[Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 117th Congress]
[117th Congress]
[House Document 116-177]
[Legislate Procedures Enacted in Law]
[Pages 1333-1337]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


31. Medicare Cost Containment; Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, 
 and Modernization Act of 2003, Sec. Sec. 802-04 [31 U.S.C. 1105, 1105 

Sec. 1105. budget contents and submission to Congress.

                                  note]


                                  * * *

  (h)(1) If there is a medicare funding warning under section 801(a)(2) 
of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 
2003 made in a year, the President shall submit to Congress, within the 
15-day period beginning on the date of the budget submission to Congress 
under subsection (a) for the succeeding year, proposed legislation to 
respond to such warning.


  (2) Paragraph (1) does not apply if, during the year in which the 
warning is made, legislation is enacted which eliminates excess general 
revenue medicare funding (as defined in section 801(c) of the Medicare 
Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003) for the 
7-fiscal-year reporting period, as certified by the Board of Trustees of 
each medicare trust fund (as defined in section 801(c)(5) of such Act) 
not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of such 
legislation.


          Sec. 803. procedures in the house of representatives.


                          [31 U.S.C. 1105 note]

  (a) Introduction and Referral of President's Legislative Proposal.--

          (1) Introduction.--In the case of a legislative proposal 

        submitted by the President pursuant to section 1105(h) of title 

        31, United States Code, within the 15-day period specified in 


[[Page 1334]]

        paragraph (1) of such section,

        the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives (or his 

        designee) and the Minority Leader of the House of 

        Representatives (or his designee) shall introduce such proposal 

        (by request), the title of which is as follows: ``A bill to 

        respond to a medicare funding warning.'' Such bill shall be 

        introduced within 3 legislative days after Congress receives 

        such proposal.

          (2) Referral.--Any legislation introduced pursuant to 

        paragraph (1) shall be referred to the appropriate committees of 

        the House of Representatives.

  (b) Direction to the Appropriate House Committees.--

          (1) In general.--In the House, in any year during which the 

        President is required to submit proposed legislation to Congress 

        under section 1105(h) of title 31, United States Code, the 

        appropriate committees shall report medicare funding legislation 

        by not later than June 30 of such year.

          (2) Medicare funding legislation.--For purposes of this 

        section, the term ``medicare funding legislation'' means--

                  (A) legislation introduced pursuant to subsection 

                (a)(1), but only if the legislative proposal upon which 

                the legislation is based was submitted within the 15-day 

                period referred to in such subsection; or

                  (B) any bill the title of which is as follows: ``A 

                bill to respond to a medicare funding warning.''.

          (3) Certification.--With respect to any medicare funding 

        legislation or any amendment to such legislation to respond to a 

        medicare funding warning, the chairman of the Committee on the 

        Budget of the House shall certify--

                  (A) whether or not such legislation eliminates excess 

                general revenue medicare funding (as defined in section 

                801(c)) for each fiscal year in the 7-fiscal-year 

                reporting period; and

                  (B) with respect to such an amendment, whether the 

                legislation, as amended, would eliminate excess general 

                revenue medicare funding (as defined in section 801(c)) 

                for each fiscal year in such 7-fiscal-year reporting 

                period.


[[Page 1335]]

  (c) Fallback Procedure for Floor Consideration if the House Fails to 
Vote on Final Passage by July 30.--

          (1) After July 30 of any year during which the President is 

        required to submit proposed legislation to Congress under 

        section 1105(h) of title 31, United States Code, unless the 

        House of Representatives has voted on final passage of any 

        medicare funding legislation for which there is an affirmative 

        certification under subsection (b)(3)(A), then, after the 

        expiration of not less than 30 calendar days (and concurrently 5 

        legislative days), it is in order to move to discharge any 

        committee to which medicare funding legislation which has such a 

        certification and which has been referred to such committee for 

        30 calendar days from further consideration of the legislation.

          (2) A motion to discharge may be made only by an individual 

        favoring the legislation, may be made only if supported by one-

        fifth of the total membership of the House (a quorum being 

        present), and is highly privileged in the House. Debate thereon 

        shall be limited to not more than one hour, the time to be 

        divided in the House equally between those favoring and those 

        opposing the motion. An amendment to the motion is not in order, 

        and it is not in order to move to reconsider the vote by which 

        the motion is agreed to or disagreed to.

