues or tax expenditures) are not 
considered applicable. The estimate and comparison required to 
be prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office 
under clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and sections 402 and 423 of the Congressional 
Budget Act of 1974 submitted to the committee prior to the 
filing of this report are as follows:

                    Performance Goals and Objectives

    With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(4) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
performance goals and objectives of this legislation are to 
modify the rules for creating the budgetary baseline to provide 
a neutral starting point for the annual consideration of 
discretionary appropriations and ensure Congress has timely 
access to supplementary information on the fiscal environment 
both in the medium and long term.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII of the Rules of the House 
of Representatives, the committee finds the constitutional 
authority for this legislation in Article I, section 9, clause 
7.

                        Committee Cost Estimate

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the committee report incorporates the 
cost estimate prepared by the Director of the Congressional 
Budget Office pursuant to sections 402 and 423 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

                       Congressional Budget Office,
                                             U.S. Congress,
                                     Washington, DC, June 21, 2013.
Hon. Paul Ryan, Chairman,
Committee on the Budget, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 
        20515.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the 
enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1871, the Baseline Reform Act of 2013.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased to 
provide them. The CBO staff contact is Barry Blom, who can be reached 
at 226-2880.
            Sincerely,
                                      Douglas W. Elmendorf,
                                                          Director.

Enclosure:
    cc: Hon. Chris Van Hollen, Ranking Member.
               congressional budget office cost estimate
                             june 21, 2013

                 H.R. 1871: Baseline Reform Act of 2013

 As ordered reported by the House Committee on the Budget on June 19, 
                                  2013

    H.R. 1871 would change certain assumptions governing baseline 
budget projections and require the Congressional Budget Office to 
provide its Long-Term Budget Outlook report to the House and Senate 
Committees on the Budget annually. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 
1871 would not have a significant impact on the federal budget. 
Enacting H.R. 1871 would not affect direct spending or revenues; 
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
    The legislation would change the way in which discretionary 
appropriations for individual accounts are projected in CBO's baseline. 
Under H.R. 1871, projections of such spending would still be based on 
the current year's appropriations, but would not be adjusted for 
inflation going forward. Other adjustments to projections of future 
discretionary spending would also be eliminated. (In its baseline, CBO 
assumes that appropriations through 2021 will comply with the caps and 
other provisions of the Budget Control Act of 2011; as a result, the 
method of extrapolating discretionary spending may not affect the 
totals reported in CBO's projections.)
    H.R. 1871 also would require that CBO produce its Long-Term Budget 
Outlook by July 1 each year. Any additional administrative costs to 
implement H.R. 1871 would be insignificant, because CBO already carries 
out similar activities.
    H.R. 1871 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates 
as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would have no impact 
on the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Barry Blom. The estimate 
was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget 
Analysis.

                      Advisory Committee Statement

    No advisory committee within the meaning of section 5(b) of 
the Federal Advisory Committee Act was created by this 
legislation.

                Applicability to the Legislative Branch

    The committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (Public Law 
104-1).

                       Federal Mandates Statement

    The committee adopted the estimate of Federal mandates 
prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office 
pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 
(Public Law 104-4).

                          Advisory on Earmarks

    In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, H.R. 1871 does not contain any 
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 
benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of rule XXI 
of the Rules of the House of Representatives.

                    Duplication of Federal Programs

    No provision of H.R. 1871, the Baseline Reform Act of 2013 
establishes or reauthorizes a program of the Federal Government 
known to be duplicative of another Federal program, a program 
that was included in any report from the Government 
Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of 
Public Law 111- 139, or a program related to a program 
identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance.

                  Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings

    The Committee estimates that H.R. 1871 the Baseline Reform 
Act of 2013, does not require any directed rule makings.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

    In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italics, existing law in which no change 
is proposed is shown in roman):

       BALANCED BUDGET AND EMERGENCY DEFICIT CONTROL ACT OF 1985




           *       *       *       *       *       *       *
  PART C--EMERGENCY POWERS TO ELIMINATE DEFICITS IN EXCESS OF MAXIMUM 
DEFICIT AMOUNT

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



[SEC. 257. THE BASELINE.