          (3) Only one motion to discharge a particular committee may be 

        adopted under this subsection in any session of a Congress.

          (4) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), it shall not be in order to 

        move to discharge a committee from further consideration of 

        medicare funding legislation pursuant to this subsection during 

        a session of a Congress if, during the previous session of the 

        Congress, the House passed medicare funding legislation for 

        which there is an affirmative certification under subsection 

        (b)(3)(A).

  (d) Floor Consideration in the House of Discharged Legislation.--

          (1) In the House, not later than 3 legislative days after any 

        committee has been discharged from further consideration of 

        legislation under subsection (c), the Speaker shall resolve the 

        House into the Committee of the Whole for consideration of the 

        legislation.

          (2) The first reading of the legislation shall be dispensed 

        with. All points of order against consideration of the 

        legislation are waived. General debate shall be confined to the 


[[Page 1336]]

        legislation and shall not exceed five

        hours, which shall be divided equally between those favoring and 

        those opposing the legislation. After general debate the 

        legislation shall be considered for amendment under the five-

        minute rule. During consideration of the legislation, no 

        amendments shall be in order in the House or in the Committee of 

        the Whole except those for which there has been an affirmative 

        certification under subsection (b)(3)(B). All points of order 

        against consideration of any such amendment in the Committee of 

        the Whole are waived. The legislation, together with any 

        amendments which shall be in order, shall be considered as read. 

        During the consideration of the bill for amendment, the chairman 

        of the Committee of the Whole may accord priority in recognition 

        on the basis of whether the Member offering an amendment has 

        caused it to be printed in the portion of the Congressional 

        Record designated for that purpose in clause 8 of Rule XVIII of 

        the Rules of the House of Representatives. Debate on any 

        amendment shall not exceed one hour, which shall be divided 

        equally between those favoring and those opposing the amendment, 

        and no pro forma amendments shall be offered during the debate. 

        The total time for debate on all amendments shall not exceed 10 

        hours. At the conclusion of consideration of the legislation for 

        amendment, the Committee shall rise and report the legislation 

        to the House with such amendments as may have been adopted. The 

        previous question shall be considered as ordered on the 

        legislation and amendments thereto to final passage without 

        intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without 

        instructions. If the Committee of the Whole rises and reports 

        that it has come to no resolution on the bill, then on the next 

        legislative day the House shall, immediately after the third 

        daily order of business under clause 1 of Rule XIV of the Rules 

        of the House of Representatives, resolve into the Committee of 

        the Whole for further consideration of the bill.

          (3) All appeals from the decisions of the Chair relating to 

        the application of the Rules of the House of Representatives to 

        the procedure relating to any such legislation shall be decided 

        without debate.

          (4) Except to the extent specifically provided in the 

        preceding provisions of this subsection, consideration of any 


[[Page 1337]]

        such legislation and amendments thereto (or

        any conference report thereon) shall be governed by the Rules of 

        the House of Representatives applicable to other bills and 

        resolutions, amendments, and conference reports in similar 

        circumstances.

  (e) Legislative Day Defined.--As used in this section, the term 
``legislative day'' means a day on which the House of Representatives is 
in session.

  (f) Restriction on Waiver.--In the House, the provisions of this 
section may be waived only by a rule or order proposing only to waive 
such provisions.

  (g) Rulemaking Power.--The provisions of this section are enacted by 
the Congress--

          (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the House of 

        Representatives and, as such, shall be considered as part of the 

        rules of that House and shall supersede other rules only to the 

        extent that they are inconsistent therewith; and

          (2) with full recognition of the constitutional right of that 

        House to change the rules (so far as they relate to the 

        procedures 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.


                   Sec. 804. procedures in the senate.


                          [31 U.S.C. 1105 note]


                                  * * *

  The House has provided that section 803 not apply during a Congress 
(sec. 3(e), H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 2009, p. 9) or a portion thereof (July 
24, 2008, p. 16371).




                                                           Sec. 1130(32)