    [(a) In General.--For any budget year, the baseline refers 
to a projection of current-year levels of new budget authority, 
outlays, revenues, and the surplus or deficit into the budget 
year and the outyears based on laws enacted through the 
applicable date.
    [(b) Direct Spending and Receipts.--For the budget year and 
each outyear, the baseline shall be calculated using the 
following assumptions:
            [(1) In general.--Laws providing or creating direct 
        spending and receipts are assumed to operate in the 
        manner specified in those laws for each such year and 
        funding for entitlement authority is assumed to be 
        adequate to make all payments required by those laws.
            [(2) Exceptions.--(A)(i) No program established by 
        a law enacted on or before the date of enactment of the 
        Balanced Budget Act of 1997 with estimated current year 
        outlays greater than $50,000,000 shall be assumed to 
        expire in the budget year or the outyears. The scoring 
        of new programs with estimated outlays greater than 
        $50,000,000 a year shall be based on scoring by the 
        Committees on Budget or OMB, as applicable. OMB, CBO, 
        and the Budget Committees shall consult on the scoring 
        of such programs where there are differenes between CBO 
        and OMB.
            [(ii) On the expiration of the suspension of a 
        provision of law that is suspended under section 171 of 
        Public Law 104-127 and that authorizes a program with 
        estimated fiscal year outlays that are greater than 
        $50,000,000, for purposes of clause (i), the program 
        shall be assumed to continue to operate in the same 
        manner as the program operated immediately before the 
        expiration of the suspension.
            [(B) The increase for veterans' compensation for a 
        fiscal year is assumed to be the same as that required 
        by law for veterans' pensions unless otherwise provided 
        by law enacted in that session.
            [(C) Excise taxes dedicated to a trust fund, if 
        expiring, are assumed to be extended at current rates.
            [(D) If any law expires before the budget year or 
        any outyear, then any program with estimated current 
        year outlays greater than $50,000,000 that operates 
        under that law shall be assumed to continue to operate 
        under that law as in effect immediately before its 
        expiration.
            [(3) Hospital insurance trust fund.--
        Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
        receipts and disbursements of the Hospital Insurance 
        Trust Fund shall be included in all calculations 
        required by this Act.
    [(c) Discretionary Appropriations.--For the budget year and 
each outyear, the baseline shall be calculated using the 
following assumptions regarding all amounts other than those 
covered by subsection (b):
            [(1) Inflation of current-year appropriations.--
        Budgetary resources other than unobligated balances 
        shall be at the level provided for the budget year in 
        full-year appropriation Acts. If for any account a 
        full-year appropriation has not yet been enacted, 
        budgetary resources other than unobligated balances 
        shall be at the level available in the current year, 
        adjusted sequentially and cumulatively for expiring 
        housing contracts as specified in paragraph (2), for 
        social insurance administrative expenses as specified 
        in paragraph (3), to offset pay absorption and for pay 
        annualization as specified in paragraph (4), for 
        inflation as specified in paragraph (5), and to account 
        for changes required by law in the level of agency 
        payments for personnel benefits other than pay.
            [(2) Expiring housing contracts.--New budget 
        authority to renew expiring multiyear subsidized 
        housing contracts shall be adjusted to reflect the 
        difference in the number of such contracts that are 
        scheduled to expire in that fiscal year and the number 
        expiring in the current year, with the per-contract 
        renewal cost equal to the average current-year cost of 
        renewal contracts.
            [(3) Social insurance administrative expenses.--
        Budgetary resources for the administrative expenses of 
        the following trust funds shall be adjusted by the 
        percentage change in the beneficiary population from 
        the current year to that fiscal year: the Federal 
        Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, the Supplementary 
        Medical Insurance Trust Fund, the Unemployment Trust 
        Fund, and the railroad retirement account.
            [(4) Pay annualization; offset to pay absorption.--
        Current-year new budget authority for Federal employees 
        shall be adjusted to reflect the full 12-month costs 
        (without absorption) of any pay adjustment that 
        occurred in that fiscal year.
            [(5) Inflators.--The inflator used in paragraph (1) 
        to adjust budgetary resources relating to personnel 
        shall be the percent by which the average of the Bureau 
        of Labor Statistics Employment Cost Index (wages and 
        salaries, private industry workers) for that fiscal 
        year differs from such index for the current year. The 
        inflator used in paragraph (1) to adjust all other 
        budgetary resources shall be the percent by which the 
        average of the estimated gross domestic product chain-
        type price index for that fiscal year differs from the 
        average of such estimated index for the current year.
            [(6) Current-year appropriations.--If, for any 
        account, a continuing appropriation is in effect for 
        less than the entire current year, then the current-
        year amount shall be assumed to equal the amount that 
        would be available if that continuing appropriation 
        covered the entire fiscal year. If law permits the 
        transfer of budget authority among budget accounts in 
        the current year, the current-year level for an account 
        shall reflect transfers accomplished by the submission 
        of, or assumed for the current year in, the President's 
        original budget for the budget year.
    [(d) Up-to-Date Concepts.--In deriving the baseline for any 
budget year or outyear, current-year amounts shall be 
calculated using the concepts and definitions that are required 
for that budget year.
    [(e) Asset Sales.--Amounts realized from the sale of an 
asset shall not be included in estimates under section 251, 
252, or 253 if that sale would result in a financial cost to 
the Federal Government as determined pursuant to scorekeeping 
guidelines.]

SEC. 257. THE BASELINE.

    (a) In General.--(1) For any fiscal year, the baseline 
refers to a projection of current-year levels of new budget 
authority, outlays, or receipts and the surplus or deficit for 
the current year, the budget year, and the ensuing nine 
outyears based on laws enacted through the applicable date.
    (2) The baselines referred to in paragraph (1) shall be 
prepared annually.
    (b) Direct Spending and Receipts.--For the budget year and 
each outyear, estimates for direct spending in the baseline 
shall be calculated as follows:
            (1) In general.--Laws providing or creating direct 
        spending and receipts are assumed to operate in the 
        manner specified in those laws for each such year and 
        funding for entitlement authority is assumed to be 
        adequate to make all payments required by those laws.
            (2) Exceptions.--(A)(i) No program established by a 
        law enacted on or before the date of enactment of the 
        Balanced Budget Act of 1997 with estimated current year 
        outlays greater than $50,000,000 shall be assumed to 
        expire in the budget year or the outyears. The scoring 
        of new programs with estimated outlays greater than 
        $50,000,000 a year shall be based on scoring by the 
        Committees on the Budget or OMB, as applicable. OMB, 
        CBO, and the Committees on the Budget shall consult on 
        the scoring of such programs where there are 
        differences between CBO and OMB.
            (ii) On the expiration of the suspension of a 
        provision of law that is suspended under section 171 of 
        Public Law 104-127 and that authorizes a program with 
        estimated fiscal year outlays that are greater than 
        $50,000,000, for purposes of clause (i), the program 
        shall be assumed to continue to operate in the same 
        manner as the program operated immediately before the 
        expiration of the suspension.
            (B) The increase for veterans' compensation for a 
        fiscal year is assumed to be the same as that required 
        by law for veterans' pensions unless otherwise provided 
        by law enacted in that session.
            (C) Excise taxes dedicated to a trust fund, if 
        expiring, are assumed to be extended at current rates.
            (D) If any law expires before the budget year or 
        any outyear, then any program with estimated current 
        year outlays greater than $50,000,000 that operates 
        under that law shall be assumed to continue to operate 
        under that law as in effect immediately before its 
        expiration.
            (3) Hospital insurance trust fund.--Notwithstanding 
        any other provision of law, the receipts and 
        disbursements of the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund 
        shall be included in all calculations required by this 
        Act.
    (c) Discretionary Spending.--For the budget year and each 
of the nine ensuing outyears, the baseline shall be calculated 
using the following assumptions regarding all amounts other 
than those covered by subsection (b):
            (1) Estimated appropriations.--Budgetary resources 
        other than unobligated balances shall be at the level 
        provided for the budget year in full-year appropriation 
        Acts. If for any account a full-year appropriation has 
        not yet been enacted, budgetary resources other than 
        unobligated balances shall be at the level available in 
        the current year.
            (2) Current-year appropriations.--If, for any 
        account, a continuing appropriation is in effect for 
        less than the entire current year, then the current-
        year amount shall be assumed to equal the amount that 
        would be available if that continuing appropriation 
        covered the entire fiscal year. If law permits the 
        transfer of budget authority among budget accounts in 
        the current year, the current-year level for an account 
        shall reflect transfers accomplished by the submission 
        of, or assumed for the current year in, the President's 
        original budget for the budget year.
    (d) Up-to-Date Concepts.--In calculating the baseline for 
the budget year or each of the nine ensuing outyears, current-
year amounts shall be calculated using the concepts and 
definitions that are required for that budget year.
    (e) Asset Sales.--Amounts realized from the sale of an 
asset shall not be included in estimates under section 251, 
251A, 252, or 253 of this part or section 5 of the Statutory 
Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 if that sale would result in a 
financial cost to the Government as determined pursuant to 
scorekeeping guidelines.
    (f) Long-Term Budget Outlook.--On or before July 1 of each 
year, CBO shall submit to the Committees on the Budget of the 
House of Representatives and the Senate the Long-Term Budget 
Outlook for the fiscal year commencing on October 1 of that 
year and at least the ensuing 40 fiscal years.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                       Views of Committee Members

    Clause 2(l) of rule XI of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires each committee to provide two days to 
Members of the committee to file Minority, additional, 
supplemental, or dissenting views and to include such views in 
the report on legislation considered by the committee. The 
following views were submitted:
                 Minority Views on Markup of H.R. 1871,
                    the Baseline Reform Act of 2013

    It is surprising that the Committee scheduled a markup of 
two relatively minor budget process reform bills at a time when 
the House of Representatives is in gross violation of the 
biggest and most important statute governing the budget 
process. Title III of the Congressional Act of 1974 
(Congressional Budget Process) says ``on or before April 15th 
of each year the Congress shall (emphasis added) complete 
action on a concurrent resolution on the budget.'' In other 
words, Congress is to hold a budget conference and resolve the 
differences between the House budget and the Senate budget by 
April 15th. House Republicans are currently blocking all 
efforts to hold that budget conference.
    So it is strange that the Budget Committee would meet to 
tinker in an ill-advised way with some of the budget process at 
a time when this Congress is not doing its job with respect to 
the major responsibility of this Committee: getting a budget to 
remove the uncertainty, to replace the sequester so that we can 
remove that drag on the economy and the disruption that it is 
causing, and to accelerate economic growth.
    For years our Republican colleagues lambasted the Senate 
for failing to have a budget. Yet now it has been more than 90 
days since the Senate passed a budget and still the Speaker 
refuses to take the next step under the law, which is to 
appoint conferees. That step is necessary to finalize a budget 
in a transparent way so that the public can follow what is 
going on.
    Democrats have tried fourteen times to get unanimous 
consent in the United States Senate to move to a budget 
conference. They have been blocked every time. Even Senator 
McCain has described the Republican position on this issue as 
``insane,'' as ``incomprehensible,'' and he is not alone. There 
is a long list of Republican Senators, and many Republican 
House members, who have essentially expressed the same 
sentiment.
    The Republican refusal to go to conference on the budget is 
ironic because when the acting head of the Office of Management 
and Budget, Jeff Zients, testified before this committee in 
April, Republicans roasted him because the President's budget 
was 65 days late. The President's budget was late because of 
the last-minute wrangling over the fiscal cliff agreement in 
January, which is a valid reason. However, now the House of 
Representatives is more than 65 days past the deadline for 
completing a conference on the budget and the Speaker continues 
to block progress on the budget talks. You cannot get a budget 
out of conference committee if the Speaker refuses to appoint 
conferees.
    The proposed Baseline Reform Act of 2013 is simply bad 
policy. It is misguided because it mandates that the 
Congressional Budget Office (CBO) assume current discretionary 
spending is frozen indefinitely in its baseline projections, 
rather than adjusted for inflation. This change would undermine 
the usefulness of CBO's baselines and would make it more 
difficult to measure the real-world impact of changes in 
discretionary spending at both the program and budget function 
levels. Were this bill to be enacted into law and inflation 
remained at current projections, CBO's baseline projections by 
the end of the budget window, or 10 years out, would purchase 
about one-fifth less than in the current year.
    During the markup, Democrats offered three amendments 
designed to address urgent fiscal issues facing the country. 
Sadly, Republicans decided to use procedural roadblocks to 
prevent votes on all three of our amendments.
    The first amendment, offered by Rep. Van Hollen, is one he 
has already tried offering seven times at the House Rules 
Committee but was denied a floor vote each time. The amendment 
will completely replace the sequester for the remainder of 
fiscal year 2013 and for all of fiscal year 2014, and will 
reduce the deficit by an additional $30 billion through a mix 
of targeted cuts to spending and tax expenditures. It will 
replace the sequester and reduce the deficit--but unlike the 
current deep and arbitrary cuts, it will do so in a way that 
will not cost hundreds of thousands of jobs, close Head Start 
centers, kick seniors off of Meals on Wheels or furlough 
schoolteachers at bases like Fort Bragg, where the kids of our 
servicemen and servicewomen are being forced to go without 
school for five days this fall.
    Unfortunately, Republicans refused to allow a vote on the 
merits of this amendment.
    The second amendment, offered by Rep. Moore, calls on the 
Speaker of the House to immediately name budget conferees so 
that we can move forward with the process to adopt a budget 
resolution conference agreement. This simply requires Congress 
to follow the budget rules already in place. Current budget law 
requires the Conference Committee to complete action by April 
15, but Speaker Boehner continues to block progress on the 
budget by refusing to appoint conferees.
    Unfortunately, Republicans refused to allow a vote on the 
merits of this amendment.
    The third amendment, offered by Rep. McDermott, establishes 
a new House point of order against consideration of a ``deeming 
resolution'' when the House and Senate have passed budget 
resolutions and no budget conferees have been named. Resorting 
to a ``deemer'' to establish budget enforcement when both 
Houses have produced a budget but conferees have not been 
appointed is admitting defeat before the process starts. If 
both bodies have passed a budget, there is no reason to pretend 
that one of them is adopted--we should go to conference and 
work out a final deal. Adopting a deeming resolution before a 
formal attempt at reaching a conference agreement is putting 
the cart before the horse, which is exactly what the Republican 
House has done this year.
    Unfortunately, Republicans refused to allow a vote on the 
merits of this amendment.
    The Budget Committee should not be spending time marking up 
and debating bills that do not even begin to address the most 
important issues facing our country. We should support efforts 
to produce a final budget resolution and replace the sequester. 
We should allow votes on these big issues, which were addressed 
by the Democratic amendments but not by the underlying bill. It 
seems ironic that the Majority blocked consideration of the 
Democratic amendments on the grounds of germaneness. What could 
possibly be more germane to the Budget Committee than holding a 
conference to reach agreement on a budget resolution? If 
replacing the sequester is not germane to the underlying bill 
being marked up, is that not a sign that we are marking up the 
wrong bill?
    This is the Budget Committee; we should be addressing the 
big budget issues facing the country instead of tinkering in an 
ill-advised way with relatively minor budget process provisions 
at a time when this Congress is not doing its job with respect 
to the major responsibility of this Committee.

                                   Chris Van Hollen.
                                   Allyson Schwartz.
                                   John Yarmuth.
                                   Jim McDermott.
                                   Bill Pascrell, Jr.
                                   Gwen Moore.
                                   Barbara Lee.
                                   Michelle Lujan Grisham.
                                   Mark Pocan.
                                   Tim Ryan.
                                   David Cicilline.
                                   Earl Blumenauer.
                                   Kurt Schrader.
                                   Hakeem Jeffries.
                                   Jared Huffman.
                                   Tony Cardenas.
                                   Kathy Castor.
                       Appendix: Legislative Text

                              ----------                              


    The following legislative text incorporates both amendments 
adopted in the Committee on the Budget and technical 
corrections.

                               H. R. 1871

To amend the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 
                     to reform the budget baseline.

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 8, 2013

Mr. Woodall (for himself, Mr. Gohmert, Mr. Ribble, and Mr. Ryan 
        of Wisconsin) introduced the following bill; which was 
        referred to the Committee on the Budget

 A BILL To amend the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act 
                 of 1985 to reform the budget baseline.

    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 ``Baseline Reform Act of 
2013''.

SEC. 2. THE BASELINE.

    Section 257 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 
Control Act of 1985 is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 257. THE BASELINE.

    ``(a) In General.--(1) For any fiscal year, the baseline 
refers to a projection of current-year levels of new budget 
authority, outlays, or receipts and the surplus or deficit for 
the current year, the budget year, and the ensuing nine 
outyears based on laws enacted through the applicable date.
    ``(2) The baselines referred to in paragraph (1) shall be 
prepared annually.
    ``(b) Direct Spending and Receipts.--For the budget year 
and each outyear, estimates for direct spending in the baseline 
shall be calculated as follows:
            ``(1) In general.--Laws providing or creating 
        direct spending and receipts are assumed to operate in 
        the manner specified in those laws for each such year 
        and funding for entitlement authority is assumed to be 
        adequate to make all payments required by those laws.
            ``(2) Exceptions.--(A)(i) No program established by 
        a law enacted on or before the date of enactment of the 
        Balanced Budget Act of 1997 with estimated current year 
        outlays greater than $50,000,000 shall be assumed to 
        expire in the budget year or the outyears. The scoring 
        of new programs with estimated outlays greater than 
        $50,000,000 a year shall be based on scoring by the 
        Committees on the Budget or OMB, as applicable. OMB, 
        CBO, and the Committees on the Budget shall consult on 
        the scoring of such programs where there are 
        differences between CBO and OMB.
            ``(ii) On the expiration of the suspension of a 
        provision of law that is suspended under section 171 of 
        Public Law 104-127 and that authorizes a program with 
        estimated fiscal year outlays that are greater than 
        $50,000,000, for purposes of clause (i), the program 
        shall be assumed to continue to operate in the same 
        manner as the program operated immediately before the 
        expiration of the suspension.
            ``(B) The increase for veterans' compensation for a 
        fiscal year is assumed to be the same as that required 
        by law for veterans' pensions unless otherwise provided 
        by law enacted in that session.
            ``(C) Excise taxes dedicated to a trust fund, if 
        expiring, are assumed to be extended at current rates.
            ``(D) If any law expires before the budget year or 
        any outyear, then any program with estimated current 
        year outlays greater than $50,000,000 that operates 
        under that law shall be assumed to continue to operate 
        under that law as in effect immediately before its 
        expiration.
            ``(3) Hospital insurance trust fund.--
        Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
        receipts and disbursements of the Hospital Insurance 
        Trust Fund shall be included in all calculations 
        required by this Act.
    ``(c) Discretionary Spending.--For the budget year and each 
of the nine ensuing outyears, the baseline shall be calculated 
using the following assumptions regarding all amounts other 
than those covered by subsection (b):
            ``(1) Estimated appropriations.--Budgetary 
        resources other than unobligated balances shall be at 
        the level provided for the budget year in full-year 
        appropriation Acts. If for any account a full-year 
        appropriation has not yet been enacted, budgetary 
        resources other than unobligated balances shall be at 
        the level available in the current year.
            ``(2) Current-year appropriations.--If, for any 
        account, a continuing appropriation is in effect for 
        less than the entire current year, then the current-
        year amount shall be assumed to equal the amount that 
        would be available if that continuing appropriation 
        covered the entire fiscal year. If law permits the 
        transfer of budget authority among budget accounts in 
        the current year, the current-year level for an account 
        shall reflect transfers accomplished by the submission 
        of, or assumed for the current year in, the President's 
        original budget for the budget year.
    ``(d) Up-to-Date Concepts.--In calculating the baseline for 
the budget year or each of the nine ensuing outyears, current-
year amounts shall be calculated using the concepts and 
definitions that are required for that budget year.
    ``(e) Asset Sales.--Amounts realized from the sale of an 
asset shall not be included in estimates under section 251, 
251A, 252, or 253 of this part or section 5 of the Statutory 
Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 if that sale would result in a 
financial cost to the Government as determined pursuant to 
scorekeeping guidelines.
    ``(f) Long-Term Budget Outlook.--On or before July 1 of 
each year, CBO shall submit to the Committees on the Budget of 
the House of Representatives and the Senate the Long-Term 
Budget Outlook for the fiscal year commencing on October 1 of 
that year and at least the ensuing 40 fiscal years.''.

                                  
